Marijuana Business Magazine April 2019

Marijuana Business Magazine | April 2019 84 T o make smart business decisions, extraction companies need to closely track every order that comes in from cannabis growers supplying product. Diligent recordkeepers go beyond the simple logging of price and weight of the raw cannabis material they take in. They also record everything from terpene content and potency to the amount of time the crop takes to process. Once the relevant details have been recorded, savvy extraction-business owners can leverage the data to negotiate better deals from their roster of growers and provide feedback to cultivators to help improve the quality of the crop they provide. “It’s absolutely imperative that you keep records because it does not matter what the grower tells you,” said Guy Rocourt, founder and chief products officer for Papa & Barkley, an infused cannabis products company in Eureka, California. “All that matters is testing and their ability to execute.” Weight Loss Plan At Peak Extracts in Portland, Oregon, CEO Katie Stem tracks the intake weight from producers and logs how much oil is made from each order. But she also tracks and records mois- ture loss as well as the stems she discards from each batch of plant material her company processes. In one example, a farm she worked with sent over 5 kilograms (11 pounds) of raw cannabis, but an entire kilogram turned out to be just stems. According to Stem, when she let the grower know, one official from the vendor’s company told her, “I’m so sorry, please keep track of that for this batch.” That grower ended up giving her an extra kilogram for extraction. “They were super sweet about it,” she said. “And we haven’t had any problems since.” Stem uses QuickBooks and spreadsheets to record her intake. If a grower gives her material that wasn’t dried properly—say it’s 20% Cannabis extraction companies can make better financial decisions, retain customers and maximize oil production by keeping thorough records about the plant material they receive from growers, detailing terpene content, potency, etc. They can then leverage that data in their decisionmaking. Among other things, extractors should consider: • Recording both the crop’s wet and dry weights. • Tracking the amount of oil or other concentrates each batch yields. • Going beyond tracking only potency results by also looking for robust terpene profiles. • Leveraging the compiled data to negotiate better deals in the future and line up quality crops. • Sharing the data with growers to help them fine-tune their cultivation practices. Keeping careful records and comparing prices of the material you’re receiving from growers can help you negotiate better deals and improve revenue numbers. Photo Courtesy of Peak Extracts