Progress Report: 3.10.22
Grasshopper Family,
I had the pleasure of being on site at the Michigan farm this week...and it was epic.
For months (actually years), part of my responsibility was to assess operations and make adjustments with the team. This is what it is to lead a startup. And this startup has scale. There are a lot of people. There are a lot of plants. There are a lot of acres. And there are A LOT of regulations that keep changing.
This trip was different. I arrived and was immediately hit with a wonderful feeling of being able to observe a well oiled machine. The property was clean and organized. The people were methodical in what they were doing. I was briefed on the planning and forecasts.
It was such a wonderful feeling.
And then we all reminded ourselves that March is (only) the two year anniversary for 99% of the people who started with Grasshopper Farms. In just two years we have built an incredible team, established ourselves in the market with retailers and consumers, and became profitable in a highly volatile industry in which many are encountering massive issues and leaving the business.
While others are either voluntarily leaving or being forced to, we at GHF have greater demand than supply and are planning to develop the next 40 acres of our Michigan farm.
We are focused. We are deliberate. We are clear on our identity, a premium sun-grown flower farm. We understand our core competency, a single season outdoor farm. We are a craft flower provider, targeting between two and four percent of the overall demand in Michigan. A demand that has not yet hinted at where the ceiling may exist.
The formula of focus, quality, and consistency ingrained in a top performing team is the key to what we are doing.
Each week I review pictures. I always have more than I can send. So, I typically eliminate similar pictures. I am changing the approach this week. I really enjoyed the succession of each series. They communicate the energy. You can feel the vibe. The culture. The family.
We had some incredible visitors this week. One was among the first pioneers of the Colorado market. Bruce is an incredible person who I met by way of us both trying to help another amazing person organize a license in Michigan. He and all of the other industry visitors this week shared some incredible feedback with us: The team is amazing. The property is incredible. The product is ridiculous.
We'll gladly and graciously accept the feedback.
I was able to join the team in visiting a nearby tissue culture lab. I was VERY impressed. This is the next step of the industry. Clean preserved genetics that only require a fraction of the costs associated with maintaining mature plant genetics. More to come on that!
Quality control and pre roll production are in high gear and progressing nicely. Sales are flowing at an incredible rate. Our young mother plants look healthy and amazing.
We had a new family member visit the farm! Caroline has a new puppy and she is FULL of love and kisses.
Sometimes the non-flower work goes unsung. Well, not today. Maintaining a dirt driveway and parking lot takes work. Jason is a master at spreading and leveling rock with our tractor. While that might sound easy, let me assure you - it is not.
We had a huge milestone in New Jersey. Duane, Pam, and Madison were able to present a GHF booth at the Stockton University career and internship fair! Everyone LOVED our booth and loved Duane, Pam, and Madison even more. They were able to get over 50 resumes of people interested in working at Grasshopper Farms.
Awesome.
There were a few articles that hit this week. One got picked up on several outlets. We were honored!
Bret's wife, Hilary, delivered another masterpiece! I sat in front of this one for quite a while, taking it all in. I was blown away. We are so grateful for Bret and Hilary...and their daughters!
Ivan captured an AMAZING picture of the moon this week and Olivia brought us one of our wonderful farm sunrise pictures.
Time change is this weekend. The clocks are rolling forward. And, that means it will be darker in the morning for a while. The funny thing is I find myself discussing whether it will be darker or lighter in the morning....every...single...year. The irony is that I am a morning running. I know it will be darker. Yet, it's always a confusing discussion nonetheless.
I hope you enjoy the close to your week and the time-change weekend.
