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Oleander farm blossoms into record book


Melissa Federspill

Staff writer

Nestled in the vast fields of D’Hanis, where the Hill Country on the horizon creates a transcendental landscape, is the world’s largest oleander farm.

It’s 200-plus acres of farmland of which an estimated 60 acres are planted with more than 100,000 Nerium oleander plants of hearty red variety. Later this month, the farm will be recognized with a Guinness World Record designation.

The plants provide the raw material for Nerium Biotechnology’s Inc. skincare and therapy products, and on Thursday morning a group of South Korean potential distributors traveled more than 6,800 miles to Texas to tour the farm.

“These plants are a renewable resource. Nerium Biotechnology starts here at this farm,” explained Dennis Knocke, president of Nerium Biotechnology, Inc. during the tour.

Joel Curtis, director of farm operations for Nerium Biotechnology, Inc., was also onsite presenting during the tour, and answering questions from the international visitors.

Curtis started the initial research field 21 years ago. Prior to this undertaking, Curtis grew fig and pecan orchards.

When this all started, there were no commercial Nerium oleander farms and, the system for farming them had to be developed from scratch.

Using drip irrigation, Curtis says the plants are watered and fertilized with only natural products. The watering system has the capability to pump water up to a mile away.

There are no chemicals or pesticides used ever – an area of concern expressed by some of the South Korean visitors. The fertilizer concoction Curtis uses is called “chicken manure tea.” The water is sourced from an on-site well that runs 1,200 feet into the Edwards Aquifer.

Curtis prunes the existing crop annually in the winter, and then harvests only the young tender leaves from the top two feet of the plant. He said the attrition rate is approximately 5 percent.

The orchards are meticulously manicured, a representation of the level of dedication of the farming staff. Until recently, the crops were harvested by hand, with clippers.

The leaves are then dried and turned into a powder that is used in conjunction with an aloe plant to create Nerium Biotechnology’s patented ingredient in the skincare and therapy products.

Some of the visitors, who communicated through a translator, expressed concerns about the toxicity of the oleander plant.

“This is a very safe plant, we’ve traveled to several toxicology conferences, and we know that this product is safe,” said Dennis Knocke. He said there is a yellow variety that is toxic, and perhaps that is where the concern comes from.

To add some color and assurance for the visitors, Curtis said he’d been working with the plant for over 20 years, and he’s still here.

NBI’s collection of products includes a nightly face treatment, daily face cream, firming body cream, psoriasis relief therapy, cold sore therapy and dermal pain relief therapy.

Their product development began with research by Dr. Robert Newman, who is also a professor at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. He’s the chief science officer at NBI, and his research with botanical compounds led to the observation of beneficial skin properties when looking at the Nerium oleander plant for anti-cancer and anti-viral properties.

In May of 2019, Nerium Biotechnology partnered with PURE: People United Reaching Everyone to distribute their products.

They are a global company with offices in the U.S., Taiwan, Thailand, Korea and Ghana, according to a recent press release.

Joel Curtis

Joel Curtis

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