Ryan’s time on stage will educate you on the CBD industry in an entertaining way. You will hear stories of hard working, high yield CBD hemp farmers to extractors, manufactures, small businesses, and customers. In short, seeing the CBD market from every human angle. There will be stories of mite infestations, a chili dryer fire, the bottoming out of the CBD producer’s market (biomass, isolate, distillate, etc.), and a one million pound deal gone bad with a Chinese company four months before COVID.
You will learn about Ryan’s journey becoming a hemp farmer and go down the rabbit hole with him and his camera to see how that has shaped his future. Along the way, he learns valuable information and takes inventory of what he’s learning. The puzzle pieces start to come together and he evaluates the CBD industry from a bird’s eye view and realizes that to succeed in this ever-changing market you must:
• Know your why
• Avoid trend chasing
• Find your place in a sea of product competition
• Be willing to PIVOT
PRACTICAL TAKE-AWAYS:
• The industry is constantly changing. Where do YOU fit in?
• How CBD hemp farming is now a niche business similar to
vineyard or fruit.
• What do changing regulations mean for the industry?
• How the end of marijuana prohibition affects the industry.
LEARN TO PIVOT AND IDENTIFY NICHE OPPORTUNITIES.
THE TIME IS NOW!
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Ryan McKeever
President - Plotline
THE CHASE: Learn how to find your place in the CBD and industrial hemp market.
About Ryan McKeever
Ryan McKeever grew up splitting time between his father living in a log cabin in the woods and his mom and stepdad’s large dairy farm in northwest Indiana. An interesting childhood to say the least. One filled with exploring nature, animals, and work. It was doing this time that Ryan found his love of movies and storytelling.
After high school, Ryan began pursuing his passion for storytelling at Ball State University where he would go on to direct and act in a dozen short films as well as winning an Emmy award for his part directing a live on-air broadcast.
Having won an Emmy award in college helped propel Ryan’s early career. Working for a top production company in Indianapolis, Ryan saw what it took to be a storyteller at the highest level. Then, in 2004, Ryan started Plotline. A video branding company that would go on to have a major influence on multi-billion dollar corporate brands.
Over his 20-year video production career, Ryan and his team have cleaned up in the corporate and educational awards space. With 27 Telly Awards (corporate award), 3 Case Awards (education award), and 1 Emmy Ryan thought his career was complete.
Ryan spent the better part of his twenties and early thirties raising his 3 kids and supporting this family in Indiana. With an unhealthy marriage, Ryan decided to focus his energy where he could see some results and work out his marital stress. He found the triathlon world and quickly discovered his passion for racing. Not one to do things half-hearted, Ryan competed in 32 triathlons, 16 half marathons, 4 half Ironmans, and 2 full Ironmans achieving “All World Athlete” status and finishing in the top 1% of Ironman athletes.
Then. Ryan broke his leg in a nasty ski accident that nearly cost him his left leg. And. It did cost him his marriage. After a bitter divorce and shattered dreams, Ryan was in a bad place. Luckily, his life partner, lover, and wife, Jaida (his former high school fling) helped Ryan through these hard times. Finally. After 20 years living in Indianapolis Ryan found peace, love, and support in Jaida. Something he had been looking for his entire life. Ryan found his soul mate, got remarried, and decided to split time between small-town Colorado and Indianapolis. Ryan is a devoted father and makes the long trip to Indiana twice a month to be with his children. He feels his top responsibility in life is raising his kids to be productive members of society. And so he suffers and exhausts himself to no end in keeping his commitment to his children.
Living on the “Western Slope” of Colorado offered many things Ryan longed for. Love. Nature. Outdoor life. A wild river. But. One thing was missing. His career. Moving for personal reasons, Ryan walked away from his 20-year career in storytelling to reinvent himself. A scary thing for a guy with many life responsibilities and bills that keep coming.
Ryan’s wife, Jaida, happened to own a 10-acre farm near Grand Junction. So. Ryan, with his wild ideas, decided to go back to his farming roots and become a hemp farmer. Oh. My. Gawd. What a disaster.
Throughout the 17 months of filming, Hemp Valley Colorado evolved from a documentary into a TV show. With the cannabis industry constantly changing, Ryan felt a historical need to document this important time in history. Along the way, Ryan filmed many other wonderful characters and rich storylines. Each filled with their own juicy successes and failures using Ryan’s immersive reality-style approach.
In the beginning, Ryan, Jaida, and his partners were excited and energized about growing hemp. Nearly 10,000 plants on a 5-acre plot. All gated pipe and flood irrigated from the Colorado River. The Ph.D. level of hemp farming for his first year. Not to mention doing a “seed project” whereby gendering female plants to males, capturing their genetics and creating their own genetics. No easy task. Many opportunities to succeed. And fail. Having a successful seed run created 300,000 feminized seeds allowed Ryan a product to sell. And plant in his field. Problems ensued. Coronavirus happened. Mites took over. Partners were fired. Over 100 plants were stolen. Facilities burned down. Prices went from $20//lb. to $.85/lb. Ryan went crazy. And all of it is on camera.
Welcome to Ryan’s epic and crazy life.
