Commercial Cultivation

Dmannn

Well-Known Member
I know some folks who were able to buy land in NorCal. Their first year was pretty rocky getting up and running where there was no infrastructure, but they made it though in one piece {with the help of some more established friends}. Not a great crop, but not terrible. This year they had some trouble with employees. Not sure how it turned out, but two bad years in a row is not easy to overcome. Banks don't really care about bad luck, and if they can't pay the loan, they will lose two years of labor, all greenhouses and other equipment they put into it, plus the down payment.

And most of those people have known each other most of their lives. Not sure an outsider is going to join the club without some sort of introduction.
Money talks.
 

Nugs1

Well-Known Member
Since you have a few bucks, move to a small farm and grow a few plants for yourself. Put that 100K in mutual funds. Nothing takes the fun out of a hobby like turning it into a job.
Damn good advice brother I appreciate it.
Im not looking to bounce right now but I'm trying to get my ducks in a row for sure. Just in case the right thing pops up.
 

Nugs1

Well-Known Member
Did you research Lower Lake?
Not yet but its on my list of counties to check out, I'm currently only looking for recreational but would prob end up doing medical as well.
Lower lake does look like a beautiful place. Hows the regs for the county?
 

a mongo frog

Well-Known Member
Not yet but its on my list of counties to check out, I'm currently only looking for recreational but would prob end up doing medical as well.
Lower lake does look like a beautiful place. Hows the regs for the county?
Not sure. Start with your med card and meet some patients. if your single don't go, you might get screwed to death. Women everywhere. They need a delivery service out there. I run through that area for work every now and again fucking awesome out there.
 

Nugs1

Well-Known Member
Not sure. Start with your med card and meet some patients. if your single don't go, you might get screwed to death. Women everywhere. They need a delivery service out there. I run through that area for work every now and again fucking awesome out there.
I live very far away but I'm looking to make the move.
But nice to know thanks!
 

Indacouch

Well-Known Member
I know some folks who were able to buy land in NorCal. Their first year was pretty rocky getting up and running where there was no infrastructure, but they made it though in one piece {with the help of some more established friends}. Not a great crop, but not terrible. This year they had some trouble with employees. Not sure how it turned out, but two bad years in a row is not easy to overcome. Banks don't really care about bad luck, and if they can't pay the loan, they will lose two years of labor, all greenhouses and other equipment they put into it, plus the down payment.

And most of those people have known each other most of their lives. Not sure an outsider is going to join the club without some sort of introduction.
I'm in NorCal myself. Any reputable person isn't going to take a chance on someone from out of state. The people who are from here have a hard enough time as it is. I see lots of people trying and failing. The ones that can get through a season usually can't move there flowers. Good connections to move product aren't easy to come by. I see lots of first year get rich quickers lose their ass on consigning their bud to clubs. They get told 1000 per LB and are lucky to ever get paid. Gotta be well established and well known for flowers. Otherwise the assholes will take advantage of people with no outlet for flowers. What are they going to do....call the cops .....lol

It's sad but a reality. I know I don't anything to OP. But I'm in NorCal and I'd say save your money. It's literally like the gold rush. Tons come looking to get rich.......one might. The ones that are rich are already here and established.
 

thumper60

Well-Known Member
Just cause I would like to stake a claim does not mean I plan on getting rich quick. I know how much time and money it takes to get it up and running I know the hard work it takes. And yes I have done A LOT of research but its not as easy you may think it is to find out exactly what county does what...
for example... I found a county that was perfectly in the middle of a couple big cities, with reasonable land prices and lots of it. But after exhausting reading etc etc. I found that county changed their regulations to a minimum of 10 acres for the smallest license ( that doesn't make since because the smallest license could fit on a half acre, I wouldn't want to but still), then another county allows it but they recently changed it to being only indoor, which is bs.
The last county I stumbled upon is everything I'm looking for, out door, only requiring 25 ft off property lines and a 7 ft fence but that county is mostly covered in national forest so even if I owned the land I can't have a cultivation business in a national forest.
You see I have done my research, I'm not looking to get rich quick. I love growing cannabis I feel it in my bones. I love it more than smoking it but I love that a lot anyway. I am medically retired and I have some $$ squirreled away so I thought instead waiting in a state thats prob never going to go legal then go to a state that I like and try to get in the business enjoy what I do and have fun. AGAIN in no way do I think its going to be easy, do I think its going to be doable yes is there a risk well no shit Sherlock.
here in maine no outsiders r getting permits,must live instate 5 yrs we r watching the fucked up market out west not going to happen here,price in the rec stores will be2-3 hondo per ozthe black market is going to BOOM!here
 

