grow
grow
“ One of the most compelling business
aspects of Los Suenos Farms lies in the sheer size of the operation and the subsequent ingenuity of operational logistics on the part of the staff ."
HARVEST OPERATIONS : KEEPING TRACK OF EVERY GRAM
The harvest operations at Los Suenos are indicative of a finely choreographed dance in which 70 temporary employees follow the careful instruction of management personnel . When streamlined , the team can harvest between 800-1,200 plants a day . It is also important to note that the harvest team at the farm is under serious time constraints with the Colorado weather , as mid-October freezes and snow are normal in the Pueblo region . Moreover , the State of Colorado tracking guidelines are strictly mandated in every phase of the harvest operation ; this is serious business and it is not taken lightly . As a result , for Faber , the most challenging element of harvest season is “ keeping a fast pace while remaining compliant .” The harvest procedure at Los Suenos Farms utilizes the infrastructures on premises , with a large influx of temporary employees to aid in the daunting task at hand . With teams split up in various arenas of the farm , they bring down rows of cannabis plants with chainsaws and ship them to a drying room by ATV and trailer . Upon entering the drying room , whole wet plants are weighed for METRC tracking , then bucked down for a more efficient drying process . Once dry , flowers are removed from stems and sent to the processing building for trimming in industrial trim machines . Finally , flowers are stored in large barrels for the curing process .
A crucial element of the entire harvest process at Los Suenos , again , boils down to compliance with the State of Colorado law . To illustrate , the METRC number from the original wholeplant weigh-in must match the weight of the finished flower product plus waste ( leaves , stems , and unusable materials ) for each plant . All this plant material gets weighed several times throughout drying and processing to account for loss of water weight and other variables . Finally , Los Suenos hires an ancillary business to visit the farm and destroy all excess waste on camera for the State of Colorado to witness .
The industrial agriculture approach to cannabis cultivation at Los Suenos Farms is not without its problems or critics . Of course , they face the problems with weather , pests , and labor seen with all farming operations , be they in the cannabis industry or mainstream agriculture . Additionally , being the biggest cannabis grow in the United States puts them on the map for drug war zealots on the local and federal level . However , as Mason explains , the cannabis industry in Pueblo , Colorado , has helped fill the economic void of a wavering steel manufacturing economy in the town . Also , Los Suenos has provided an overabundance of jobs in the region , especially during harvest when they are continually short staffed . All things considered , the problems Los Suenos Farms faces are indicative of their iconoclastic businesses model — a program that is pushing the cannabis industry for progress .
Kent Gruetzmacher , MFA , is a Colorado-based freelance writer and the director of business development at Mac & Fulton Talent Partners , an employment recruiting firm dedicated to the indoor gardening and hydroponics industry . He is interested in utilizing his MA in the Humanities to critically explore the many cultural and business facets of this youthful , emergent industry by way of his entrepreneurial projects .
36 grow . heal . learn . enjoy . myhydrolife . com