MjLink Cannabis Business News and Press
West Coast wildfires in 2020 have killed at least 40 people, burned over 5 million acres of land and leveled more than 7,000 buildings, according to The New York Times. Fatalities from the smoke number in the thousands, the Associated Press reports.
Cannabis industry entrepreneurs’ and workers’ livelihoods have not been spared, with blazes reaching hemp farms and state-legal cannabis grows and dispensaries in California, Washington and Oregon. And when wildfires surround a grow—even if they’re miles away—smoke, soot and ash can mar product quality.
The Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC) has been monitoring the ongoing crisis in that state. Mark Pettinger, spokesman for the OLCC, told Cannabis Business Times and Cannabis Dispensary that as of Sept. 29, the agency has confirmed that four fires have destroyed 12 Oregon businesses. Those are:
On Sept. 15, fire officials said the Almeda Fire had been completely contained, according to The Oregonian. The South Obenchain Fire was 96% contained as of Sept. 29, per KMVU Fox 26 Medford.
On Sept. 28, Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) stated, “The Beachie Creek, Archie Creek, and Holiday Farm fires are all over 55% contained, and almost all of the uncontained areas are far away from where people live. The Riverside Fire remains just 37% contained, but officials say there’s little chance the fire will grow in the next few days.”
OPB also reported that fire officials have seen hotspots from the Slater Fire, which is active in Oregon and California, diminish.
Arkansas’ medical cannabis sales have surpassed 24,000 pounds of product, according to a KARK.com report, with the state’s patients spending $154 million on medical cannabis since sales launched in May 2019.
The state has 83,779 patients, the news outlet reported, with 29 dispensaries currently open and eight more working toward becoming operational.
Earlier this month, dispensaries’ average daily sales reached $600,000.
The University of Montana’s Bureau of Business and Economic Research released a study earlier this month estimating that a legal cannabis market in the state could generate between $43.4 million and $52 million in annual tax revenue, according to an NBC Montana report.
The figures are based on a 20% tax on legal cannabis sales that is included in Initiative 190, a measure on Montana’s 2020 ballot that would legalize adult-use cannabis in the state.
RELATED: Montana Legalization Campaign Looks Ahead to November Ballot Issue
New Approach Montana, the campaign behind the ballot initiative, submitted enough signatures in June to place two complementary measures on this year’s ballot. I-90 is a statutory initiative that would legalize, regulate and tax cannabis, and CI-118 is a constitutional initiative that would set the legal age for purchasing, possessing and consuming cannabis at 21.
The Montana Secretary of State certified both measures for the November ballot in August, and the Governor’s Office of Budget and Program Planning estimated at that time that legal cannabis could generate $3.5 million in tax revenue in fiscal year 2022, with the market growing to $38.5 million in 2025, according to a Great Falls Tribune report.
Just two weeks ago, the Nebraska Supreme Court ruled that a 2020 ballot initiative to legalize medical cannabis violates the single subject rule as outlined in the state constitution and could not go before voters this November. Advocates who put forward the measure, gathered the required signatures and received approval from the Nebraska secretary of state have announced they are already working on a constitutional amendment for voters to decide on in 2022.
Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana filed new petition language with Secretary of State Robert Evnen Sept. 28 that the committee intends to qualify for the November 2022 ballot in Nebraska, according to a press release. State Senators Anna Wishart and Adam Morfeld, co-chairs of Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana, are co-sponsoring the initiative, that reads, “Persons in the State of Nebraska shall have the right to cannabis in all its forms for medical purposes.”
RELATED: Nebraskans For Medical Marijuana Meets Signature Requirement for 2020 Ballot Initiative
The 2020 ballot language, which would have amended the state constitution, would have both legalized possession, consumption and the purchase of cannabis for individuals with serious medical conditions if recommended by a licensed physician or nurse practitioner, and provided a means to access it by authorizing private entities to cultivate, process, produce, test and sell medical cannabis products, among other details.
"After carefully reviewing the opinion from the five [Nebraska] Supreme Court judges who ruled to remove the 2020 initiative from the ballot, Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana decided to take the route of the successful effort of casino gaming supporters and file a simple, one-sentence constitutional right that will then be followed with trailing statutory initiatives to set up a safe and secure medical cannabis system in Nebraska," the group wrote in the press release.
