Stoney Baloney Strikes Again!!!
Here is a article StoneyGirlGardens wrote in a local newspaper called Cannabis Connection...
What Does it Cost Us to Produce Medical Marijuana Indoors in Oregon?
Total calculation) We include Lighting, Fans, Pumps, Motors, Monitors, Controllers, etc. Remember we have no cost for any labor, gas to run around and find all this stuff, shipping, installation, electrical, plumbing, carpentry, permits, transportation, security, nor overhead.
Summary Total Onetime Cost: $6,239.00 Total Monthly Maintenance: $1,722.00 Monthly without Rent of $450 $1,272.00 Cost Per Patient (4 total) $430.50 ($318 Less rent) Cost to patient currently: $100 as possible, but not usual The following figures do not include cost of setup Monthly Deficit per patient: $330.50 Monthly Contribution from sg (X4) $1,322 sg Annual Contribution: $15,864 sg Contribution to Date: $142,776
As you can see it is costly to produce medicine. Anytime you want to challenge your thoughts on why it costs more than 20 bucks an ounce to produce, you're welcome to give it a try. We think everyone should. Maybe someday this will be the case. At this time a grower must be prepared to make a substantial contribution to make it work. This is where outdoor production has an advantage. Where did these costs come from? These are our costs. Did we pump this up or inflate it? Quite the opposite as we have been very modest. I hired an electrician to do my work for example. Could we produce more or become sophisticated? Yes we can always increase production however not at a cost to quality. Sophistication is dependent on funding. How much did this produce? Not enough.
How much did this produce? We use 2 rooms for a perpetual cycle. In the case of 4 patients there are 12 plants in vegetation and 12 plants in bloom at all times as possible. Because of the numbers on our program it is difficult to stage. The goal is to have both rooms full all the time.
When doing production with living things there can be lots of occurrences; from accidents to theft, from insects to temperature. As an example we are more productive when the outside temps are cool and we can control insects. It is common for many patients to only get one to three ounces from a plant in the late summer. We see this on our tours as we are often invited to view personal grows. For the following calculation we will assume that the patient is an average home grower. In many cases the patient does not have the means to become proficient. They often lack the space, time, money, energy or knowledge needed.
1 Plant = 1 to 3 ounces quality usable medicine - Each patient has 3 plants in each room - Bloom room will produce one plant every week or 5 plants per month. 5 To 15 ounces can be produced per month. (Note that this is an estimate as we do not weigh). Each patient gets 1.25 To 3.75 Ounces per month.
$344 To $114.80 Per ounce depending on crop conditions is what it costs us to produce this. Remember that we are very strict in organics and like the organic section of the supermarket our fruit is natural, more tasty and delicious but our crops are not mass produced with chemicals.
It is fully dependant on crop conditions and plants. Different cuttings from the same plant can produce differing results of production. Season and Insects also play a part.
It is important to remember that methods of farming and handling play an important part on production, quality, and safety of our medicine. Known industry procedures should be utilized or developed for good success. Agriculture is not a new business. Organics is making a comeback in a more scientific realm. A perfect example is the Oregon Wine industry making its name in organic fine wines, developing production level organics into agriculture standards. This is what we must develop for our industry. I often remind our growers that if the American Ag Industry took its advice from the Hydro shops, corn would cost 10 bucks a gram. Let us get our info from the guys who have been growing our
Cont. On Next Page
Print
Facebook
Twitter
What Does it Cost Us to Produce Medical Marijuana Indoors in Oregon?
By Mike Mullin Master Gardener, Stoney Girl Gardens
Most patients have never had a garden. Dhs statistics show this. Sure lots of patients have attempted this in one way or another. And although these attempts may have been less than successful, the fact that the patient grew their own made it incredible. Most patients have a story about their experience, and feel somewhat educated (even if not successful) about the process. Unfortunately most of these micro gardens are not productive and are often abandoned. In reality, it takes quite a bit of planning and investment to get anywhere, or at least to make it worthwhile enough to continue.
Unless you have accomplished creating and maintaining a grow site for at least 4 patients for a period of 2 years, you have no idea what is involved. No, I am not saying you have to be a commercial producer, but you do need to know to what extent your grower goes to, to fully produce your medicine. Besides the years of experience, the hours of labor, the amount of time to be onsite garden tending instead of boating or camping, and all of the other sacrifices that must be made, there are hard costs associated with this operation. Besides putting my family at risk, opening my home and providing compliance and security 24/7, there are bills that must be paid, items that must be purchased, and equipment that must be maintained.
When discussing costs, most patients mistakenly refer to some homemade chart that tells them I should only be paying 25 bucks a month for each 1000 watt light, and that is all it takes. This is totally incorrect and the basic reason for this writing. I only wish I could work as cheaply as my electric bill is never under $400 for a 4 - 1000 watt light operation (bill includes all the fans, pumps, etc.).
To begin with, electricity is our biggest cost. The power company is our secret partner. They make the most from Medical Marijuana grows, far beyond the grow shops which are the next biggest cost. You have fertilizers, grow mediums, fans, starter units, buckets, water, rent, insecticides, rooting compounds, ph stabilizers, pumps, hoses, lights, fixtures, light movers, ventilators, dehumidifiers, air conditioners, sprayers, tools, pans, vacuum, brooms, ropes, pulleys, hoods, seeds, C02, Controllers, Timers, cords, heaters and much more. There is more power in the garden than just lights.
Having a small grow room can be a good way to grow your medicine. The costs will vary depending on the set-up.
