S1 E13 Robert Elam - Quality First, Then Quantity

High Finance Podcast

It’s not all about yield and pounds, it’s about a sustainable, quality product. Robert Elam knows because he and his partners are constantly experimenting to deliver rich, popular strains of cannabis from a grow farm that emphasizes organic growth and a small production footprint. Robert and company of friends have taken patient years to construct their own grow facility and to do it on their own capital rather than take on partners who might not share their values. And they are their own distributors, so Robert is in constant contact with the dispensaries who report what the consumer wants and demands. How did cannabis find you? Young. Found early in school, started to grow as a young adult. Has an organic landscaping company, so plants are a natural outgrowth. But also has a business degree, so when he got his first job, it really catapulted him into the industry. Came to Oregon because of a woman - to whom he is now married - who lived in Oregon and with whom he reconnected. Was tough at first, took six months to get a job and now is in a gorgeous facility. Was approached by person now his business partner who found a great space on Craigslist. They put in their life savings, did as much of the work by themselves as they could and built it out slowly and got rooms on line one at a time. As money came in, they expanded so they have done it all on their own. Partner had a structural engineering degree, which was a great asset. Keep up on lighting and atmospheric controls. Also try to keep footprint at a minimum for electricity and water usage. The Team: Most have been friends for years. Has known his business partner for eight years, have known gardeners for years as well. Small team with lots of knowledge and work collaboratively. Use a trellis system. Stake plants out when they are ready for their potting, then spread out to get the middle of the plant exposed. Three plants per cart and have large plants with big canopy. Only flower the number of plants for whom they have cards. Working with state regulatory bodies has been pretty smooth so far. Application has been accepted and waiting for site inspection. Going to change grow routine to smaller plants but more plants. Why? Because vegetative time to get large plants is months, so want to reduce the time and improve yields. Also, more manageable and less time for disease to set in before harvest. And large plants more apt for branches to break and lost yield. Had opportunity to test two identical grow rooms, one synthetic and one organic. Synthetic yield was superior but organic quality was superior. So decided to go all organic. Fit with their personal lives and professional goals. Quality first, then yield. Other way around much more difficult. If you’re not doing the breeding yourself, you must be incredibly careful of taking another company’s cuttings. Cherry Pie, Cotton Candy Cush have been really popular strains. Try to grow only the “incredible” strains. Currently in 8-10 shops. Started out with 33 but had to limit quantities. Also added difficulty with dealing with so many shops. So current number is more manageable. They do their own distribution. What’s it like being a grower working with the shops? At the end of the day, it’s obvious what strains the consumers want, which allows the grower to make selections. Don’t get that feedback unless you deal with the dispensary directly as Robert does. If you are only in the garden, you just don’t hear from the consumer. Leafly good publication for a consumer who is a novice. Not anything very useful for dispensaries and growers. Won DOPE award for best producer. Have won others.