In 1971, philosopher John Rawls came up with the “Veil of Ignorance.” The concept is pretty simple: You start with the idea that you know nothing of your circumstances at birth—wealth, gender, education, etc.—and then ask yourself if you would be ok with the current social contract in which you live.
Let’s conduct this thought experiment for the current cannabis industry: Imagine you do not know anything about your current situation—capital, abilities, partners, etc. Would you sign up to make a go of it in today’s cannabis industry with its poorly implemented regulations, federal illegality, non-experts peddling their expertise, and the still thriving illicit market? Probably not. But, given you are reading this you are most likely in the cannabis business (as we are), and the best course forward is to deal with the cannabis world as it is, not as you want it to be.
Here are the six lessons we wish we had learned prior to our entrance into the cannabis industry in hopes that they might lead you to better outcomes.
1. Be wary of “experts.”
The order in which you learn your hard-knock lessons depends on your circumstances. Sooner or later, you learn not to trust experts with steering your business decisions. Whether lawyers, accountants, consultants, or your stoner uncle, do not take advice without a heavy dose of skepticism. Take the advice as input into your decision process. Ask around for multiple opinions. Even on a hard and fast legal matter on which you are being advised has no maneuvering room, allow for the possibility the expert might be wrong.
In our experience, there are no experts in legal cannabis, just a bunch of people in this newly created legal industry with differing levels of ignorance. Illicit-market operators going legit have a lot to offer, but keep in mind they might not have any experience operating in a regulated environment. Additionally, newly minted experts, as a rule, do not have significant expertise in newly morphing industries.
Hawaii Gov. David Ige has signed legislation into law that allows the sale of cannabis edibles in the state, according to NORML.
The bill, H.B. 2097, cleared the legislature in July, and would authorize the state’s eight medical cannabis licensees to produce and sell cannabis-infused edible products for registered patients.
The new law takes effect Jan. 1, 2021, NORML reported, and the Hawaii Department of Health will oversee the creation of rules to regulate the production, labeling and packaging of edible products.
The U.S. House has again included the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act in its latest COVID-19 relief package, as reported by NORML.
The newly proposed legislation is an updated version of The Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act, which the House initially passed in May and which also included the SAFE Banking provisions.
The SAFE Banking Act would allow state-legal cannabis businesses to work with banks and other financial institutions, and was passed as a standalone bill in the House last fall.
“The inclusion of the SAFE Banking Act in the HEROES 2.0 package is a positive development,” said NORML Political Director Justin Strekal in a public statement. “In the majority of states that regulate the marijuana marketplace, cannabis businesses have been deemed essential during this pandemic. Unfortunately, at the federal level, prohibition compounds the problems that this emerging industry faces. Small cannabis businesses in particular are facing tough economic times and access to traditional financial tools will help ensure that they can weather this pandemic."
Portland, Maine, received 43 cannabis dispensary applications last month for the city’s 20 available retail licenses, but a preliminary staff review has found that a dozen of the applicants could be disqualified for not meeting basic requirements such as paying city taxes and fees on time, according to the Portland Press Herald.
The 12 applicants could be disqualified for not having a conditional state cannabis license, being more than 30 days late on paying a local tax or fee in the last five years, having unresolved land-use violations, or planning to operate a dispensary too close to a school or in the wrong zoning district, the news outlet reported.
Portland issued pre-denial letters to the disqualified applicants Sept. 25, according to the Portland Press Herald, and the applicants have 10 days to challenge the disqualification.
The city is still deciding how or if it will be able to use its scoring matrix to award the 20 dispensary licenses, the news outlet reported.
Although Portland approved its local cannabis ordinance in May, its residency bonus for license applicants who have lived in Maine for at least four years was challenged in court by non-local cannabis operator Wellness Connection of Maine, and a federal judge ruled last month that Portland cannot prioritize local businesses in its licensing process.
Michigan issued its first cannabis microbusiness license this month to Onaway’s Sticky Bush Farms, which is now preparing to transition from the state’s caregiver market to adult-use sales.
The vertically integrated license, meant for smaller craft operators, will allow the company to grow up to 150 plants that can be processed into oil, edibles and other products for sale in an adult-use storefront.
