Cultivators ’ Corner
NEWS
Plants are living organisms — they can feel the human energy that lives is in the room .
Editorial by Clayton Stallings
The headline of this article is by far one of my favorite quotes given from all my interviews while covering the Missouri MMJ industry . ONLY because the Flora Farms cultivation director , JT Fugere , said it and included his own ego as well . Many experienced commercial growers start with humble beginnings , but few carry it along the long road of gaining expertise . However , before I get to JT ’ s story , let ’ s re-cap Flora Farms ’ first cultivation director , Mark Buddemeyer ( AKA Budd ), who we covered in our August 2019 issue ( pg . 37 ).
Budd was born in Raytown , MO , and started his cannabis career in 2010 , sweeping floors at High Country Healing dispensary in Colorado . He worked his way up and eventually became the lead grower for its cultivation in 2012 . His garden with High Country Healing was featured in High Times Magazine four years in a row from 2012 – 2015 . He would later become director of operations of a five-acre medical grow and extraction in Jamaica , working in unison with the University of Technology and Steep-Hill Labs to draft twenty pages of recommended regulations for the Cannabis Licensing Authority in 2017 . Budd brought all this experience and expertise back to his home state of Missouri and joined the Flora Farms team in the early stages of construction , compliance , and licensing .
“ The first goal was how do we get this thing up and running the correct way ,” explained Budd . With the first of three buildings complete , it was time to start growing — but in actuality , it was time for him to start teaching . Budd had 100 employees with little-to-no experience growing , and they were about to get a crash course in cultivating cannabis . “ I started teaching soil grow methods because soil is a lot more forgiving than our current hydroponic method ,” said Budd . “ Hydroponic methods are not only known for accelerated growth but accelerated death . If you don ’ t know what you are looking for , there is no time to fix it . Soil growing helped us get everyone ’ s feet wet before we made the switch to hydroponics .”
Cultivation facility in Colorado Springs , CO . Knowing he wanted to lend his hands to growing instead of guarding , JT left his guard position to start at the very bottom of the grow operation as a trimmer . Many months later , he worked his way up to assistant cultivator . “ It took me about five years to become the director of cultivation , but it was a much smaller grow than what we have now at Flora Farms ,” said JT .
JT joined the Flora Farms team last October when the grow was really coming along , but the most significant thing he understood besides growing plants — is people management .
Flora Farms first Cultivation Director Mark Buddemeyer ( AKA Budd ) with ( on right ) cultivator JT Fugere who grew up in Northern California and grew cannabis at an early age . A veteran , JT went on to join the Army becoming a Military Police ( MP ) and now he ’ s back to growing cannabis . Today , both are up to their heads in a medical cannabis crop nearing harvest for patients .
Later after the second building was complete , the crash course had quickly turned newbie growers into room captains and assistants . With over 140 employees and a third building on the way , it was time to hire another cultivation director .
JT Fugere grew up in Northern California and was growing cannabis in the black market at an early age . After getting in trouble with cannabis at early age , JT joined the Army and ironically became a Military Police ( MP ). “ I ’ m not gonna lie , I missed cannabis the whole time I was in the Army and wished all veterans had access to it ,” admitted JT . After his service , cannabis laws were changing , and JT used his military experience to land a security guard job for Nature ’ s Way
24 March 2022