Marijuana Business Magazine - Issue 09, Oct 2017

After the book came out in 2015, Cullen’s team read it and incorporated the recommendations. But before Cul- len and his team changed everything in the production facility, they decided to run the new system in the experimental room for two harvests. “If we can get an extra pound per light it’s absolutely worth it to go through that experiment,” Cullen said. About one in four of Colorado Harvest Company’s experiments end up working so that the company incorpo- rates the new technique or equipment into its operation. One at a Time Both Cachat and Cullen emphasized the importance of altering only one variable per experiment. “Don’t increase your CO2 and your nutrients and your light spectrum, because you’re never going to know what was what,” Cachat said. “It’s very important for you to understand what happens when you change one variable at a time. “But you have to know that you’re going to try new genetics and new technologies that are coming out and that are worth putting the time in to explore.” Sticking to one variable can take patience. One experiment can take two months, and Cullen, a former high school biology teacher, likes to run each experiment twice. “One of the most difficult parts of the experimental room is trying to convince everyone there’s enough time to run all of the experiments,” he said. He’s caught his staff changing nutri- ents in the experimental room while at the same time testing different lights. “You just can’t do that,” Cullen said. “You need to have one variable that you’re testing.” Experimentation Isn’t Cheap Cachat recommended that busi- ness owners anticipate a decrease in yield when trying out new lights or other experiments, so separating the experimental space from the main grow operation is important. “As a grower, your primary concern is to consistently produce the same amount of cannabis over and over again so your revenue is pretty steady,” he said. “By setting aside that R&D space, you don’t have to justify to the financial guys or the investors, ‘I’m cutting production here to try and experiment.’” Cullen hasn’t ever lost the entire crop in the experimental space, but he’s been forced to deal with issues from experimenting. He’s tried LED lighting that didn’t produce optimal results, for example. In the case of poorer quality flower, he’ll flash freeze it and send it to extraction for use as hash oil. “So, we never really have a total loss,” Cullen said. “But we do suffer lower yields because of those experiments.” In the end, the experiments that result in a boost to production, such as the Gavita light test, make it worth it and add to the bottom line. “That made up for several experi- ments that did not produce,” Cullen said. “If we came to the table with the mindset that what we do is the abso- lutely best way to do it and there’s no room for improvement, I think you become stagnant. Improvement and streamlining that process is what gives you a competitive advantage.” ◆ A cultivation facility at Colorado Harvest Company in Denver. Photo courtesy of Colorado Harvest Company 50 • Marijuana Business Magazine • October 2017