“The microbusiness license allows us to be able to do pretty much everything under one roof,” Sticky Bush Farms owner Ben Kolasa tells Cannabis Business Times and Cannabis Dispensary, adding that the company will grow, process and sell its cannabis in the same building it has been using to serve the caregiver market.
Licensed microbusinesses must be self-contained and cannot acquire cannabis products from third-party cultivators, processors or retailers. Likewise, the licensees cannot sell any products to other licensed businesses along the supply chain.
Sticky Bush Farms plans to bring flower, concentrates, edibles and rosins to Michigan’s adult-use market, and Kolasa sees vertical integration as a key advantage.
The Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) agreed on a framework for cannabis delivery regulations Sept. 24, according to a MassLive.com report.
The proposal would create two types of delivery licenses, the news outlet reported, as well as establish a timeline to implement the new regulations.
The first license type, a “limited delivery license,” would allow a licensee to charge a fee to deliver from licensed cannabis dispensaries, according to MassLive.com. The second license type, a “wholesale delivery license,” would allow a licensee to buy cannabis wholesale from licensed cultivators and manufacturers, store it in a warehouse and sell it to consumers, the news outlet reported.
The draft regulations set a $1,500 application fee for both license types, as well as a $5,000 annual license fee for limited delivery licenses and a $10,000 annual license fee for wholesale delivery licenses, according to MassLive.com, although the CCC will waive the application fee and first-year license fee for limited delivery licenses and reduce the fees by half in the second year.
The delivery licenses will be available only to Social Equity Program applicants and certified economic empowerment applicants for the first three years, the news outlet reported.
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) announced Sept. 26 that a medical cannabis testing facility passed its commencement inspection, according to a press release.
Now that a testing facility has received final approval, the state’s medical cannabis supply chain is fully operational with cultivation, dispensary and testing facilities.
“We appreciate how hard these businesses have worked to become operational,” DHSS Director of the Section for Medical Marijuana Regulation Lyndall Fraker said in a public statement. “These facilities have made it through a demanding review, and we look forward to their success in providing safe access to medical marijuana in Missouri.”
Medical cannabis sales are expected to launch soon, according to the announcement.
“The implementation of this program has been efficient yet thorough,” DHSS Director Dr. Randall Williams said in a public statement. “Much has been said in recent months of how rigorous our compliance processes are, and Missourians should be assured that this industry will be well-regulated, just as Article XIV and Missouri voters envisioned."
The New Jersey Legislature has approved a bill that would allow doctors to use telemedicine to recommend medical cannabis to their patients, according to a Cape May County Herald report.
The bill, A-1635/S-619, cleared the Assembly in a 68-6-3 vote Sept. 24 after previously passing the Senate in a 36-1 vote, the news outlet reported.
The legislation would allow certain patients with limited access to in-office consultations to receive medical cannabis recommendations from their doctors via telemedicine, according to the Cape May County Herald. Other patients would be required to attend one in-office consultation but could then have future recommendations renewed using telemedicine, the news outlet reported.
“The pain relief, muscle relaxation, nausea prevention and anxiety reduction of medical marijuana are too important to the people suffering from severe medical conditions to be hindered by in-person doctor visitation requirements,” the bill’s sponsors, Assemblywomen Pamela Lampitt (D-6th) and Joann Downey (D-11th) said in a public statement. “This bill will utilize today’s technology to help provide easier access to this beneficial medication on behalf of the people who need it the most."
A legislative committee in Washington is considering changes to the state’s cannabis regulations, according to The Spokesman-Review, including altering the rules regarding product labeling and how to track the research supported by cannabis tax revenue.
The House Commerce and Gaming Committee held a recent “work session” while the legislature is adjourned, the news outlet reported, and discussed whether to increase the amount of information included on cannabis product labels.
The committee also discussed how to keep track of the increasing number of cannabis research studies that are supported by a portion of the tax revenue generated from legal cannabis sales, including a range of studies conducted by Washington State University, according to The Spokesman-Review.
In addition, the legislature could take up a bill next year to limit cannabis concentrates to 10% THC, and the state’s current potency limits for cannabis products were also considered at the recent work session, the news outlet reported.
With just over 30 days until Election Day, the cannabis industry is surely wondering what impact the results of the 2020 election could have on cannabis policy reform efforts, particularly when it comes to the presidential race between Donald Trump and Joe Biden.
