cannabisbusinessinsights.comJUNE 20258As the cannabis industry has expanded and matured, maintaining a well-managed, efficient and technologically advanced cultivation facility has emerged as the key to an operator's success. The economics of today's industry requires a high level of cultivation performance, including an ability to adapt to changing consumer demands, experiment with different strains and reduce wasteful practices, among other things. The reality of today's industry: Cultivators must innovate or risk falling behind ­ or worse.Some of the biggest challenges facing the industry ­ high costs, increased competition and product inconsistency ­ can be addressed by implementing technical, process and management improvements in cultivation facilities. The high cultivation costs of labor and energy have profound impacts on profitability. Meanwhile, increased competition continues to drive prices downward, and the inability to maintain a consistent product supply strains consumer loyalty. No other aspect of a cannabis operation makes as much of an impact on quality and profitability as cultivation ­and it is the best place to start when operators consider upgrading facilities (as they absolutely should be doing). Fortunately, as the pressure on the industry has increased, cannabis cultivators and equipment innovators have stepped up to the plate. Technological advances are pushing the boundaries of cultivation `norms' more than ever, producing outcomes that were previously deemed impossible. As technology has worked to decrease costs and increase efficiencies, cultivators experimenting with new techniques, materials and cultivation processes are finding innovative ways to squeeze every bit of functioning space from facilities while dramatically increasing yields and consistency. The advancements being driven by cannabis cultivation are also felt across agriculture, helping to benefit indoor and outdoor crop cultivation production in other sectors. With these latest advancements, cultivators now have a blueprint for how to achieve greater efficiency, decreased costs and increased productivity. In a nutshell, there are three primary areas to focus on when upgrading cannabis cultivation facilities: Lighting, systems integration and processes. LightingIn an indoor cannabis cultivation facility, lights are often working 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to ensure a By Chris O'Ferrell, Senior Director of Cultivation, Deep Roots HarvestILLUMINATING GROWTH:THE EVOLUTION OF CANNABIS CULTIVATIONChris O'FerrellIN MY OPINION
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