Critics often highlight odor nuisances associated with cannabis cultivation, but it is important to acknowledge that vineyards, too, emit strong smells due to the use of agricultural inputs like sulfur. Addressing odor concerns without considering the broader context of other agricultural activities may lead to unfair treatment. Similarly, noise and lighting impacts are often cited as potential drawbacks of cannabis cultivation, but vineyard operations involving heavy equipment and non-downcast lighting practices can also disrupt neighboring communities.
Let’s step off the cannabis farm for a minute and instead look to agriculture as a whole. The cannabis industry has picked up a lot of lessons from the farming world, and while taking a fallow year doesn’t yet appear to be a widely-adopted trend, this year may be different.
While winter brings some time for rest and recovery, for those involved in year-round cultivation, the new season brings added complexities for growing cannabis. The plant is thought to have evolved about 28 million years ago on the eastern Tibetan Plateau, which is home to extremely cold winters. While cannabis can grow in the winter, taking some extra steps to support your greenhouse cannabis cultivation can certainly help.
In a market that’s increasingly being taken over by large-scale production, lower quality, and cheaper prices, it’s important to look at the better alternative: craft cannabis. What makes Giving Tree Farms and other craft cannabis producers stand out? From seed-to-package, there’s a certain mindfulness involved. So, let’s take a look at what harvesting craft cannabis entails.
Fresh-frozen cannabis has taken the cannabis world by storm in recent years. As the name suggests, fresh-frozen cannabis entails freezing the harvest directly after it’s been picked. It’s been growing in popularity—especially as it’s one of the best methods we have to preserve terpenes and cannabinoids.
Join us for a behind-the-scenes look at how we go about producing fresh-frozen cannabis.
As farmers, we take pride in our cultivation process. We have learned through many harvests what works and what doesn't, and we are always improving our methods. How we take matters into our own hands decides the height of our success, so it's smart that we look from every angle to find the best possible solution to our puzzle, cycle after cycle.
In 2018, California cannabis retail stores sold $2.5 billion of cannabis products. That’s a lot of cannabis! With numbers that big, you can bet your bottom dollar large corporate companies will want their share. The California cannabis market is vast and growing. The market is expected to reach $7.7 billion by 2022, and more cannabis will be needed to supply the increasing amount of consumers. While an up in demand will increase a need for a more abundant supply, it puts increased pressure on farmers to provide large batch amounts. Fewer transactions for distributors means less time and money spent on obtaining products. They are looking for suppliers that have hundreds, even thousands, of pounds to sell at a time, so how can the small farmer, one with 10,000 sqft or less of cultivation space, expect to supply enough to make the distributor’s time worthwhile?
Sustainable cannabis is growing in popularity among consumers as the public becomes educated on the environmental effects of old and wasteful farming methods. The same can be said about organic cultivation methods, though there isn't a recognized state-wide organic certification for cannabis at this time. Since the consumer base is shifting their decisions to buying products with responsible backgrounds, distributors must also shift their buying motivation to supply the retailers with what they truly need. They now need to look for cultivators who practice sustainable farming methods that align with their evolving consumer base. Cannabis cooperatives may be the answer.
