Future Farm and Cannatech Sign JV Term Sheet to Grow Hemp

VANCOUVER, Sept. 21, 2017 /CNW/ - Future Farm Technologies Inc. (the "Company" or "Future Farm") (CSE: FFT) (OTCQB: FFRMF) is pleased to announce a new joint venture with Cannatech LLC, a Massachusetts cannabis consulting company (https://www.cannatech.com/about-us). This joint venture will grow, research, develop, and sell premium hemp extracts that contain a broad range of cannabinoids and natural hemp derivatives. Cannatech has done pioneering work with hemp by growing high CBD strains, which have tested in the 15-26% range, while staying compliant with state and federal laws.  

Hemp is a smaller, but fast growing, closely related business to the cannabis business. According to Hemp Business Journal, total retail value of hemp products sold in the U.S. in 2016 was $688 million, and sales of hemp CBD products boosted the industry to a five year 22% CAGR. The same group estimates the hemp industry will grow to $1.8 billion by 2020 in the USA.

As part of this joint venture agreement, Cannatech will provide Future Farm with multiple compliant hemp strains that test in the 'high' CBD percentile. It will also provide hemp strain lineage and breeding options to better develop hemp strains that thrive in the southeastern United States. The joint venture plans to grow in the state of Florida, where Future Farm already owns 15-acres of land and is working towards closing on another 10-acres.

Florida is the latest state to pass legislation allowing for the growing of hemp. Earlier this month, Gov. Rick Scott signed the Industrial Hemp Pilot Projects bill (Senate Bill 1726) into law. The bill gives Florida A&M University (FAMU) and the University of Florida permission to conduct research pilot projects on growing and selling hemp.

Hemp is a member of the Cannabis Sativa L family, but unlike marijuana, it contains only 0.3 percent or lower tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive chemical that causes a euphoric response. Grown for centuries for its seeds and stalks, hemp was a staple crop and legal to cultivate in the United States until the 1930s. It may be used to produce a multitude of products, including food, paper, textiles, building materials, and body care products.

"We are excited to assist and advise Future Farm on developing strains that are in the highest percentile for CBD on the market that will stay in compliance with federal law," comments Derek Ross, CEO of Cannatech. "We have a lot of experience working with other growers and currently have a 120-acre farm in Maine where we have just recently germinated over 6,000 hemp plants and 750 clones for cultivation."

"This joint venture continues Future Farm's goal to position itself as a leader in the two most valuable and fastest growing crops in the world: cannabis and hemp," comments William Gildea, CEO of Future Farm. "We will leverage the same oil extraction equipment and techniques in Florida as we have learned in California, where we have already started processing hemp into CBD oil and cannabis into THC oils."

On behalf of the Board,

Future Farm Technologies Inc.  

William Gildea, CEO & Chairman

About Future Farm 

The Company's business model includes developing and acquiring technologies that will position it as a leader in the evolution of Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) for the global production of various types of plants. Future Farm provides scalable, indoor CEA systems that utilize minimal land, water and energy regardless of climate, location or time of year and are customized to grow an abundance of crops close to consumers, therefore minimizing food miles and its impact to the environment. The Company holds an exclusive, worldwide license to use a patented vertical farming technology that, when compared to traditional plant production methods, generate yields up to 10 times greater per square foot of land. The contained system provides many other benefits including seed to sale security, scalability, consistency due to year-round production, cost control, product safety and purity by eliminating environmental variability.

The Company is also in the business of designing and distributing LED lighting solutions utilizing the COB and MCOB technology. The Company is focused on delivering cost efficient lighting to North America via advanced e-commerce sites the Company owns and operates. LEDCanada.com which caters to B2B customers is a supplier of the newest and highest demand LED solutions. The Company also owns and operates COBGrowlights.com which caters to both large and small agriculture green houses and controlled cultivation centers.

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. The Canadian Securities Exchange has not in any way passed upon the merits of the proposed transaction and has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release.   

This news release may include forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. All statements within, other than statements of historical fact, are to be considered forward looking.  Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements.  Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include market prices, exploitation and exploration successes, continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions.  There can be no assurances that such statements will prove accurate and, therefore, readers are advised to rely on their own evaluation of such uncertainties. We do not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements except as required under the applicable laws. 

SOURCE Future Farm Technologies Inc.

William Gildea, CEO and Chairman, [phone], Future Farm Technologies Inc.