Producers hear about opportunities with cannabis, hemp
Farmers hear micro-cultivation licence ideal for those eyeing small operations
Retired farmer Stan Dayman has been using medical cannabis for eight years to manage his back and neck pain, and he hopes more farmers will get into the cannabis industry.
“For 27 years I was on pills, and a doctor gave me (medical cannabis). It changed my life,” he said. He prefers medical cannabis to the morphine he used to be prescribed.
From what he’s seen, Dayman thinks cannabis grown by individual farmers is cleaner than that produced by large corporations.
“I’ve seen stuff that was so black when you’re smoking it, full of fertilizer,” he said.
“I know people who have ACMPR (Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations) licences (who) grow their own. It’s beautiful stuff, clean. They take pride in what they’re growing.”
On Wednesday morning at Canada’s Farm Progress Show, Natasha Perkins, director of business development for PrairieCann Growth Corporation, told attendees about the opportunity to get into the up-and-coming cannabis industry, whether by growing hemp or marijuana.
Perkins clarified that industrial hemp does not produce the psychoactive ingredient — tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) — that marijuana does, and so required growing conditions are different.
Hemp can be grown outdoors in a field, but marijuana has to be grown in an enclosed facility because of its psychoactive nature.
“You have a greenhouse or you have an indoor LED or HPS light system to grow the (marijuana) plant, and in some cases you have a bit of a hybrid system,” said Perkins.
But building that kind of facility isn’t cheap.
“You’re looking at a $10 to $12 million investment, capital expenditure, about $300 per square foot to construct a facility that is best practice, and the regulatory process tests even the strongest-willed people,” she said.
If you’re still interested, but don’t want to fork over millions of dollars, the soon-to-be micro-cultivation licence might be for you. This restricts growers to a maximum facility size of 2,000 square feet and production of 600 kilograms annually.
It’s this micro-cultivation licence Dayman is most interested in.
He thinks it would be nice to have a small setup “that I can take care of myself and, you know, maybe make a little money.”
Hemp is much cheaper to grow because it doesn’t require a special indoor facility.
Perkins said the cost of growing hemp for farmers would be similar to any other crop, and Canada’s upcoming legalization of cannabis is bringing exciting opportunities to that industry.
“We will be able to use the whole plant,” she said.
Right now, the only part of the hemp plant growers are allowed to cultivate is the flower, which contains the medicinal ingredient. Once the rest of the plant can be harvested, the leaves and stalk can be used for food fibre, food protein and textile fibre, said Perkins.
I know people who have ACMPR licences (who) grow their own. It’s beautiful stuff, clean. They take pride in what they’re growing.