Nugs1

Well-Known Member
here in maine no outsiders r getting permits,must live instate 5 yrs we r watching the fucked up market out west not going to happen here,price in the rec stores will be2-3 hondo per ozthe black market is going to BOOM!here
Doesn't look like much I happening in Maine right now anyway, didnt the governor veto it or something. I haven't been on the news up there too much.
As far as the regulations, its a little tough on how many years you have to live there but I understand what they were trying to do.
Maine as compared to California is a much much smaller market. That may be why California has it a little more open.
Maines pop. is only about 1.5 million Cali is 39 million. The tourist population is about 264 million a yr in California and only about 38 million in Maine, not to mention California has the 5th largest economy in the world currently ahead of the UK. There are consulting companies and even California itself that are expecting the cannabis industry to be around 19 Billion in 2019.
Thats a huge number and I don't think that its unreasonable for someone like myself to come in and be willing to put some $$ in and work hard to set my self up for a modest/ comfortable living doing something that they love.
 

thumper60

Well-Known Member
Doesn't look like much I happening in Maine right now anyway, didnt the governor veto it or something. I haven't been on the news up there too much.
As far as the regulations, its a little tough on how many years you have to live there but I understand what they were trying to do.
Maine as compared to California is a much much smaller market. That may be why California has it a little more open.
Maines pop. is only about 1.5 million Cali is 39 million. The tourist population is about 264 million a yr in California and only about 38 million in Maine, not to mention California has the 5th largest economy in the world currently ahead of the UK. There are consulting companies and even California itself that are expecting the cannabis industry to be around 19 Billion in 2019.
Thats a huge number and I don't think that its unreasonable for someone like myself to come in and be willing to put some $$ in and work hard to set my self up for a modest/ comfortable living doing something that they love.
we have had legal rec here for 2 yrs,no stores here till jan 19LOL they all ready cutting plant counts, the state has a big eye opener coming when the stores open, thinking of all the money that will come in boy they in for surprise already spending the money LOLbm is 100 oz lol bm price may come up when rec sales start :bigjoint:
 

too larry

Well-Known Member
. . . . . . .Thats a huge number and I don't think that its unreasonable for someone like myself to come in and be willing to put some $$ in and work hard to set my self up for a modest/ comfortable living doing something that they love.
Starting any new business you need cash reserves to cover three years of operating expenses. There is about a million things that fuck farmers. Low prices is the worse, but everyday farm stuff will do it too. One of my friends in Oregon had a plant herm in the back of a big greenhouse full of monsters. The plants were crowded together and he missed it. All the bud got seeded and he had to rip it out. Seeded bud is only good for oil. He spent the season growing bud he could not sell. He had to buy teens to get a small, late crop in.

The way to make a million bucks growing weed in a legal state is to start with two million.
 

too larry

Well-Known Member
. . . . . . .It's sad but a reality. I know I don't anything to OP. But I'm in NorCal and I'd say save your money. It's literally like the gold rush. Tons come looking to get rich.......one might. The ones that are rich are already here and established.
The bar owners, the whore houses, and the folks selling picks and shovels were who made the money in the gold rush. The miners were just a delivery system to get the gold out of the ground and into their pockets.
 

Indacouch

Well-Known Member
The bar owners, the whore houses, and the folks selling picks and shovels were who made the money in the gold rush. The miners were just a delivery system to get the gold out of the ground and into their pockets.
Nutes,soil,snake oils,etc etc etc etc etc etc .....The supplies have just changed and the bandits have way better technology. Had a drone fly over the farm a few years back. Oddly it was during harvest....Lets just say the range wasn't good enough that a few guys on quads couldn't find the operators. Just teenage kids looking for something to steal I'm sure. That was a terrible day for a drone operator.....lol

