{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"Maciej Kowalski: Be Your Own Supply Chain","description":"This week on the Hemp Show we talk to Maciej Kowalski, founder and CEO of Kombinat Konopni, a hemp company in Northern Poland. We hear how he built a vertically integrated company \u2014 from planting, harvesting, processing, all the way to manufacturing finished goods \u2014 and why he would rather control the system rather than rely on supply chains that don\u2019t fully exist. \u201cEveryone is saying about the need to build a supply chain. Yeah, that\u2019s one approach. The other is be your own supply chain,\u201d Kowaski said. His pragmatism is often guided by a healthy skepticism. \u201cIf you have a dozen intermediaries between you and the manufacturer of raw materials, there is a geometrically raising probability of someone in this chain being not honest.\u201d We talk about his farming practices and why his farmers do not need anything more than a rake and a baler to harvest the hemp stalks, because they practice \u201cwinter retting\u201d where the hemp is left standing throughout the winter. By spring the stalks are brittle enough they can be knocked down and windrowed with a standard rake and then baled like any other crop. \u201cJust leave the plants throughout the winter in the field \u2014 they\u2019re just going to separate on their own. If it sounds magical, it\u2019s because it is.\u201d Kowalski said. How does this affect the finished fiber in terms of strength and durability? He said winter retted hemp is slightly over-retted, so it is weaker but softer, which to Kowalski is a feature not a bug. \u201cThe biggest difficulty of introducing or reintroducing hemp as an apparel grade textile is its stiffness. So if you make it slightly weaker, but softer at the same time \u2014 that\u2019s good.\u201d We also talk about his company\u2019s recent listing on the Warsaw Stock Exchange \u2014 and why it wasn\u2019t about raising money. \u201cWe made a promise to our investors, six, five, four years ago when we were raising money, that one day you will be able to buy or sell those shares on a stock exchange,\u201d he said. \u201cSo even if I am not having anything out of it right now, it\u2019s like an essential part of keeping your word, which has two parts of it. One is just being a decent man. And the other part is being a businessperson and keeping your promises is good for business long term.\u201d Learn More kombinatkonopny.pl Maciej Kowalski on LinkedIn https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/maciejkowalskihemp\/ News Nuggets U.S. judge lets Medicare hemp pilot program proceed as critics escalate opposition hemptoday.net\/u-s-judge-lets-medicare-hemp-pilot-program-proceed-as-critics-escalate-opposition USDA National Hemp Report (April 16, 2026) https:\/\/www.lancasterfarming.com\/usda-hempreport2026-pdf\/pdf_0d5fa8a7-4e7a-4150-87cd-af77968557a1.html NHA + HEMI Leadership Announcement https:\/\/www.globenewswire.com\/news-release\/2026\/04\/21\/3277845\/0\/en\/national-hemp-association-and-hemp-education-and-marketing-initiative-announce-leadership-appointments-and-national-initiative-to-advance-u-s-hemp-industry.html NIHC USDA Export Funding Announcement nihcoa.com\/national-industrial-hemp-council-secures-usda-award-to-expand-global-market-opportunities-for-u-s-hemp Sponsors IND HEMP indhemp.com Forever Green hempcutter.com This episode of the Lancaster Farming Industrial Hemp Podcast features a long-form interview with Maciej Kowalski, founder of Kombinat Konopny, a vertically integrated hemp company based near Elbl\u0105g, Poland. The conversation explores industrial hemp supply chains, fiber processing, textile manufacturing, and cannabinoid product development within a single operational system. Kowalski describes a \u201cseed to shelf\u201d model in which hemp is grown, processed, decorticated, cottonized, spun into yarn, and manufactured into finished goods such as socks, garments, and home textiles. The discussion highlights the challenges of building hemp infrastructure in emerging markets and the limitations of fragmented supply chains in the global hemp industry. The episode also examines winter retting, a low-input fiber processing method that relies on natural field exposure over winter months to break down plant material. Kowalski explains how this approach reduces capital requirements, simplifies harvesting through \u201crake and bale\u201d systems, and produces fiber suitable for textile applications. Additional topics include the Warsaw Stock Exchange listing of Kombinat Konopny, the economics of hemp textiles versus synthetic fibers like polyester, and the broader role of industrial hemp in global agriculture, manufacturing, and sustainable materials markets. ","author_name":"Industrial Hemp Podcast","author_url":"https:\/\/www.lancasterfarming.com\/community\/podcasts_and_audio\/","html":"