Progress Report: 10.7.22

Grasshopper Family,

We have a new Grasshopper!! We are celebrating the birth of Ivan's son, Bulmaro Antonio Gamez, who was born on Wednesday. Mom and son are doing well and Ivan is a proud papa.

Congratulations, Ivan. We so appreciate you.

Harvest (affectionately known as croptober) is progressing nicely. The amount of coordination and planning this year is incredible. The team continues to push into the next levels of their potential with each evolution. It's quite remarkable. And yet, I knew this team would grow in this way.

This team is our proprietary superpower.

Inside, our young mother plants have gone from cuts, to little plants, and have now moved into their final fabric pots. It's so nice to see the latest generation of our mother plants take shape and prepare for the future.

Outside, the plants are developing incredible colors. This is the stage when we are looking for when and how they finish. When a plant finishes is so important. This is when they reach their potential - THC, other cannabinoids, and terpenes. It's a science...but to us, it is a passion. A careful balance. How long to let them push towards the sun and when to harvest them.

As we do cut branches, we take great care in bringing them inside. We remove the water leaves, we hang them, we dry them, we buck them, we trim them, we test them, we package them, and then we....finally...sell them!

Communication is important. Sometimes it's verbal. Sometimes it's Slack or text. And sometimes it's some sort of marking or sign. One picture shows that sort of communication in the form of yellow marking, indicating attention is needed before proceeding. Maybe some of you remember this concept with the flags we use in the field to indicate attention is needed for a particular plant.

A couple pictures show the team starting and then ending. Harvest days are long. They start before the sun comes up and end well after it has gone down.

A few of our young Hart Grasshoppers made some artwork at the farm this week. We had to include pictures to share with you. These represent part of the magic that makes us a family.

We also made some progress in New Jersey this week. I had the honor of meeting with 22 neighbors of our proposed farm property. The meeting started at 5:30pm. My wife joined me. We even brought our dog, Elliot. The neighbors are centennial farmers. They are serious. They are very cautious. Some walked in with a smile. Most did not. Many had their arms crossed from the start. I did the same as we do at the farm - I introduced myself, I introduced the team, I told them what we do, and I told them how we do it. I said I was not asking them to make a decision or change their minds. I simply wanted to share what we did in Michigan and answer any questions they might have.

I am happy to report that three hours later (and a landslide of questions!) I had 100% approval. In fact, I received many handshakes and even hugs. One of the harshest critics called a council member the next day and talked to him for an hour...with very direct support.

The next day I presented to the city Redevelopment Committee. I took the same approach. The meeting was supposed to be one hour. It ended up being three hours and with them describing us as the gold standard. It was a very productive meeting. Both days.

There is a lot of work yet to be done. Lots of heavy lifting.

But, that's what we do at Grasshopper Farms. We learn. We plan. We learn more. We execute. We learn even more.

The pictures we wrap up with are something familiar - our sunrises and sunsets. In this email, the sunsets. Always amazing. Always magical.

Always Grasshopper Farms.