Despite Late Start, Outdoor Growers Happy to Get Their Hands Dirty

As Vermont’s first cannabis retailers prepare to potentially open their doors in just under two months, a question remains: how much locally-grown product will make it onto their shelves in time for the adult-use launch?

Outdoor growers are hard at work tending their crops, after licensing delays left cultivators with a truncated timeline to get their plants in the ground this year.

The Vermont Cannabis Control Board has approved or issued more than 70 outdoor licenses, including seven social equity applicants and 18 economic empowerment applicants. Most approvals came in late June and July, with 46 outdoor cultivation licenses approved in July alone. The CCB has also approved around 20 licenses for mixed cultivators who are authorized to grow plants indoors and outdoors. 

The late-summer approvals could be a speed bump for outdoor growers who rely on abundant sunshine and favorable weather. 

The late-summer approvals could be a speed bump for outdoor growers who rely on abundant sunshine and favorable weather. Grant Jakubowski of Somewhere on the Mountain in Brandon said in an ideal year, he’d like to be able to plant his fields in late May or early June for a fall harvest. 

With more preparation time, he also plans to implement light deprivation techniques, but Jakubowski’s months-long wait for a license made it impractical this year.

“I’m grateful that I’m going to be able to grow this year, but it was a little frustrating, given the timeframe and the fact that the board knows that growers only have a certain window to plant their plants and we work with the seasonality,” Jakubowski said. “So I respect the board and what they’re doing and how hard they’re working, but I also feel like they dropped the ball a little bit when it came to getting applications out.”

Despite the hiccups in the licensing process, Vermont growers told Heady they are excited and optimistic about the retail launch and the ways the new market will change the state, from research advancement to reduced stigma.

Jakubowski and his business partner, Ronnie Kreth, have applied for a manufacturing license and plan to open a vertically-integrated retail outlet in Rutland. They aim to have product ready to go for the adult-use launch, but are actively seeking to partner with indoor growers.

“It makes me really apprehensive to even make plans that we’re going to be able to open up our dispensary on Oct. 1, knowing what I went through with the grow application,” Jakubowski said. ” … We may have to postpone it slightly to make sure we have product and make sure we’re able to open the way that we want to open.”

The board opened retail applications this week, roughly a month early, and approved dispensaries can start operating in October. The first to open may be integrated retailers that have been operating as medical dispensaries, which have been permitted to launch retail sales outside of Burlington since May. As of this writing, however, none have opened and medical operators have indicated they’ll be waiting until the fall to do so.

Guillermo Maldonado and Phil Brochu of Irasburg-based cultivation outfit Shindig and G’s said they’re unlikely to have flower ready for sale until at least November. Waiting for their license approval shifted their timeline, they said, but they would rather go slow than sacrifice the quality of their product.

“I think it allows somebody who was growing in the illegal market and then in the shadows to be more like, ‘Hey, look at me — now I grow this particular variety of stuff really well,’ and kind of be able to build a reputation for yourself.” — Phil Brochu, Shindig and G’s

This is especially important to them because outdoor-grown cannabis is sometimes panned as  less potent or lower quality than indoor-grown, a misconception Maldonado and Brochu hope to correct.

“We want to also show that we have a special location here because of the elevation and the seal level here in Vermont — that we have more exposure, a lot more radiation, and it’s not a product that can be comparable to a product grown in Ohio or a product grown down in Virginia,” Maldonado said.

Old Growth Organics in West Windsor is looking at a similar timeline, said master grower Shane McFarlin. The farm’s method hinges on Vermont sunshine and soil, “mimicking what nature does itself” using living soil fed with compost teas. The company, which is being started by Dave McFarlin and Jessica Jesiolowski, was included in the round of outdoor licenses approved July 20.

“I absolutely will have product and I stand behind my product. Will it be as much as I would have had had we been permitted in June? No. But that’s okay.” — Dave McFarlin, Old Growth Organics

“Had I been able to hit the ground running at the end of spring or the beginning of summer, it’d be a totally different situation,” McFarlin said. “I absolutely will have product and I stand behind my product. Will it be as much as I would have had had we been permitted in June? No. But that’s okay.”

Despite the hiccups in the licensing process, Vermont growers told Heady they are excited and optimistic about the retail launch and the ways the new market will change the state, from research advancement to reduced stigma.

“I think it allows somebody who was growing in the illegal market and then in the shadows to be more like, ‘Hey, look at me — now I grow this particular variety of stuff really well,’ and kind of be able to build a reputation for yourself,” Brochu said.

McFarlin agreed.

“Let’s be real: I was looked at like I was a criminal for a very long time. And the fact that I’m on the precipice of doing this with legality and with my family?” he said. “It’s amazing.”