Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | May 27, 2024 | Worcester Business Journal 13 Graduate Programs clarku.edu/graduate The Clark MBA | Finance | Fintech Accounting | Analytics and Big Data Computer Science | Project Management Communications | Sustainable Development Public Administration Generous Scholarships for Central Massachusetts Students Local, Flexible, Career-Focused Macklin, a Winchester native who cut his teeth growing weed in California. He joined United Cultivation as its director of cultivation for its Ashby grow site. "e biggest challenge is the weather," Macklin said. "In 2022, we had an amazing season where it was perfectly dry. It almost mimicked California. en last season, it was one of the wettest we had on record." Even brief flooding, frost, or extreme weather events can wreck a harvest. Insects present challenges. "I noticed in Central Mass. there's more moths and corn borers out here," said Macklin. "A lot of nasty caterpillars, aphids, things of that nature." To fight back, United releases beneficial bugs to hunt or otherwise discourage problematic pests. To have the best of indoor and outdoor, the company operates an enclosed greenhouse with a transparent roof for sunlight. "If you gave someone the Pepsi Challenge and said 'Here's indoor, and here's greenhouse product, which one's which?' ey might have trouble deciphering between the two," he said. Taste aside, greenhouses can present high costs and other challenges, said Sherman. "ere's a lot of people who know how to grow weed inside, and there's not as many people who know how to build [greenhouses]," said Sherman. "ey're also substantial investments." In addition to weather, Outdoor growers have to consider the smell, as municipalities can have restrictions requiring the limitation of escaping odor. Indoor cultivators can utilize technology to limit odors, but outdoors, growers are at the mercy of the winds. Testing grower's limits Once outdoor growers deal with the gauntlets of weather, pests, and smell complaints, they face a final challenge before bringing product to market: passing mandated testing requirements. Virtually all states with legal cannabis require it to be tested for pathogens, heavy metals, or other contaminants before being sold to consumers. Some jurisdictions only require testing for pathogens known to be harmful to humans, but Massachusetts requires tests for the total amount of microbes, a policy growers say is misguided. "For outdoor flower, we fail pretty much no matter what," said Macklin, "Natural things that are occurring in the air that settle on the plants are making the tests fail." To avoid all this, outdoor cultivators would like to see the state focus on specific bacteria or fungi known to be harmful to humans, such as e. coli and aspergillus. Testing regulations oen result in outdoor product being processed into concentrate, a hash-like substance that can either be vaporized, smoked, or used to make edible products. Processes used to create concentrates usually kill pathogens, allowing the final product to pass testing. Other growers go nuclear, using irradiation machines in an attempt to kill potential pathogens otherwise causing testing failures. is treatment is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for food items, but little research has been done into the irradiation's impact on cannabis quality and safety. Some consumers are inherently turned off by the idea, but many outdoor growers aren't as alarmed by E N E R G Y & S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y F O C U S Outdoor grows While indoor cultivations in Central Massachusetts are located in both urban and rural areas, outdoor cannabis cultivation operations have been mostly confined to less- populated municipalities. Provisionally Maximum amount of Outdoor grower Location licensed cannabis canopy (sq. ft.) Regenerative Uxbridge November 2020 10,000 High Hawk Farm Barre May 2020 100,000 Caregiver-Patient Connection (dba Local Roots) Barre December 2018 10,000 Neamat Uxbridge May 2020 20,000 UC Cultivation (dba United Cultivation) Ashby March 2022 20,000 Paper Crane Provisions Hubbardston May 2021 50,000 Royal Sun Farm Hubbardston March 2021 50,000 TOTAL OUTDOOR CULTIVATION IN CENTRAL MASS. 260,000 TOTAL INDOOR CULTIVATION IN CENTRAL MASS. 1,055,000 Source: Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission the practice, said Warsowick. Suehiko Ono, a grower with experience in Western Massachusetts and New York, helped create the Sungrown Cannabis Alliance, a Massachusetts-based association of outdoor cultivators. She said many conversations around irradiation are governed by fear rather than scientific fact. "I've draed regulatory changes proposals that have gained traction. I understand the subject," Ono said. "From that standpoint, it is my belief that the radiation technologies do not cause further harm." Growers are in agreement whatever the test results or the methods to obtain them, transparency and accurate product labeling are key. Cream of the crop Outdoor product doesn't alway look as appealing as indoor-grown product, but the lack of cost-intensive lights and HVAC systems can result in lower costs and material that's good for biomass, an industry term for lesser-quality cannabis destined to be processed into edibles or other non-smokable products. When outdoor flower can pass testing, supporters argue it can lead to a superior product, pointing to research suggesting the spectrum of the sun's rays lead to increased levels of certain terpenes, substances which give cannabis strains their unique taste and effects. "Besides significant environmental benefits, we also see higher production of terpenes in outdoor cannabis," said Sherman. "Using sungrown material produces a better result in the extraction process." Outdoor flower can be ideal for pre- rolled joints. "e pre-roll is the center of the bullseye, because then you don't have to worry about bag appeal," said Ono, using an industry term for flower appealing to the eye. "e terpene profile, the actual [consumer] experience … outdoor pre-rolls are the cream of the crop." Regenerative sells bulk material on the wholesale market to product manufacturers while selling its own line of branded products to dispensaries, a tactic proven successful. "We've had a huge uptick as one of the most well-known outdoor cultivators in Massachusetts over the last six months," said Avery Leveston, the business' director of sales. "It's really because we stand by our quality." W

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