NOVEMBER 2017 • COUNTRY LIFE IN BC


Cannabis hopes more than a pipe dream Cultivation dovetails with floriculture, offering year-round opportunities


by PETER MITHAM ABBOTSFORD – Ottawa’s plans to


legalize marijuana for both medical and recreational use by July 1, 2018 is set to give greenhouse growers a lucrative new crop to round out their production cycle. While the weed has long been big business in BC, with law enforcement agencies pegging the crop’s value in excess of $6 billion in 2001 – bigger than forestry, let alone any other industry – it’s set to become even bigger once it enters the mainstream. Speaking at the Canwest Hort Show in Abbotsford on September 28, GGS Structures Inc. president Leigh Coulter told BC growers that conservative estimates from CIBC World Markets expects legal cannabis to grow from a $100 million industry today to $5 billion by 2020. “That’s an enormous growth potential. This market is predominantly being serviced now, so it’s not that it’s not being serviced, it’s not being serviced through legal means,” she told Country Life in BC. It’s not just the size of the market


that’s impressive: the profit margins are equally attractive. Coulter presented figures indicating that operating costs for licensed growers, most of which buy from GGS, are typically $1.25 to $1.50 a gram, while the retail price averages $9.12 a gram. “It’s a pretty healthy profit margin,”


she said. The figures are based on current


sales, which – as the data suggests – is likely to increase after Ottawa legalizes recreational marijuana. According to Coulter’s data, 46% of people in Canada are keen to try


The sky could be the limit for greenhouse growers looking to tap into cannabis production once recreational weed becomes legal in Canada. PETER MITHAM PHOTO


edible marijuana products after legalization, making it more than a


pipe dream. Indeed, the number of licensed BC


producers has increased from five in 2015 to 14 today, and judging by interest in talks at the Canwest Hort Show, more are ready to get rolling.


Year-round demand Cannabis is an especially good fit


for greenhouse flower growers, said Bryce Danbrook, who oversees marijuana cultivation for GGS. “It has year-round demand, which is


really unheardof, almost, in the greenhouse industry, outside of veggies,” Danbrook said. “It can help you to smooth out your production season.” Moreover, many floriculture


producers are focused on seasonal plants such as poinsettias and Easter lilies, and cannabis fits right in because it’s a short-day flowering plant like the others. Growers will likely have the light-deprivation curtains needed to induce bud development, as well as the skills needed to manage the system. “You already have a lot of the major infrastructure already in your greenhouse to start producing cannabis,” Danbrook said. “So if you understand the mechanics of a greenhouse, how to operate it – essentially, how to augment the environment – then you’re going to have much better standing chance at producing cannabis in a greenhouse then someone who might have experience growing cannabis but not in a greenhouse.” Greenhouse growers making the leap into cannabis production will face several familiar considerations. An adequate supply of clean water that won’t add to maintenance costs is


See POTENTIAL on next page o


21


Building Canada’s Best Greenhouses


Specializing in Extreme & Custom Greenhouses Designed to comply with Certified Organic Growing Standards


BW ® BW Greenhouse® Technology & Design for Serious Growing™


ANY CROP ◦ ANYWHERE ◦ ANYTIME


Built by BW GLOBAL Structures Ltd. 29020 Fraser Highway Abbotsford, BC V4X 1G8 1-877-856-1303 or 1-604-856-1303 bw-global.com bwgreenhouse.com


Built by BW GLOBAL Structures Inc. 29020 Fraser Highway Abbotsford, BC V4X 1G8 1-877-856-1303 or 1-604-856-1303 bw-global.com bwgreenhouse.com


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44