“The industry has two choices, like the rest of the country—more of the same or change,” Mark Alderman, chairman of Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies, tells Cannabis Business Times and Cannabis Dispensary. “More of the same looks like where we are now [with Trump] in the White House and [Majority Leader Mitch] McConnell in the Senate. As we’ve seen in the past four years and as I would expect to see the next four years if they win, … the prospects for federal action on cannabis would be minimal.”
As far as Biden, while the former vice president was largely a prohibitionist during his time as a senator, some industry stakeholders say that he, like much of the American public, has evolved quite a bit on the issue since then.
“Biden’s history as a senator, by and large, was pretty terrible on this issue,” says Kris Krane, founder and president of 4Front Ventures, the parent company of Mission Dispensaries. “When I was working professionally in Washington, D.C. on the reform side of this issue, we had two major opponents on the Democratic side of the aisle and that was Dianne Feinstein and Joe Biden. He was always a drug warrior. He was never supportive of reform. He was arguably one of the worst Democrats in the Senate on this issue, so it gives me a little bit of pause about him being a real advocate for any kind of reform, given that he’s always been a pretty staunch prohibitionist.”
Still, Krane acknowledges that Biden now supports decriminalization and expungement, as well as allowing states to set their own cannabis policies.
This week, the Vermont Legislature sent a proposal to tax and regulate cannabis sales to Gov. Phil Scott for his consideration. Elsewhere, in Illinois, Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced that cannabis dispensary applicants will have a second chance to qualify for a licensing lottery for the 75 available licenses.
Here, we’ve rounded up the 10 headlines you need to know before this week is over.
Federal: A new bill in Congress would allow cannabis businesses to access federal disaster relief programs. Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Reps. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Peter DeFazio (D-OR) introduced the Small Business Disaster Relief Equity Act Sept. 24 to bar federal agencies from denying disaster relief to state-legal cannabis businesses solely because of their cannabis related activities. Read moreVermont: The Vermont House approved a deal on a bill to tax and regulate cannabis sales in the state, sending it to the Senate for a final vote. The House and Senate agreed on the compromise proposal Sept. 15 to create a legal cannabis market in the state. Read moreThe Vermont Senate then voted Sept. 22 to approve the compromise proposal to legalize cannabis sales, sending the final bill to Gov. Phil Scott for consideration. Scott said at a Sept. 18 press conference that lawmakers have addressed many of his concerns about a legal cannabis marketplace and have “come a long ways” in creating legislation to allow legal sales. Read moreOklahoma: The Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority (OMMA) has signed a contract with Metrc to implement a statewide seed-to-sale system to track cannabis plants and products in the state’s medical cannabis market. The system will track medical cannabis plants and products from a plant’s growth stage through the sale to patients, and is part of OMMA’s broader efforts to ensure accountability and safety in the state’s medical cannabis market. Read moreIllinois: Gov. J.B. Pritzker has announced that cannabis dispensary applicants will get a second chance to qualify for the state’s licensing lottery following backlash over the licensing process. Applicants who did not receive the maximum score of 252 points will be able to amend their applications or challenge their scores, and the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation issue final scores for each application before moving forward with the licensing lottery. Read moreCresco Labs has announced the approval and the location of its tenth Illinois dispensary in Naperville. The adult-use dispensary is located in one of the busiest shopping areas in Naperville, the third largest city in Illinois with approximately 150,000 residents. Read moreMaryland: Ethos Cannabis, a multi-state operator with operations and investment interests in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Florida and Arizona, has officially acquired the right to manage and ultimately purchase Maryland medical cannabis dispensaries of 4Front Ventures Corp., which are currently operated under the Mission brand. Ethos is acquiring the rights to manage and ultimately own three operational dispensary licenses in Rockville, Catonsville and Hampden, Md., which are all in the Baltimore and Washington, D.C. areas. Read moreMichigan: The Michigan Legislature gave final approval this week on legislation that would automatically expunge cannabis-related convictions, sending the bills to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Included in the bipartisan package of six “clean-slate” bills are provisions that would launch an automated expungement process in roughly two and a half years. Read morePuerto Rico: Tropizen announced earlier this month the completion of its first commercial cannabis harvest grown in its recently added 10,000-square-foot outdoor cultivation facilities. The new harvest, destined for both flower sales and the manufacture of infused medicinal products, arrives as patient demand for cannabis flower in Puerto Rico continues to surpass available market supply. Read moreInternational: Marlborough-based Puro has received a license to grow New Zealand’s largest medical cannabis crop to date. The license, granted by the Ministry of Health, allows Puro to grow up to 90,000 low-THC cannabis plants, which will be exported internationally. Read moreRoseland, NJ – September 25, 2020 – PRESS RELEASE – After keeping New Jersey residents quarantined for months, the coronavirus is impacting what voters think about legalizing cannabis for recreational use, according to a new poll conducted by the Cannabis Law Practice of the New Jersey law firm Brach Eichler LLC. One out of five likely voters said their opinions on cannabis have changed, due to the pandemic that has disrupted everyday life.
