What were the main challenges of your production?

MC: We learned the hard way that being a micro requires one to rethink traditional operational set-ups. We started out the year in-house propagating our own cultivars. After running the numbers on this it became very clear that we shouldn’t in-house propagate, I decided to pivot and farm-out my cultivar supply to a third party, allowing me to sustain a short veg period, and turn over 5-6 crops per year instead of 3-4. I then begin the process of retrofitting all my rooms to bloom rooms only. A great decision, we now invest ZERO in the rearing of plants and instead focus our workflow on the 8-9 weeks money making flower phase.

"Being a micro is about maximizing your revenue per sqft of canopy. Veg space is dead revenue space, that’s my little bit of advice."

MC: You will come across all kinds of challenges in this industry, its about being adaptive and flexible.

Obtaining the first certificate of analysis (COA)

MC: We all want to see the high THC and terp percentages, but to be honest the greatest part of this experience was seeing a clean compliant product come through. No micro hits, no mold, no pesticides, no heavy metals, … That was a great feeling, it reinstated the understanding that all of our procedures and hard work were paying off.

— Vision of the company —

What was the vision of the company at the beginning of the activities? Has the vision evolved?

MC: Our goal in the beginning was to vertically integrate as fast as possible. We soon realized this is not easy in the cannabis space. Instead we pivoted our strategy from vertical integration to specific service areas. That’s where we came into contract growing. Considering the stage in our start-up plan, contract growing made sense. Direct to consumer path is capital intensive and not easy for those who aren’t prepared, so we elected to focus on doing one thing well, and that is growing dope craft buds! Contract growing afforded us the option to get our product sold without having to incur expensive packaging, labelling, and Provincial Dist. Fees, let alone excise taxes and the headaches of dealing with provincial supply contracts. Keeping it simple is advised in the beginning, focus on the real important stuff and what is happening in the grow room. We are moving into 2022 with this attitude. Our vision is to continue to build a legacy for Micro Crops to be known as one of the premier Micro Cultivators in Canada. We look forward to all the new cultivars being brought into the legal space and look to leverage our skills to make those cultivars pop. 

What is your Market?  

"We believe Cannabis is similar to the wine and craft beer industries."

MC: The types of clients we attract are those that can appreciate the finer details of Cannabis. Taste, Smell, Texture, Aesthetics, all get very closely scrutinized and go into the decision-making process when selecting a cultivar to grow and the lighting spectrum applied to them. We make sure all our flowers are whole plants hung dry, hand trimmed, and cured for min. 2-3 weeks before it hits a jar. People that appreciate the fine details of cannabis would pick up on these features. But this is not meant to exclude those with a little less experience, at micro crops we focus on the finer details to create differentiating aspects of our flower. We then look to educate our consumers on these differences. This allows for even the novice user to understand our product, the inputs, and the difference craft from corporate.

What types of products MC puts on the market?

MC: We aim to produce only high-end handcrafted products. Our preferred products are dried and cured cannabis flower, hash and pre-rolls.

What is your preferred growing cultivation? 

MC: We have chosen an indoor conventional growing model using rockwool or coco substrate. We use the best lights on the market, Photontek full spectrum LEDs. We push the boundaries of what can be achieved with as little space as possible, to achieve this we need maximum quality and maximum yield. For this reason, I was in search of a light fixture that had a very good PPFD distribution and that showed high values along the boundary of a 5x5 footprint.

"After comparing specs across all leading LEDs on the market, the Photontek XT 1000w fixture demonstrated the average PPFD was greater than the competitors."

MC: The fixture is lightweight, and easy to assemble. I am presently measuring above 700 micromole at the edge of the canopy and have well over 1500 throughout the center.

MC: Compared to the leading COB style fixture, the bar style fixture of Photontek allowed for removal of bars to reduce heat load, adjust lighting, or otherwise adapt the light to what the plant needs. It also allows for easier replacement down the road. The fixtures also allow for the ballast to be removed and placed in a different room which further reduces heat load.” No issues hitting those high DLI targets while reducing HVAC loads. You will need to run CO2 to take advantage of the extra PAR levels.

The Photontek XT 1000w CO2 LED selected by Micro Crops Inc.

Why did you choose this model?

MC: Growers are creatures of habit. I grow this way because it is what I am comfortable with. But we do experiments. For example, I designed and built my own vertical wall hydroponic system, this really changes the way you grow and even see the plant. So although we have our sure fire ways, we are always learning new techniques and tricks. 

How did you select your cultivars?

MC: This is really my favourite part of the process, selecting cultivars to grow is a very meticulous process. We look for a variety of features (phenotypes). Some fo more notable parameters are:
· Vigor
· Bud size and shape
· Internodal gap distance
· Calyx to pistil ratio
· Trichome distribution, density and type
· THC levels
· Terpene profiles
· Flower cycle length
· Foliage production rate
· Resistance to pests and disease
· And characteristics of how the feed and their water uptake.

