HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 2016-09-07, Page 31 0 Lucknow Sentinel • Wednesday, September 7, 2016
Kincardine's 7 ACRES greenhouse marks first harvest of medical cannabis
Troy Patterson
Editor
The first harvest of medical
marihuana at Kincardine's 7
ACRES hybrid greenhouse is
setting the stage for what the
company aims to be the larg-
est capacity legal production
facility worldwide.
Staff marked the cutting of
the first medical cannabis
plant during a 'stem cutting'
ceremony that included a
number of gardening staff
and management present on
Aug. 15, 2016.
All of the plants from the
16,500 -square -foot 'Phase
Zero' test greenhouse area
are the first set of cloned
strains of cannabis being
dried, processed, packaged
and shipped for third -party
laboratory testing required
by Health Canada.
About 100 grams from
each of the two harvests, as
well as 100 grams from each
strain of cannabis, will be
tested for potency, consist-
ency, contaminants and
overall quality standards set
to protect what will be the
future medical marihuana
patients buy from the Kin-
cardine -area greenhouse.
"The lab testing is going to
tell us the strength of the
medicine, and then we can
do more fine selection," said
Peter Herburger, 7 ACRES'
director of operations.
"Potency is very important.
The reason going forward is
so we have at least 99 per
cent assurance that the
nwmo
plants we grow from one
mother are the same
potency and consistency."
7 ACRES allowed Kincar-
dine News exclusive access
to Phase Zero to document
the first cut of the company's
harvest, and showcase the
development that has
occurred since the company
started cultivating cannabis
in March 2016.
Walking into the stretch-
ing 'Phase Zero' area
revealed a vast numbers of
skunky, eight -week-old bud-
ding cannabis plants lined in
rows, cared for daily by gar-
dening staff. Fans circulated
the air and the sun shined in
through adjustable blinders
above, past the grow lights
that combined allow for
about 12 hours of sunlight,
or 18 hours earlier in life in
the nursery growing area.
Herburger allowed limited
access for photos of both
Phase Zero and the nursery
growing area, which holds
both the 'mother' plants and
the cannabis clones in their
earliest stages.
Plants are harvested using
detailed procedures and a
custom built drying rack.
During the first cutting, staff
proudly posed for photos
beside cut cannabis plants
hanging on drying racks,
similar to anglers posing
with a fish caught during a
good day on the lake. Whole
plants are then placed into
drying chambers, where
they are dried for 10-14 days,
which the company said
NUCLEAR WASTE SOCIETE DE GESTION
MANAGEMENT DES DECHETS
ORGANIZATION NUCLEAIRES
Troy Patterson/Editor
Sarah Herburger, 7 ACRES vice president and Matt Rogge, director of production, stand within the rows of mature medical cannabis
plants in the 'Phase Zero' area of the facility. The plants were harvested in mid-August, 2016 and the crop is the first of two to be
tested by Health Canada in order for 7 ACRES to receive its license to sell from the federal government.
improves the quality of the
buds. It's then divided into
batches and placed into spe-
cific packaging to ensure
quality in storage. Finally,
the company must take 120
gram representative samples
that are kept for more than
two years as a record of the
product's quality.
The facility has a series of
security and environmental
controls that staff must
strictly adhere to, as the
NWMO Learn More Centre
Everyone is welcome.
Drop in and learn more about Adaptive Phased Management
(APM), and ongoing work in the area. APM is Canada's plan for
the safe, long-term management of used nuclear fuel.
The Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) is
working collaboratively with Huron -Kinloss to consider the
project and advance preliminary assessment studies. The
Township of Huron -Kinloss is one of nine communities involved
in this learning process.
pharmaceutical facility must
regularly demonstrate to
Health Canada compliance
to many regulations, from
sanitation to record keeping
and more.
The federal regulator
shows up for inspections reg-
ularly to ensure all systems
continue to meet regulations,
making for a full day of work
for staff to demonstrate com-
pliance, Herburger said.
Matt Rogge, 7 ACRES'
NWMO Learn More Centre (Huron -Kinloss)
46 Queen St., Ripley ON
(across from Lewis Park)
519.386.6711
Wednesdays
Thursdays
Fridays
10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
•
director of production, said
clones allow for consistency
in production, as the plants
are identical in nearly every
way aside from environmen-
tal impacts, which they are
able to avoid in the con-
trolled environment.
"We can make several thou-
sand, all from the same mother
(plant)," Rogge said. "What
we're doing here is growing out
all the different genetics from
our different mothers. And
we're going to select the best
one and move forward with
that production"
The best 10-12 plants are
analyzed in a lab for things
like potency, and the smell it
will create, of the current nine
strains of medical cannabis
they carry, across more than
300 sets of genetics.
"We'll use that analytical
data, in combination with the
physical traits we can observe
- yield, flower time, resist-
ance to pests," said Rogge.
By the time its Phase 1 is
licensed, the company plans
to have about 20 strains of
medical cannabis growing
for medical patient costum-
ers, Herburger said. They
also plan to increase to over
30 staff this fall, of the 100
total they hope to have at full
production in the coming
years, and are currently
looking for a number of staff
to fill positions from record
keeping, IT and grower
assistants.
CONTINUED > PAGE 11
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