If you are looking to enter the oft-lucrative world of cannabis cultivation, but do not have a lot of room, micro cultivation could be the answer you seek. Similar to craft brewing, micro cultivation allows you to produce small batches of cannabis, creating high-quality products again and again. Before you can get started, you need to know just what micro cultivation is —and the best ways to move forward on this path to business success.
Micro Cultivation Defined
In Canada, cultivation licenses are split between large-scale productions and craft cannabis operations, giving you plenty of options in how to run your business. Micro cultivation differs from large-scale operations in that the production area can only be a max of 200 square meters, or 2,150 square feet.
For all intents and purposes, the production area refers to the canopy of the plants, or the surface area of their vegetation, not the floor space in the facility. So, if you elect to maximize your yields with vertical gardening, you will need to control growth to remain within these limits.
The grow room size limit applies to each facility you operate, however, often allowing you to run many sites under a single license. At each facility, the indoor and outdoor growing spaces are deemed a single entity. So, to stay under the limit, you must add up the surface area of all plants, indoors and out, to operate within the confines of the law.
Furthermore, at each site, you can only produce up to 600 kilograms, or 1,322 pounds, of cannabis each year if you hold a micro-processing license. Under a micro cultivation license alone, you do not have to abide by that production limit.
A Look at Application Requirements
To run a micro cultivation operation, you will need to apply for the appropriate license. Your application needs to include a site plan that details the perimeters of the floorplan in the building and highlights your cultivation area. Your site plan should have labels that clearly indicate where you will grow and store the cannabis and how it will be transported between the rooms.
Furthermore, you will need to indicate whether your grow operations will use vertical arrangements or traditional layouts, showing how the plants’ surface area will abide by the limits.
In addition to these detailed site plans, you will need to provide a video showing a guided tour of your intended site. Include all indoor and outdoor areas in this tour, indicating where you will grow and store the cannabis. Highlight the site perimeter well and clearly show the physical barrier used to secure the site.
You will also need to outline all the physical security methods that will be used to keep your production and storage areas secure. These security methods should also detail how you will restrict access to the proper individuals, keeping your products out of the wrong hands.
After getting all the proper documentation together, you can submit your application along with all the necessary fees. All that is left to do after that point is wait.
Getting Started with Micro Cultivation
Once you submit your completed application, you can expect to wait at least nine months for a decision. With approval, you can get started in preparing the site for your cannabis cultivation operations. Then, you just have to get your plants in the ground to start working toward success in this industry.
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