Spice grinder on hemp? Colorado lawsuit alleges multimillion error caused by wrong equipment

Two Colorado hemp producers are suing a California processor for allegedly trying to get out of paying for hemp biomass by putting it through a spice grinder.

The hemp growers – Moose Agricultural and Colorado Hemp Solutions, both of Grand Junction – say that Layn USA and its affiliate Hempriseagreed to buy hemp biomass grown on roughly 600 acres in 2019 and 2020.

Layn was to pay for the biomass based on its CBD content, if the product had at least 8% CBD, according to the growers.

The biomass tested at an average of just 7.3% CBD – after the biomass was run through a conventional spice grinder, which the growers say ruined the product.

“This grind process destroyed the samples for any meaningful testing,” the growers said in a lawsuit now pending n federal court in Colorado.

Moose Agricultural and Colorado Hemp Solutions are seeking $1.2 million, which they say was the amount owed under the agreement.

Layn has countersued, accusing the growers of fraud and trying to pass off hot hemp. The company argues that it did not violate the biomass agreement.

A court date in the dispute has not been set.