How It Started: The Alabama Hemp Market with Connor Schilling, COO of Samson Extracts

As part of our “How It Started” interview series, we had the pleasure of chatting with Connor Schilling, COO of Samson Extracts,an Alabama-owned and operated manufacturer of high-quality CBD products, where he oversees the company’s GMP-certified extraction and processing operations.
Thanks for joining us! What was it about cannabis that first piqued your interest, and when did that happen?

Thanks for having me. My professional interest in cannabis began in college but didn’t really come to fruition until after I had already experienced working in other industries. While at school I realized I had a strong passion for organic chemistry and it clicked for me. I graduated and went to work for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s principal research agency, the Agricultural Research Service (ARS), and after that I moved on to LabCorp. While I was there I reconnected with a former colleague from the USDA, who had gotten a job with MedMen. I knew I wanted to pivot and thankfully was able to secure an offer from them – I decided to move to Reno, and go to live somewhat close to the coast for the first time ever. From there, I was lucky to be able to work with a lot of the top brands in cannabis.

I am thankful that I worked in other industries first as I’ve been able to apply a lot of the principles from those industries in my role at Samson.

How did Samson Extracts come to life?

A while back our ownership was looking to become vertically integrated, and once the 2018 Farm Bill legalized hemp, they decided to start growing as well as building out extraction operations that would compete and produce long into the future. The opportunity tied into my interests due to the ability to build a long-term plan to operate in cannabis, and I jumped at the chance to move down to the Southeast and work with my former colleague – now the CEO of Samson Extracts – Kyle Neathery. In my experience, cannabis operators think very day-to-day and short term due to industry and cash pressures. This business model allows us to build for the future in a very focused way.

What is it about the company that makes it stand out?

First of all, we are not your average-sized extraction operation. Our team has a heavy agricultural background and we use a GMP-certified, industrial-scale system to extract winterized and decarbed crude full spectrum CBD distillate for a variety of products. We are utilizing massive equipment, pumps and motors that power our everyday operation. It’s much more comparable to a large refinery than it is a traditional cannabis extraction lab.

I think what really makes us stand out though, is our ability to adapt and change to the evolving market. We are not set in our ways; we continue to look for ways to grow and innovate and offer new products and services.

What does your typical day look like and what do you enjoy most about your work?

I wouldn’t say there is a typical day for me, and that’s actually what I find most enjoyable about my work. Dealing with such a large-scale operation and constantly pushing our volume targets means we’re always working on new projects in production and are consistently attacking the newest bottleneck in our system. I face a new challenge every day and am constantly presented with opportunities to learn.

What has been the highlight of your career to date?

The true highlights of my career have been meeting some really great people along the way, being able to experience new things and like I said before, being presented with the chance to regularly learn something new. I am very proud to have helped bring this company to life and to have gotten us to the place we are now as one of the top hemp processors in the country.

I would also say that being featured on “CannaCribs” in the High Life Farms episode where I had the opportunity to discuss my extraction operation in front of a wide audience was a big honor for me – I've always been a big fan of their content, so it was a double-win.

Can you give us one cannabis trend that excites you?

Cannabis is becoming more acceptable day-by-day and it’s exciting to see these trends being adopted internationally. The people that make up the cannabis industry have a deep degree of pride with their craft and the benefits that these products can provide to consumers. These trends - and an increase in education around the plant - will allow the industry to excel at a faster pace.

What is the biggest change you want to see in the sector?

In the hemp sector we’d really like to see some federal oversight of CBD and other hemp-derived products, and the recategorization of CBD as a dietary supplement. Otherwise we expect the CBD and hemp-derived market will continue to be hard to regulate until cannabis is federally legalized.

Any advice you would give to someone looking to enter the industry?

My advice would be to stay open to the educational journey of working in this industry. I think it’s an opportunity to learn something rare and new, while also learning skills that can transfer to other industries. There’s no downside to getting that knowledge under your belt.

What’s next for you? What should we be on the lookout for?

Great question! We’re gearing up for a big year ahead at Samson Extracts; we have plans to triple production, with CBD isolate coming online later this year and some new product offerings on the way. Looking farther ahead, we’re excited to one day be at the forefront of Alabama medical cannabis extraction.