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Flora Farms
Growing
Flora Farms is known for growing a wide variety of high-quality marijuana and growing its business . After opening its doors in 2020 , Flora Farms has become a leader in Missouri ’ s cannabis market , and the company continues to expand . Currently , Flora Farms is one of the largest wholesale cannabis growers in the state and has five retail stores . With locations in Springfield , Ozark , Neosho , Humansville , and Lee ’ s Summit , it ’ s not stopping there . The team has been busy expanding its manufacturing operation and opening two new stores with its latest growth spurt .
Expanding Horizons
When Flora Farms built its original cultivation building in 2020 , it was 55,000 square feet . The team quickly doubled its operation with a second building in January 2021 . However , when adult use passed , they knew a second building would not be enough and started planning for the third . The third building spans just over 60,000 square feet and began operations in December . The new building includes one vegetation room and nine flower rooms . In addition to the extra growing space , another big change is happening with the third building — LED lights .
Previously , LED technology wasn ’ t advanced enough to make them a viable option for Flora Farms . However , that changed recently , and the company is making the switch to the newest LEDs in its new building , which should help cut energy costs significantly and improve quality .
“ Due to the LEDs , we ’ ll be able to have a 30 % reduction in energy costs while keeping the yield per square foot about the same or even a bit higher ,” says Mark ( Budd ) Buddemeyer ,
Flora Farms ’ director of cultivation . The team expected to see a reduction in cost but were pleasantly surprised to see that the yield was just as high and , in some cases , higher than traditional grow lights . The strong yields weren ’ t the only positive surprise . “ LEDs produce less heat and stress ,” says Buddemeyer . “ So , we ’ re seeing the LED lights produce a more complex terpene profile .”
The third building was completed at the end of 2023 . Once it ’ s fully operational , the team expects the new building to produce around 4,000 additional pounds of cannabis per month . However , this is not the only exciting new development for Flora Farms .
New Year , New Stores
Flora Farms is not only expanding its wholesale operation but also growing its retail footprint . At the beginning of this year , Flora Farms opened a state-line superstore on the Arkansas / Missouri state line just north of Bentonville . They also broke ground on a new store in Hollister .
A lot of thought went into the design of both buildings . “ Our goal is to provide a better customer experience through a larger product assortment , more product availability , shorter wait times , and more convenience ,” says Mary Kate Black , Flora Farms ’ director of retail .
The new location , which is right on the state line of Missouri and Arkansas , has 14 registers . It also has a drive-through and a large waiting room . The whole store has been tailored to create an unmatched cannabis shopping experience .
As for the Hollister location , Flora Farms was able to design the store from the ground up , which is very exciting for Black . “ Most of our stores were built to serve the medical market ,” she says . “ They weren ’ t designed to accommodate the adult-use market . It ’ s great to have been able to design this store from scratch .” Like the state line location , Hollister will also have a large vault , comfortable waiting room , and a drive-through . Flora Farms broke ground on the project on December 7 ,
and the projected completion date is spring 2024 .
With a huge cultivation expansion and two new store locations , Flora Farms continues to make an impact on the Missouri marijuana market . We ’ re excited to see what they do next because it seems like Flora Farms isn ’ t done growing yet .
Learn more about Flora Farms locations and products at www . florafarmsmo . com .
The EVOLUTION Magazine Newsroom
30 January 2024