The newest Brach Eichler Cannabis Poll also revealed that overall support for the legalization of cannabis in New Jersey remained solid, with 65% supporting it, 29% opposing and 6% unsure. That is statistically similar from the two previous Brach Eichler Cannabis Polls, in July and August. Voter awareness remained strong, with 70% reporting they knew that the question of legalization would be on the ballot this November and 30% saying they were not aware.
Other views on the scope of the legal cannabis marketplace appear somewhat uncertain, however. Support for consumption lounges remains mixed, while voters remain virtually split on whether communities should be able to block sales within their borders. Voters also indicated they were starting to see ads, both for and against the ballot initiative, reflecting the high interest that the cannabis marketplace is attracting.
The Brach Eichler Cannabis Poll questioned 501 registered New Jersey voters from Sept. 8 to Sept. 16, 2020, who said they were likely to vote this November. The margin of error is plus or minus 4.4 percentage points. Brach Eichler, a recognized thought leader in cannabis law, was one of the first New Jersey law firms to form a dedicated cannabis law practice committed to providing advice and counsel to businesses and individuals seeking to understand the complex laws surrounding cannabis.
“The Brach Eichler Cannabis Poll shows that the isolation of quarantining and stress of the pandemic has changed some minds on the recreational use of cannabis,” said John D. Fanburg, co-chair of the Cannabis Law Practice at Brach Eichler. Of those surveyed, 21% said the Covid-19 pandemic has affected how they view recreational cannabis, while 79% said it has not. Of those impacted, 13.5% said they now supported legalization and 7.5% said they now opposed it. The majority of those who said they now favored it identified themselves as either Republicans or Conservatives.
A new bill in Congress would allow cannabis businesses to access federal disaster relief programs, according to a press release from the office of U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR), one of the bill’s primary sponsors.
Merkley, along with Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Reps. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Peter DeFazio (D-OR) introduced the Small Business Disaster Relief Equity Act Sept. 24 to bar federal agencies from denying disaster relief to state-legal cannabis businesses solely because of their cannabis related activities.
The move for relief comes as wildfires continue to burn out west, threatening state-legal cannabis businesses that have historically been excluded from federal disaster relief programs due to cannabis’s Schedule I status.
“Cannabis businesses in Oregon hurt by the blazing wildfires or any other disaster shouldn’t be shut out from federal relief simply because the federal government is stuck in yesteryear,” Wyden said in a public statement. “These legal small businesses employ thousands of workers and support our struggling economy. If they need federal support, they should get it. Full stop.”
“Whether you’re for or against state-legal cannabis, we can all agree that families in all of our communities are struggling to keep the lights on and stay afloat during this turbulent time—and that they need and deserve support,” said Merkley, also in a public statement. “That includes thousands of small business owners, workers and their families who rely on state-legal cannabis businesses for their livelihoods. We have to make sure those families won’t be shut out from critical assistance that can make a real difference.”
The Michigan Legislature gave final approval Sept. 24 on legislation that would automatically expunge cannabis-related convictions, according to a FOX 2 Detroit report.
Included in a bipartisan package of six “clean-slate” bills are provisions that would launch an automated expungement process in roughly two and a half years, the news outlet reported. Those convicted of expungable crimes would have their convictions automatically cleared seven years after their misdemeanor sentence and 10 years after their felony sentence or the completion of their prison term, whichever is most recent.
