Progress Report: 6.3.22

Grasshopper Family,

The first plants were planted outside!

Yes, there is a lot of momentum building. And the team is super excited.

The field prep is continuing. We have additional t-posts being driven. We have more trellis netting being installed. We have new sumps and pipes. And we are still miles and miles ahead of where we were this time last year.

We have a pre-roll machine on site that will allow us to take the non-premium flower (think of rejected fruit that is still really really good) and turn it into something the market loves - pre-rolls. Adam has been working with Alfonso to dial in the machine for 1g and 0.5g pre-rolls. We have some videos, but they are too large to send via email.

Building 1 has a few more plants getting ready to go outside. The first batch went out to the hoop house this past Tuesday to get acclimated. The first plants were then planted in their final pots yesterday. More plants went out to the hoop house today. And the remaining plants will head outside early next week. That means ALL of the outdoor plants will be in their final pots sometime next week. Yay!

Building 1 will then transition to a single round of an indoor grow cycle. We are growing the exact same strains inside as we planted outside. Here is where it gets interesting. Forbes just published this article about the indoor versus outdoor conversation. I believe we will have a good shot at engaging them because of what we are doing. Moreso, we are doing the work to prove that both disciplines can produce amazing flower. Where we break away from indoor is our sustainability rating. We are not an environmental burden. We are part of the solution. And we are employing a lot of amainz people. Sooo...win win.

We are way ahead of being a necessary sustainable premium sun-grown cannabis farm. Yes, I will say that five times fast.

Let's talk about retention and turnover for a moment. I talk to other facility owners all of the time. We also get approached by people interested in working for us all of the time. Other businesses are experiencing a pretty high turnover rate.

We are not.

I believe this goes back to what we are doing and how we are doing it. People taking care of people and building a family to run this business. This does not mean it is easier to work at our facility/farm. Nope. Farming is hard work and there are plenty of days when people are tired and need to talk about it. But, we take care of each other and we continue forward.

Together.

We are trying our best to tell our story. We post so much content online on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. I have been on a handful of podcasts and the latest one can be found here! Everyone seems to be receiving and responding to what we are doing in a very positive way. Check us out online and listen to the podcast and tell us what you think!

I want to wrap up the update this week with the epic milestone we just hit yesterday - Year 2, Plant 1. Last year she was on the north side of the farm. This year she is on the south side. The team took plenty of pictures. Everyone stopped what they were doing. Everyone joined. Everyone then planted at least one plant.

This was a family milestone.

And it was epic.

The Michigan market is changing. A lot of facilities are going to exit in the next 12-18 months.

Not us.

We are strong. We are supporting ourselves. We just have to remain disciplined - patience, quality, consistency. These virtues will carry us through this period, grow the farm, pay all investments, pay all interest, and provide an opportunity for people to work at a wonderful farm for years and years to come.

Have an incredible Friday!