Before you can even begin the process you need a location suitable to set up. The location must have or be able to have adequate electrical supply, security, height, space, environment and access. Access is important as you don't want to climb 50 stairs with a bucket of dirt. Electrical service is important as you don't want to install a new electrical panel, only add breakers and associated wiring
We will deal with the initial cost of setup first. Remember that there is ongoing maintenance which we will cover after setup. Maintenance must be performed on all equipment to the point that it is replaced. Replacement is required for some maintenance such as bulbs and pumps. This type of maintenance is called consumables, meaning you must replace, not repair the item.
I have created categories for costing of items. The category will have a name in bold at the top and a final cost next to it for each section. We have created this with a 4 patient grow capacity or 12 plants in each room (vegetation and bloom) for a total of 24 adult plant grow.
Setup Room $250 onetime fee Usually a room will have setup. Be it a dividing wall, hanging reflective material, plastic covers on the floor, boarding up windows, sealing light leaks, etc. There is always a cost. This one is dependent on the area to be used and harder to attach an exact cost to however you will spend around $250 on average in construction materials. This does not include ventilation and equipment; it just covers the basic room setup.
Ventilation $230 onetime fee with annual maintenance of $120 ($10 monthly) Ventilation requires a large fan to pull all the air quickly out of the grow site. This is a large, costly fan that vents to the outside (about $130 used). We also included 4 good quality floor fans for room air movement (about $20 each). Remember that there is replacement maintenance with your floor fans. They will need to be replaced at least once a year if not more. They will run 24/7 and need their own electrical circuit. This cost does not reflect air filters and odor control which can run you about $500 more.
Lighting $2844.80 Onetime fee with monthly maintenance of $133 The initial cost is for 4 1000watt fixtures with bulbs and two double four foot florescent for the starts. For the 1000 fixtures we use the new digital ballasts at $398.95 Each ($1,585.80 Total). For Bulbs we use 2-Hallides ($149) and 2- Sodiums ($240) which are replaced every 60 to 90 days. For hoods we use the
Adjust-a-Wings at $220 each. Throw in a Light Mover at $260 plus new drive wheels annually and you're all set. Total onetime cost of lighting is $2844.80 With monthly maintenance of $133 not including electricity.
Environment: Controls, Timers, ac, Dehumidifier $568 onetime fee With monthly maintenance of $30 Installing controls for the fans (temp and humidity at $350)), timers for the lights ($80), a small room Air Conditioner ($59), C02 tank and regulator ($120), plugging in a dehumidifier ($50 used) and small 1200 watt portable heater ($29).
Gardening Supplies $840 onetime and $480 Monthly Ok, now we have a room ready to use. All we have to do is plant right? We will need containers ($240 for 24) medium ($400), fertilizers ($80) and of course plants ($120).
Clones $223 onetime cost and $123 Monthly We forgot about the cuttings. We will need a cloner ($89), nutrients ($45), rooting compound ($14), anti wilt ($16), 4 inch and 6 inch containers ($48), a 1020 starter pan ($3), scissors ($3), and a small hand sprayer ($5). This will do for the cuttings. Aside from the cloner, scissors and sprayer, this is monthly.
Mites $54 onetime and $96 Monthly We will also need a large 2 gallon sprayer ($30) for treating for mites, and of course the insecticide ($24 each application (per week)).
Water $80 onetime To treat our water we will need a water supply (free 55 gal barrel) with an electric submersible pump ($140), and possibly an air pump too ($19). In some cases we may need ph adjusters here ($30). Don't forget the hose and nozzle ($30).
Security $0 We haven't even touched on security. Besides manning it 24/7 you need alarms. The more sophisticated you can make this the better; bars on windows, cameras, monitoring, etc. We won't even add a cost here for this writing.
Electricity $380-$420 Monthly
Print
Facebook
Twitter
C C u u l l t t i i v v a a t t i i o o n n
CCaannnnaabbiiss CCoonnnneeccttiioonn PPaaggee 2211
Cost of Growing
Our food for centuries.
The biggest cost in production of our meds is actually in the numbers we are allowed to grow. Working within confined limits such as we do, how would a regular farmer ever grow enough corn, tomatoes or grapes? As with any commodity, this is what truly keeps the price, and the cost of production high. Give us our warehouse, our tractor, our farm, and let us go to work. Quit playing numbers. We need to recognize the true needs of Oregon Patients.
Given the same room and utilizing a
Sea of Green for say 120 plants, one could make it into real production. Think about a few hundred acres.
After looking at our operation it is conceivable that collectives would be a good deal as an option to patients and force us to be better producers in order to operate.
*A note about weights: they are estimated. Early in the program we used weights to assist us in dispensing, recording, tracking, monitoring and production data. As District sttorneys have made it known, in their opinion the presence of scales may constitute illegal activities. We ceased this and have lost access to this valuable data.
Maximizing Production
It is possible to maximize production. In this circumstance the farmer has spent extra efforts and costs to insure that the maximum production is achieved. Combined with perfect crop conditions such as weather, the farmer may see a crop that exceeds standards.
For the following calculation we will assume that the world is perfect all the time. The calculations below are the minimum bar we set for our own gardening program. That is, this is the minimum for production and the base line that must be exceeded. We prefer 5-9 ounce plants, depending on variety.
1 Plant = 3 to 5 ounces quality usable medicine - Each patient has 3 plants in each room - Bloom room will produce one plant every week or 5 plants per month - 15 to 25 ounces can be produced per month. (Note that this is an estimate as we do not weigh)
$114.80 To $68.88 Per ounce depending on crop conditions is what it costs us to produce this under maximum production with perfect conditions. Every crop is not perfect. Remember that we are very strict in organics and like the organic section of the supermarket our fruit is natural, more tasty and delicious but our crops are not mass produced with chemicals. Note that these costs apply to indoor gardening.
Hope this will help you identify your costs and assist in your next budget for setup. Happy Gardening!