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New York’s Cannabis Control Board this week approved cannabis Growers’ Showcases, and Jason Minard is already well into planning a large, cultivator-centric event at a 100-acre apple orchard about 85 miles north of New York City.
“It would be a feel-good event in the New York cannabis industry at a time when it’s in dire need of something,” said Minard, CEO of Minard Family Farms – where the event is planned – and general counsel for cannabis cultivation company Hepworth Pura.
“Time is of the essence,” he said.
In late-May, officials from the Office of Cannabis Management announced their plan to introduce cannabis Growers’ Showcases – events that would resemble farmers’ markets, where growers and processors could sell their products at pop-up events. This would provide cultivators and processors an opportunity to sell product they’ve been sitting on since last year’s harvest, as retail opportunities have been few and far between.
During that May meeting with the Cannabis Association of New York, OCM Director of Policy John Kagia said the agency will allow conditional growers and Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensaries (CAURDs) to team up and sell products at a location other than the retailer’s shop.
At Wednesday’s CCB meeting, board members approved the idea of Growers’ Showcases, but didn’t release final rules or guidance. Kagia said each event will need at least three cultivators and one CAURD licensee, and organizers must receive municipal approval before seeking OCM approval for a showcase event.
“The showcases will … drive new revenue opportunities for our cultivators who are the anchors of our supply chain,” Kagia said.
Following the CCB’s vote on Wednesday, state Sen. Michelle Hinchey praised the decision, and told NY Cannabis Insider via email that state officials must give cannabis cultivators a chance to earn money, as many haven’t yet seen any revenue.
“New York farmers need solutions and to be compensated for the stockpiled cannabis supply they’ve been forced to sit on, which is why we advocated expediting a new avenue to sell that oversupply,” Hinchey said. “I thank OCM … and urge that the applications are set up as quickly as possible.”
Joann Kudrewicz, CEO of cultivation company Ravens View Genetics and chair of CANY’s Cultivation Committee, was elated when the CCB approved the showcase events.
Kudrewicz had been worried that OCM put the idea on the back burner, since nearly two months had passed since officials initially announced the initiative. Now she thinks that some growers, retailers, and event organizers could put on an event within the next few weeks.
The time between the announcement and approval has been nerve-wracking, as cultivators worried that the Growers’ Showcases – a rare bright spot in what’s become a brutal business climate for weed growers – wouldn’t happen this summer.
“These last eight weeks have been such an up-and-down emotional ride,” Kudrewicz said.
Kudrewicz is bullish on the events, and said that if OCM releases guidelines in the next few days, organizers will have time to plan their showcases so that they align with regulators’ rules.
While she’s thrilled the CCB approved the showcases, she said she’s keeping an eye on certain details.
Kagia seemed to say on Wednesday that cultivators would only be able to sell flower at the showcase events – in which processors will also be allowed to participate.
However, many cultivators grew biomass for the purpose of selling to processors, Kudrewicz said. If growers aren’t allowed to process flower into oils and edibles for these events, it could defeat the purpose of selling off surplus inventory, she said.
Additionally, Kudrewicz said she hopes regulators don’t set onerous requirements that would make it more difficult to put on a Growers’ Showcase.
“The best thing they could do for all of us would be to just step back, not over-regulate and let us do the work,” Kudrewicz said.
Minard said he and his partners have already been working on their planned event for weeks, and are now just waiting for official guidance from OCM. If all goes to plan, Minard’s Family Farm in Clintondale will host a Grower’s Showcase on Aug. 19.
The event will include about 100 cannabis vendors and sponsors, live music, games, hay rides and a corn maze. Organizers so far include Minard’s Family Farm, Hepworth Pura, NY420 and the Castetter Cannabis Group, Minard said.
Minard and partners have been in talks with Dutchie about providing point-of-sale services, and said that the farm – which hosts thousands of guests during apple picking season in the fall – already has insurance for events.
“Everything’s in order,” said Minard, who added that it’s important for the state to support cultivators in the early days of New York’s adult-use cannabis industry.
“This is about doing right by the industry, doing right by the cultivators that launched this industry,” Minard said.