MC: There are many more traits we look at. But these are some of the main ones.

What are your genetics that made your reputation ?

MC: We carry a variety of in house cultivars stabilized and seeded from our legacy days. Currently we are running a crop of First Class Funk by Ghost drops and bred my Motherlabs. We also carry a legendary Larry cultivar bred by Apollo Green Inc. We are now licensed to produce and supply high end clone varieties for micro and LP. We are proud to support LP and micro to build their reputation based on the best genetics in the market.

What will influence the choice of your next cultivar selections?

MC: Cannabis industry is constantly changing. Right now, we are growing high potency and terpene profiles which is what the market likes, we also look for large buds that carry lots of trichome and colour. But these trends are likely to fade as the consumer becomes more educated on cannabis flower, and the impact of entourage effect. Such changes will require us to grow more cannabinoid rich and complex cultivars that leverage this entourage effect. Hopefully this means less emphasis on High THC and more on the composition of cannabinoids present in the flower (ie. CBD, CBG. CBN. THC etc).

— The market —

How is the market performing since legalization?

MC: We are seeing a steady increase in legal sales, in fact they surpassed black market recently. I think the legalization market is still very young and does not quite know what it wants yet. We see this huge gravitation to high potency products and flowers, retailers are really selling the consumer on high potency. The unfortunate part is THC is the only cannabinoid of interest in this conversation and customers are losing out on the entourage effect that all the other cannabinoids in combination with each can produce. When we focus only on THC, we are basically diluting this wonderful plant from 15+ cannabinoids to only 1-2 cannabinoids. I think this will change though, it will require more education courtesy of the budtenders, to bring about this conversation when talking to customers.

Have customer consumption patterns changed?

MC: I feel like they slowly are, and we can only expect that they will. The more people interact with cannabis the more educated they get. As long as we continue to lead and educate the customer, consumption patterns will evolve. I strongly feel that flowers will always be the staple product and smoking will be the predominant consumption method. Interestingly over the last 3 years we saw a rise and fall in flower supplanted by an increase in vape/concentrates usage, and now we see that many vape pen skus are stagnant with craft flowers taking off along with concentrates made from craft flowers. So it's going to continue to change and 5 years from now we may not recognize the cannabis space as it once was. We also see a shift in demographic with younger consumers entering the market and the older ones learning new ways. So this will also bring about a change in culture surrounding cannabis which will influence consumption methods.

What do you think are the main characteristics that customers are looking for?

MC: Customers want quality and consistency. At Micro Crops we aim for top notch bud aesthetics such as density, stickiness, and structure, we look for great terpene strength and unique signature aromas, and a dryness in the 11-14% range.

Compared to your initial vision, has the market changed or evolved?

MC: The market has both changed and evolved. Vertical integration was a big thing when I started, but I now see the need for more differentiated cannabis businesses that help larger producers with the smaller tasks. This is where I see Micro Space evolving. We are low overhead companies that can perform services with cannabis for low cost. WE serve as a great alternative for many brands to get their products processed, packaged or grown. Next, the biggest way the industry has changed is in terms of facilities. In the Early days it was about building the biggest and most technologically sophisticated facility, now we see the best product grown in small rooms, using manual/legacy era cultivation methods. Hence the rise of the Micro Cultivator.

What are your apprehensions about the market for the coming years?

MC: I think the provincial governments need to step away from the cannabis supply chain. Licensed Cannabis Cultivators and processors should be able to sell directly to their customers and provide them products without the government being the middleman. The taxes on these products are concerning and this will price most consumers out of the legal cannabis market forcing them to go to the black market for cheaper products that aren't insanely taxed. Another apprehension is this focus on high THC. Although it sounds appealing, many consumers don’t like the extreme psychoactive effect of highly potent cannabis, some prefer a more-mild THC that allows for several doses throughout the day. It's not just about high THC, we need to broaden our understanding of this plant and produce cultivars that offer a broadening experience for different people.

How have you adapted?

MC: Although I say the above, I speak for the entire industry. Micro Crops will continue to provide high potency THC because that is what we are good at, and what we see the craft market liking. 

"We are going to keep it small, stay true to our craft roots, and educate our consumers."

— Conclusion —

Micro crops is a successful model to be inspired by for companies who want to start their cannabis production operations. You have to be smart in the way you start a new business in this field. Too many people have a vision of becoming a multinational company, but success comes through hard work, passion and the desire to go beyond your limits. The cannabis industry is a unique world. You should not hesitate to surround yourself with competent partners and consultants who will be able to guide and support you throughout your journey to build a successful business like Micro crops.