Dear Friends & Neighbors,
I would like to introduce you to Hempstock Pharms and our plans for a retail space and education center located on our small 12.9 acre farm locatedjust 1 mile from Woodstock’s historic town square (14023 W South Street Road, Woodstock, IL).
Hempstock Pharms is Woodstock’s first and only craft cbd seed-to-label hemp farm and cannabinoid formulator. We custom craft small-batch cbd topicals, tinctures, and smokables. We are currently applying for agritourism zoning and anticipate a public hearing sometime in mid to late July 2021 (public announcement pending plat review which is scheduled for June 16).
This special zoning category, agritourism, will allow us to expand our product lineup to include educational materials, in person workshops, and offer herbal teas and coffees in our small on-farm retail center. The center will be housed at the front of our newly installed hemp drying barn. Our agritourism special use application proposes that we build a small space open to the public as follows: 16’ x 24’ retail space, 16' x 16' formulation lab, and two gender neutral 8’ x 8’ restrooms (704 sq ft).
I am Hempstock’s founder and lead herbalist. I serve on the Board of the Specialty Growers Association and am the VP of the Illinois Herb Association. My background is in adult learning and small business development. I served as the Small Business Development Center Director at agricultural-focused Sauk Valley Community College and as a tenured business professor at Rock Valley Community College for over a decade. In my role as SBDC advisor, I became the SBA’s leading expert on the legalized industrial hemp industry and have extensively advised hemp farms and businesses throughout Illinois. I have spent my lifetime facilitating learning at home and abroad and am eager to offer interactive workshops and internships on our small farm once our agritourism application is approved.
My wife and partner is Dr. Ronda DeVold, DVM. Dr. DeVold holds degrees in zoology, microbiology, and veterinary technology. She has extensive experience in small animal, exotic, emergency and critical care medicine. Dr. DeVold provides compassionate client and animal care at Companion Animal Specialty & Emergency Hospital in Crystal Lake. Dr. Ronda is an amazing resource and advisor in our new adventure growing and formulating cbd.
Our two rescue horses Winter and Ruby, two golden retrievers Grace and Mackenzie, two birds Dakota and Samson, and our house cat Maddie all share this beautiful McHenry County property with us. New to the Woodstock community, we have been warmly welcomed and are thrilled to be here!
Hempstock Pharms is a member of the McHenry County Farm Bureau, the Woodstock Chamber of Commerce, the Crystal Lake Chamber of Commerce, the Illinois Hemp Growers Association, the Illinois Herb Association, and the Illinois Specialty Growers Association. We do our best to be engaged community members.
The proposed retail space will be used for direct to consumer marketing of Hempstock products to include hemp derived tinctures, topicals, and smokeables, organic hemp fiber dog chews, a line of holistic topicals and tinctures for companion animals, and hemp biomass fire starters. With agritourism approval we plan to add hemp-based and herbal teas, Hempstock branded products such as shirts and hats, and other various goods and products made from industrial hemp and herbs raised on the farm.
With approval, we also plan to market various educational materials such as books, videos, and instructional guides as well as offer small in-person and on-line workshops. The workshops will be focused on horticulture, gardening, industrial hemp production, cbd formulation, use of common herbs, and various other topics related to hemp and herb farming.
Our open hours will be regularly updated on Google, Yelp, and our website. This year we are participating in the Lake Geneva Farmers Market on Thursdays, the William’s Bay Farmers Market on Fridays, and Rockford's Italian Farmers Market on Sundays. We anticipate our on-farm retail hours for 2021 will be Mon-Wed and most Saturdays. On those days we anticipate no more than 10-15 retail center visitors even during peak demand. Practically speaking we anticipate a more common daily average of only 2-4 customers per day.
We strongly believe we are a positive addition to this amazing local community and respectfully ask you to join us in supporting Hempstock’s agritourism application.
Thank you for your support,
Stacy McCaskill, CEO Hempstock Pharms Limited Cell: 630-301-2010 | Email: stacy@hempstockpharms.com