Green Buffalo Filmmaker Joel Caldwell and Lower Sioux Hempcrete Builder Danny Desjarlais

Green Buffalo Filmmaker Joel Caldwell and Lower Sioux Hempcrete Builder Danny Desjarlais

Author: Eric Hurlock, Digital Editor March 21, 2025 Duration: 45:25

This week on the Hemp Show, we catch up with filmmaker Joel Caldwell and hempcrete builder Danny Desjarlais about the film "Green Buffalo."

Coming off of a win for the short documentary category at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, "Green Buffalo" is making waves.

Caldwell shares his experience on making the film within the limitations of the short documentary medium and how he was able to capture the resilience of the Lower Sioux in the film.

"I had the light turned on as far as this massive solution," he says. "We can create carbon banks and live in healthier homes."

Desjarlais explains how his crew is addressing the local housing crisis by rebuilding their community — one hempcrete home at a time.

"I came into this as a conventional builder, trying to find the bad in hempcrete, and I keep getting proven wrong," says Desjarlais.

Resources & Links:

The Lower Sioux Indian Community

✅ Watch the Green Buffalo film from Patagonia

Joel Caldwell's filmography, including The Issue with Tissue

The International Hemp Building Symposium, October 3 – 5, 2025, at the Lower Sioux Indian Community's hemp campus

Hemp Clothing at Patagonia

✅ Watch Legacy Regenerated, a Patagonia film about North Carolina hemp farmer Patrick Brown

Thanks to our sponsors:

IND Hemp – Family-owned hemp feed, food, and fiber company bringing new opportunities to farmers and manufacturers across the U.S

Forever Green – Distributors of the KP4 Hemp Cutter.

Music by Tin Bird Shadow


There’s a quiet revolution happening in fields and factories, and it’s centered on a single, versatile plant. Industrial Hemp Podcast, guided by Eric Hurlock, the Digital Editor at Lancaster Farming, moves beyond the headlines to explore what’s actually happening on the ground. This isn’t just theoretical discussion; it’s a direct line to the people driving the industry forward. Each episode features conversations with the farmers who are planting and harvesting these crops, facing very real agronomic challenges and opportunities. You’ll also hear from researchers, processors, and policy experts who are shaping the future of hemp for fiber, grain, and other industrial applications. The dialogue digs into the practicalities-from planting techniques and harvesting equipment to market trends, regulatory hurdles, and technological innovations that are changing the game. It’s a clear-eyed look at an agricultural sector finding its footing, reported by journalists with deep roots in farming communities. For anyone curious about the business, science, and sheer hard work behind industrial hemp, this podcast serves as an essential, grounded resource. Tune in for honest talk that cuts through the hype and gets to the root of this growing field.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 100

Industrial Hemp Podcast
Podcast Episodes
420 Special: Rumble Strip – John Rodgers Weed Farmer [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 27:48
On this 420 Bonus show, we share an episode of one of our favorite podcasts, Rumble Strip. It's made by Erica Heilman who tells stories of rural Vermont. On this episode she interviews Vermonter John Rodgers, a stonemaso…
10th Annual NoCo Hemp Expo Gathers Many Voices [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:12
This week's hemp podcast is a recap of the 10th annual NoCo Hemp Expo in Estes Park, Colorado, April 11-13, where industry stakeholders gathered to collaborate, commiserate and celebrate the state of hemp in 2024. The ep…
Experimental Hemp Micro Processing With Steve Groff [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:04
On this week's hemp podcast, Lancaster Farming talks to Steve Groff from Cedar Meadow Farm in Holtwood, Lancaster County, where he is getting ready to plant 70 acres of industrial hemp. "This year it's all fiber. And we'…
The Bee's Knees: Ken Meyer on the Buzz About Hemp in South Dakota [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 51:49
In this week's hemp podcast, Lancaster Farming speaks with Ken Meyer, beekeeper and hemp processor from South Dakota. Meyer and his family run a fourth-generation beekeeping business as well as the state's first industri…
Right Coast Hemp Hosts Hempcrete Workshops in New Jersey [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 26:21
On this bonus episode of the Hemp Podcast, we talk to Mike Mercadante from Right Coast Hemp in Manahawkin, New Jersey, where the company is holding the first of a series of hands-on hempcrete work shops, May 10-12. The w…
Mill26 is Making 100% Hemp Paper in Upstate New York [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:46
Hemp Podcast guest James "Jimmy" Cottrell II is a fourth-generation paper maker at family-owned Cottrell Paper in Saratoga County, New York. He started cutting the grass in high school and began working at the mill after…
Good News from the National Hemp Association [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:32
This is a special weekend edition of the Hemp Podcast. Lancaster Farming speaks with Geoff Whaling, chair of the National Hemp Association. I will update the details of this episode soon. For now, enjoy the audio. Learn…

«1...678910