cannabis farmers: unsung heroes of the industry
By Ryan Najjar
As spring begins to roll in, cannabis growers are preparing to raise their young seeds into tall,
gorgeous, bud-laden plants. At the same time, regular people around the world are getting
ready to head outside, sit in the sun, and light up good weed with their friends.
Those regular people may not often think about the growers who raised the plants they’re
smoking, but we’d like to argue they should. From handling the plants themselves, to
maintaining the farm and keeping up with licenses & distributors, growing cannabis on a
commercial scale can be intense.
What Responsibilities do Cannabis Growers Handle?
So, what responsibilities does a cannabis grower have to consider when they’re preparing to
raise crops on a commercial scale? You may think the whole job is in the name, but there’s
significantly more to it than the title suggests. There will be multiple people involved in the
operation, sure, but many of them have to be prepared to handle any aspect of management.
Licensing
Before working in any sort of legal commercial capacity, of course, growers have to get a state-
administered license to grow and distribute cannabis.
Requirements will vary across jurisdictions, but this will generally require you to prove your
facilities are clean and functional, along with demonstrating your crop is healthy and safe for
consumption. In most cases, that means no significant presence of pesticides, mold, or other
contaminants on the plants or around the farm/growing area.
Infrastructure Maintenance
Growers will also have to take special care of their farm infrastructure & perform routine
maintenance. This may not be as intensive of an effort for smaller outdoor growers, but those at
indoor facilities, along with those at any larger operation, will dedicate much of their day to this.
Any lapse in cleaning or maintenance can kill crops in a matter of days, or even hours, so there
are no real days off during the growing season.
Growing & Harvesting Cannabis
On top of all that, of course, they actually need to grow cannabis.
A decent amount of the process may be managed by automated equipment, especially indoors,
but machines can’t be trusted on their own. Growers will need to check on the watering, feeding,
and lighting schedules on a daily, perhaps even twice-daily basis. In turn, they’ll need to inspect
the plants themselves, watching for any signs of deficiencies or disease that could spread and
ruin the harvest.
There’s virtually no safe time period during the growing season, so they’ll need to keep their
eyes open until they’ve harvested and cured their bounty.
Working With Distributors
At some point during the process, or perhaps before it even begins, growers must ensure they
can sell the products of their labor. Quality distributors will not only want complete state law
compliance, but may even have higher personal quality standards. Options will be limited as
well, so farmers will have to make sure they can work with any available distributor.
Show Cannabis Growers More Love!
With all that in mind, make sure you reach out to your local cannabis farmer and say thank you!
They work tirelessly so you can have the best weed possible, and bright spring days wouldn’t be
the same without them. Whether it’s keeping up with quality and cleanliness standards, or
keeping careful watch over the crops, they’re easily some of the hardest workers in the industry.