The measures would also allow those with misdemeanor cannabis convictions to apply to expunge their records sooner if their offenses would not have been considered crimes after Michigan voters legalized adult-use cannabis in 2018, according to FOX 2 Detroit.
The legislation cleared the Senate Sept. 23 before passing the House the next day, and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is expected to sign the bills into law, FOX 2 Detroit reported. Once signed, the law would take effect in late March or early April, according to the news outlet.
[PRESS RELEASE] Tropizen announced on Sept. 1 the completion of its first commercial cannabis harvest grown in its recently added 10,000 square foot outdoor cultivation facilities. The new harvest, destined for both flower sales and the manufacture of infused medicinal products, arrives as patient demand for cannabis flower in Puerto Rico continues to surpass available market supply.
“This harvest represents an important milestone for our company as we continue to expand to meet patient demand for high-quality flower,” said Tropizen co-founder Marni Meistrell. “We are growing cannabis near the base of El Yunque tropical rainforest, following cultivation best practices as we conduct research and test new strains that thrive in this location.”
An additional 7,000 square feet of outdoor cultivation will be added before the end of the year, according to Meistrell. Tropizen recently expanded its cannabis flower production to 400% of original capacity, at an investment of over $1 million. The expansion project included the construction of the new outdoor cultivation space.
READ MORE: Tropizen Finds Success in Puerto Rico’s Cannabis Market
The new harvest is comprised of five of the company’s best performing strains. Tropizen rotates 50 primary strains with 5 secondary strains, including Brian Berry Cough, Ogiesel and Agent Orange, all exclusive to Tropizen in Puerto Rico. One of the company’s priorities going forward is the cropping of rare tropical cultivars as part of its ongoing research and development process.
Meistrell said the company is working on the introduction of a new packaging and grading system for its cannabis flower, incorporating a new pre-packaged midgrade flower product that will be more accessible to patients in terms of price, while offering the same effectiveness as the premium flower.
In early September, a sudden frost stretched across portions of Colorado and neighboring states, causing alarm for hemp farmers just weeks out from harvest. In some cases, highs dropped to around the freezing point; lows hovered in the 20s.
In ideal conditions, hemp is harvest before any frost hits the farm. The crop tends to be somewhat “frost-tolerant,” as the University of Vermont’s 2018 Hemp Cold Tolerance Trial lays out, but farmers should certainly watch out for related changes in moisture levels and even more unusual effects, like branches snapping under the weight of attendant snow.
We spoke with Derek Thomas, vice president of business development at Veritas Farms, a Pueblo, Colo.-based hemp operation, to get a sense of how his company monitors the twists and turns of weather patterns in late summer and early fall. In Pueblo, Veritas got away from the early frost with its 140 acres of hemp fairly unscathed.
But this wasn’t the first time a sudden temperature drop has affected the farm, and lessons abound for all farmers eager to adjust their pre-harvest protocol.
Eric Sandy: What was early September like for Veritas Farms? And what sort of weather monitoring system is in place for the company?
Derek Thomas: It’s such an important topic, especially for a fully vertically integrated brand, because ultimately our crop is our commodity. It's our lifeblood. So, we’re very cautious. We're very considerate and we're always monitoring. We have a number of SOPs implemented at the farm, which help us mitigate any severe weather concerns, both from a monitoring perspective and an action item standpoint. So, we knew that [this early frost] was coming, unfortunately, and we prepped the best we could and we took action immediately after.
And the damage was pretty negligible this year. We really kind of came out of it unscathed. Where we are, the temperature of the day before was a nice 80 degrees, and the snow really melted before the end of the day. So, the ground stayed nice and warm, and the roots of the plants stayed pretty warm. We were pretty fortunate, at least in our neck of the woods, that no real damage was done.
ES: What are some of the red flags or warning signs that farmers might want to watch out for when we're talking about those colder temperatures and snowy situations?
DT: You know, it's definitely going to depend where you're at in your growing cycle. When we're coming into late summer and early fall, that's obviously when a lot of plants are pretty far along in the process. You’re really monitoring humidity levels and ground temperature, but anything that trends toward freezing is when we start to monitor and engage— anything in the low 50s, in the 40s, that's when we're starting to pay attention. The closer we get to freezing, that's where more of our thresholds are triggered in terms of additional monitoring or even action items. So, it's really the temperature that we're monitoring the hardest.
