MJBizMag August 2021 - 42

Business Under Fire
To prepare for those issues, her
company has developed a detailed,
multiphase emergency preparedness
plan to address all three potential
disaster challenges.
These include:
* Prestorm shutdown procedures,
which involve confirming employee
contact information, initiating
emergency response team protocol
and releasing employees to get home
and find shelter.
* Poststorm reentry procedures, which
involve initiating employee contact,
assessing the impact of both the
storm and employees' concerns as
well as addressing immediate needs.
* Initiating the reentry and emergency
response teams to conduct a pointby-point
inspection of the facilities
to determine damage.
Once the building is found to be safe
and sound, the cultivation manager
inspects grow rooms for damage and
plant loss. The extraction and inventory
managers conduct similar inspections of
their own operations.
After that's done, the executive team
meets to discuss employees' needs,
provide an overall site assessment and
mitigation plan and discuss timing for
recovery and return to work. It also
approves a recovery budget proposal and
initiates a recovery plan.
Drought and Water Usage
As much of the American West
experiences drought conditions this year,
some growers are looking for ways to
cut down on water use and make their
operations as efficient as possible.
Julia Jacobson, CEO of Aster Farms,
a cannabis cultivator in Upper Lake,
California, has multiple water sources
to draw from, including a well, an
agricultural pond and rainwater.
She had her well tested this spring and
discovered it could hold about 11 million
gallons of water each year. To put that
in perspective, Aster Farms used only
about 750,000 gallons to irrigate an acre
of cannabis last year. The farm's cannabis
42 MJBizMagazine | August 2021
California-based
Aster Farms uses
straw mulch to
cover the soil and
hold in moisture.
Courtesy Photo
" If you're being efficient in your
(water) delivery, that's the best you can
do, " Jacobson said.
Proper maintenance is also important.
Drip lines and sprinkler heads clog with
nutrients; making sure they are working
properly helps with water usage.
Outdoor growers aren't the only
ones working to reduce water usage.
At Smokeys Cannabis Co. in Garden
City, Colorado, Lead Cultivator Cody
Hitchcock promotes his indoor cannabis
grow's ability to recapture water using a
dehumidification system.
Hitchcock also uses large pots that
cultivation space is 50,000 square feet,
and there are plans to expand to 120,000
square feet by the end of the year.
" We're in good shape for expansion, "
Jacobson said.
Of the three water sources, the well
holds by far the most water. The ag pond,
which is filled by diverting spring water
during the allowed season, holds about
400,000 gallons, and the rainwater-catchment
system is insignificant compared to
the other two water-collection measures.
While it might sound as if Aster Farms
has a lot of water sources, Jacobson is still
paying attention to the drought.
" We're concerned because if the
drought continues at this pace, the well
won't be at 11 million gallons annually, "
she said.
Driving around the region, Jacobson
is reminded of the severity of the
drought. For example, the water level at
Lake Mendocino is lower than she's ever
seen it.
Jacobson believes cannabis cultivators
have a responsibility to conserve as much
water as possible. Illegal water diversion
was a major issue in the legacy market
before legalization, and if the legal
operators want to set themselves apart,
they need to practice ethical water use,
she said.
Aster Farms uses straw mulch to cover
the soil and hold in moisture; meanwhile,
drip irrigation lines also reduce evaporation.
Employees water at night, when it's
cooler, to prevent evaporation as well.
have room for cover crops-including
clover, fescue and buckwheat-to reduce
evaporation.
" There's minimal runoff, and all the
water is used by the plants, " he said.
Jesce Horton, CEO of cannabis
grower Lowd in Portland, Oregon, sees
the environmental concerns around
climate change as a looming threat. To
combat water waste, he uses a waterreclamation
system.
His dehumidifiers and air conditioners
are connected to a system that recaptures
water and routes it back to the company's
cold-water storage tank.
" Water availability and quality of water
is always a concern of mine because it's
so important, " Horton said.
He tries to operate his grow with
minimal runoff. In contrast to Hitchcock,
Horton uses small pots with larger
plants, creating a limited, concentrated
root zone that helps save water.
Lowd is also in the process of designing
a rainwater-catchment system.
" We're making sure we're part of the
solution, " he said. " We have to be more
environmentally conscious than the rest
of the industries.
" We have got to focus on being a better
industry and not just another industry. "
Bart Schaneman covers
cultivation and extraction
for MJBizDaily and
MJBizMagazine. You
can reach him at bart.
schaneman@mjbiz.com.
MJBizMag August 2021

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