+16% Boost in Cannabis

AT A GLANCE

Results
Crop
Farm
Location

248 Hybrid Cannabis Plants with two different strains: Wedding Cake and Ice Cream Cake. Both are broad leaf Indica-dominant hybrids

Little Hill Cultivators Over the 4-yr life of the installed UbiGro product, the farm would benefit from $97,500 in additional profit from this 20ft x 108ft greenhouse alone.

Trinity Co., CA, USA.

ABOUT THE PROJECT

UbiGro was installed at Little Hill Cultivators farm in Trinity County, California. For the plant trial, UbiGro covered half of a 20ft x 108ft greenhouse while the other half was unchanged and served as the control. The product was mounted above the lateral purlins and under the polyethylene cover. A total of 248 plants were grown in the greenhouse and two strains were split between the test and control sides: 194 plants (78%) were a Wedding Cake strain (Cherry Pie x Girl Scout Cookies) and the remaining 54 (22%) plants were an Ice Cream Cake strain (Gelato x Wedding Cake). Both are broad leaf Indica-dominant hybrids, with the Wedding Cake growing taller and larger internodal spacing, with a 1-2 week longer finishing time.

“To me, the product has proven itself.”

– Owner, Little Hill Cultivators

All conditions were kept identical for both sides of the experiment: plant size uniformity, planting density, strain layout, watering and nutrient regimen, humidity and temperature, harvesting and pruning regimen, integrated pest management regimen, etc. The cultivation team at Little Hill Cultivators made qualitative observations of the crop during the growth cycle. They noted that the plants under the UbiGro product showed an obvious enhanced vegetative growth, exemplified by an increase in height, width and overall foliage, filling more aisle space than their control counterparts. The grower also observed larger, fuller buds on the UbiGro side.

After ten weeks of cultivation, dry, trimmed harvest weights were reported. Dry yield measurements showed an additional 7.5 lbs of product harvested from plants under UbiGro, equivalent to a +16.0% increase in total dry yield. No differences in trichome color, finishing time, bud color, bud odor/flavor, or overall quality were observed.

After ten weeks of cultivation, dry, trimmed harvest weights were reported. Dry yield measurements showed an additional 7.5 lbs of product harvested from plants under UbiGro, equivalent to a +16.0% increase in total dry yield.

No differences in trichome color, finishing time, bud color, bud odor/flavor, or overall quality were observed.

Samples of both strains were taken from both sides of the plant trial and were sent to CW Analytical Laboratories (Oakland, CA) for cannabinoid and terpene testing. Total terpene content for the Wedding Cake strain grown under the UbiGro product was improved compared to those grown under the control (+12.9%, relative). Total cannabinoid content was moderately increased for Weddi

ng Cake flowers grown under UbiGro (+3.6%, relative).

Total terpene content for the Ice Cream Cake strain grown under UbiGro were slightly reduced compared to those grown under the control (-9.1%, relative).

Total cannabinoid content was moderately increased for Ice Cream Cake flowers grown under the UbiGro film (+1.9%, relative). Testing accuracy for terpenes and cannabinoids typically has error bars ±10% (relative). Therefore, we conclude that UbiGro had a negligible effect on terpene and cannabinoid content of both strains, except for the +12.9% relative terpene boost in Wedding Cake, which may be a significant result just above the variance threshold. Further trials on the strain would be needed to verify this behavior.

Potency Summary: Wedding Cake

Terpenes

UbiGro: 3.5%

Control: 3.1%

Rel. Change: +12.9%

Total Cannabinoids

UbiGro: 23.08%

Control: 22.27%

Rel. Change: +3.6%

Potency Summary: Ice Cream Cake

Terpenes

UbiGro: 2.0%

Control: 2.2%

Rel. Change: -9.1%

Total Cannabinoids

UbiGro: 19.77%

Control: 19.40%

Rel. Change: +1.9%

ECONOMICS

Full Season Round (August – November)

A yield enhancement improves the economics of a farm, but what is that yield enhancement worth to the farmer? Taking this experiment as a case study, we can calculate the value that the yield-boosting UbiGro film brings to the economics of the farm.

For this trial, the half of the greenhouse with UbiGro boosted yield by 7.5 lbs (+$8.68/ft2 in wholesale revenue) compared to the control. The farm sells trimmed cannabis for $1250/lb wholesale. If UbiGro had been deployed over the entire greenhouse and achieved the same yield boost, the farm would have obtained an additional $18,750 in wholesale revenue for that greenhouse. Since the greenhouse can produce two crops per year, the yield boost could potentially be realized twice per year, which could result in an increase in revenue from UbiGro of $37,500 per year, per greenhouse.

CONCLUSION

To quantify the value of the increase in revenue, we must calculate the increased profit. There are variable costs associated with producing and selling this additional product, including harvesting, drying/curing, trimming, packaging, and transportation. However, fixed costs are not increased with additional yield. Fixed costs include real estate (rent/mortgage), heating/cooling, electricity, marketing, labor tied to square footage such as cleaning, seeding, vegetative labor, etc. Given that the gross margin on the baseline production of cannabis at Little Hill Cultivators is 50% (50% COGS), then we estimate a 65% gross margin on the extra production (35% COGS) realized as a result of the UbiGro spectrum.

In this example, that translates to $24,375 additional profit per year from this greenhouse.

Over the 4-yr life of the installed UbiGro product, the farm would benefit from $97,500 in additional profit from this greenhouse alone. If the farm adopted the UbiGro technology across all six greenhouses on site, and this yield improvement was consistently realized, it could potentially profit an additional $146,250 per year, or an additional $585,000 over the 4-yr lifetime of the films.

Greenhouse Details

Greenhouse Size: 20ft x 108ft

Increased Revenue/Year/Greenhouse: +$37,500

Increased Profit/Year/Greenhouse: +$24,375

Increased Profit over Film Life/Greenhouse: +$97,500

Increased Profit over Film Life/Farm: +$585,000

Profit value of film: $5.64/ft2 per harvest

Payback time: 0.5 harvests