Progress Report: 11.19.21
Grasshopper Family,
We are in the back half of November and Thanksgiving is next week!
And we are also about to round the corner on our next transition - from 95 people down to 20 as we complete the remaining heavy lift items.
The field is starting to look like the beginning...with some added snow. We even have a shot of a deer on our property with the buildings in the background. It's a pretty time of year. Did you know there is a lake about 25 minutes away from us?! Yeah. It almost looks like where Matt and I grew up in Santa Cruz. But, that there is Lake Michigan in South Haven. Complete with surfers!
As you remember, the heavy lift of harvest started with cutting branches off of the plants in the field, transporting those branches, trimming those branches, and hanging the branches to dry. After that, we had to take the branches down and remove the flower from the branches - bucking. The bucking process takes a LONG time. Flower has to be inspected. Flower has to be trimmed off of the branch. It takes a long time. Well, I am happy to report that we should be wrapping up bucking before noon on Monday!
And the bucked totes inside are growing. We also have a good supply of empty totes at this time! Which is awesome, because it was not long ago when we were driving to any Sam's Club to get any/all totes they had in stock. They never believed us, but we all had a good time each time we cleaned 'em out.
Speaking of bucked...our indoor flower is down and done! The picture of the flower being held by a blue gloved hand is our indoor Wedding Cake. And it looks like and is as good as...well...err...CAKE! Delicious.
Meanwhile, winterizing is in full swing as well! That means vacating outdoor water before it gets too cold. That means removing all of the plants and their roots. That means storing all of our equipment and supplies for the winter. That means removing all of the trellis netting...32 acres worth! The irrigation lines have been flushed and blown out, water drained, and a lot of the equipment is moving towards a winter storage location. The plants are all being taken to the compost bin, nothing wasted! But, a lot of work.
We now have a pretty significant number of tests back. The good news is we are passing many of them. More good news, we think we will even be able to pass the tests that we don't initially pass. We are testing a few solutions that will bring us close to a 90% pass rate...or even higher!
Speaking of tests...we are bringing a lot of testing in-house. One picture shows a moisture meter. This helps us to determine the exact water activity level in the flower - no guessing.
Are you following us on social media? If so, you might have seen this incredible picture of Red Pop! You can find us on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Get there! Now!
We reached our raise goal! I am in the process of confirming a few commitments that have not paid yet, but I believe we are there. This is huge and I have all of you to thank for this! Incredible!
I'll wrap up with a couple pictures of beef stew being made in The Lodge. This team does so much together. Meals. Breaks. Vacation. Fishing. Hunting. And sitting around after a very hard day of work, enjoying coolies (cold beer) and some of our product.
This is also Steve's last day. Steve is an investor and came to work for us for three weeks at a time when we really needed him. He absolutely crushed it and will remain a permanent employee of Grasshopper Farms. There is a nice picture of Steve with Joni and Landen in the bucking room...where he ruled.
We will miss you, Steve....and we will convince you to come back.
I am very thankful to be a part of such an amazing organization - made up of incredible people.
