The medical cannabis industry in Australia is fast evolving, with many local operators making headlines thanks to their innovative approach to cannabis cultivation. Medicinal Harvest, an indoor medical cannabis contract grower based in South-East Queensland, produces high-quality bulk flowers. "We cultivate using customer-supplied genetics or Medicinal Harvest's in-house genetics," says Andrew Olley, co-founder of the company and cultivation director.
Medicinal Harvest planted their first crop in June 2021. Since that time their output capacity has tripled—but things certainly won't stop there. "With the increasing domestic demand for locally grown medicinal flower buds, we are planning further expansion," Andrew points out.
The Medicinal Harvest indoor facility is a highly automated, double-racked flower room. "There is full climate control inside the facility, and the irrigation and nutrient delivery for the hydroponic growing system is computerized. All this technology is cloud-based, allowing for remote monitoring and management."
Vertical cannabis in Australia
Sustainability is a key element of Medicinal Harvest, starting with energy efficiency. "We have an onsite solar farm, and water is recycled from the growing system and even from the facility's indoor atmosphere. On top of that, we use premium LED lights with a spectrum that makes them 25 percent more energy-efficient than standard LED lights and 50 percent more energy-efficient than traditional HPS," continues Andrew.
Even though medical cannabis is a highly valuable crop, it is still a crop, and knowledge of traditional horticulture is beneficial for the success of a cannabis operation. "Andrew Olley has many years of experience in CEA," says Tracey Perez, co-founder and business director of Medicinal Harvest. "The same core agronomic principles have been applied to cannabis cultivation, allowing us to easily achieve cannabis cultivation at scale."
Lurking enemies
However, the mode of consumption of your average CEA products greatly differs from cannabis, which is why there are such stringent microbial standards. This means that growers are constantly battling to keep all pests and pathogens at bay. "Australian growers must deal with the threat of mites, thrips, whitefly, root aphids, HLVd, and diseases sch as botrytis, powdery mildew, and fusarium," Andrew points out.
Because these enemies may constantly lurk, Medicinal Harvest has installed ten ProGuard air sanitation units in the facility. "They are part of our strategy to reduce pathogens," says Andrew. "The units operate 24/7, providing assurance that airborne and plant-based pathogens are exposed to the ProGuard technology." On top of the peace of mind that ProGuard units offer, their installation was relatively easy, according to Andrew. "They are extremely simple to self-install. However, it was helpful to get advice from Innovative Solutions for the optimal placement in our double-rack system."
Keeping the air clean
Growing in multi-tier environments with hundreds or even thousands of plants presents a unique set of challenges, particularly when it comes to preventing pathogen issues. Unlike traditional grow spaces, these high-density environments require specialized solutions to maintain plant health and cleanliness. This is where ProGuard sets itself apart from other products on the market.
ProGuard was specifically engineered to thrive in high-humidity, high-density cannabis environments, making it the ideal choice for large-scale cultivation facilities. Its proprietary photo-catalytic sanitization process converts ambient humidity into an ionized hydro-peroxide vapor. This vapor actively seeks out and neutralizes mold and mildew, providing comprehensive protection throughout the entire room.
Mike D'Ambra, founder of Innovative Solutions, explains, "Our proactive sanitization technology is designed to target pathogens directly at their point of origin—whether on surfaces, plants, benches, lights, or even in the air. This continuous protection ensures a clean room environment 24/7.
What truly sets ProGuard apart from other solutions is its ability to enhance sanitization as humidity increases. The higher the humidity, the more effective ProGuard technoloogy becomes, making it particularly well-suited for the unique needs of large scale multi-tier environments, such as those at Medicinal Harvest." This dynamic response allows ProGuard the ultimate solution for protecting and maintaining plant health and increasing quality and yields.
Quality for patients as a guiding light
The clever use of cultivation technology is imperative for producing a consistent, high-quality product year around. "For Medicinal Harvest, quality relates to meeting the specifications required by our customers in terms of cannabinoid content, bud size, moisture content, and a lack of negative factors such as mold," says Andrew.
He stresses the importance of consistency in the medical cannabis industry. "Many times, I've heard from pharmacists about patients becoming anxious when they open a jar and it doesn't look the same as previous jars of the same product. Perhaps even worse is when their usual prescribed product is not in stock."
With patient counts growing by the minute, it's important that they can rely on a constant supply of cannabis medicines. "As Medicinal Harvest continues to expand, we are focused on improving and maintaining operational and cultivation efficiency without compromising quality. The use of technology is critical in this respect, but it is also important to pheno-hunt strains that support efficiency objectives," says Tracey.
It is an exciting time for the cannabis industry in Australia, especially because of the increased focus on locally grown products. "Buying local often means fresher products, improved certainty of supply, and shorter logistical timeframes." At the same time, there are still challenges that the sector has to overcome. "There are warning signs that some Australian cultivators may not survive," continues Tracey. "Medicinal cannabis is still an emerging industry here, and it appears that overspending on capital and not putting sufficient focus on achieving operational efficiency could result in a shakeup. Drawn-out timeframes for regulatory approvals have also put pressure on cultivators, slowing down the implementation of business decisions."
For more information:
Medicinal Harvest
+61 437 077 220
info@medicinalharvest.com
medicinalharvest.com
Innovative Solutions
miked@innovative-solutions.org
innovative-solutions.org
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