We have a Grow outlet warehouse that's damn near like going in Home Depot. The owners drive brand new cars while all the growers are pulling up in old beat up trucks. It's not just a Zen life style. People don't think. I've seen some fucked up shit happen to the sweetest people. So hopefully OP realizes he needs to find a secluded spot and set it up like a prison.Not just grab the first spot available. If nobody else is there already it's for a reason. My Farms is almost two miles down a dirt road. The main road to get to it is a paved wagon trail at best. No reason for any cars to come down that road unless their trouble or live in one of the 2 houses I already own. My sealed green houses are in a canyon and can't be seen unless your on my property. The kids with the drone were down at the river. As I'm sure you know the banks of the river can be traveled by anyone. Our cattle literally drink from an old dredge pond off the main channel. I'd be scared to use or rent a spot that was ran by other growers. I really hope he thinks it through. There's so much people don't think of for growing. I wish it was as easy as everyone thinks. We get curve balls thrown at us constantly. I have mine set up like Fort Knox and am so far away from literally anything I stay off the radar. I have Been visited through the years. Even though I'm always in compliance they'll point their finger for a few thousand dollar fix regardless.
 

Nugs1

Well-Known Member
The bar owners, the whore houses, and the folks selling picks and shovels were who made the money in the gold rush. The miners were just a delivery system to get the gold out of the ground and into their pockets.
Absolutely, ancillary jobs and sales will always make the big money for sure. But that shouldn't discourage anyone from getting in the business... If I knew those jobs then maybe I'd get into them but I don't.
 

too larry

Well-Known Member
Nutes,soil,snake oils,etc etc etc etc etc etc .....The supplies have just changed and the bandits have way better technology. Had a drone fly over the farm a few years back. Oddly it was during harvest....Lets just say the range wasn't good enough that a few guys on quads couldn't find the operators. Just teenage kids looking for something to steal I'm sure. That was a terrible day for a drone operator.....lol

We have a Grow outlet warehouse that's damn near like going in Home Depot. The owners drive brand new cars while all the growers are pulling up in old beat up trucks. It's not just a Zen life style. People don't think. I've seen some fucked up shit happen to the sweetest people. So hopefully OP realizes he needs to find a secluded spot and set it up like a prison.Not just grab the first spot available. If nobody else is there already it's for a reason. My Farms is almost two miles down a dirt road. The main road to get to it is a paved wagon trail at best. No reason for any cars to come down that road unless their trouble or live in one of the 2 houses I already own. My sealed green houses are in a canyon and can't be seen unless your on my property. The kids with the drone were down at the river. As I'm sure you know the banks of the river can be traveled by anyone. Our cattle literally drink from an old dredge pond off the main channel. I'd be scared to use or rent a spot that was ran by other growers. I really hope he thinks it through. There's so much people don't think of for growing. I wish it was as easy as everyone thinks. We get curve balls thrown at us constantly. I have mine set up like Fort Knox and am so far away from literally anything I stay off the radar. I have Been visited through the years. Even though I'm always in compliance they'll point their finger for a few thousand dollar fix regardless.
You are right on all counts. There is a never ending supply of hard heads. Even when you deal with them, they still cost you time and money. Getting well off the beaten path is the best safe guard.

Semi famous breeders and growers do their own brake jobs on old beat up vans. A real glamorous business.

Even folks who are old hands at this game can run into a buzz saw. A couple of our RIU superstars had serious trouble on their farm this year. But you probably know more about it than I do.
 

Indacouch

Well-Known Member
You are right on all counts. There is a never ending supply of hard heads. Even when you deal with them, they still cost you time and money. Getting well off the beaten path is the best safe guard.

Semi famous breeders and growers do their own brake jobs on old beat up vans. A real glamorous business.

Even folks who are old hands at this game can run into a buzz saw. A couple of our RIU superstars had serious trouble on their farm this year. But you probably know more about it than I do.
That really sucks. I haven't heard anything tbh ..... I've seen a few talking about stuff but don't know who they were exactly. I keep my plant count well below what I'm permitted ....well well below. The legal thing doesn't make me feel comfortable whatsoever. I stay away from selling any of my flowers and literally do it for very sick people who can't do it themselves. I stay well within a "mis" if things came to their worst. Usually the ones getting put on the radar are the ones who believe they can grow whatever wherever because their paper work says so. I'm very small compared to pretty much everyone around me. I'm actually planning on getting involved in the tattoo shop with my brother in law after this season. I'm even thinking of selling the farm. I start my apprenticeship for becoming a tattoo artist very soon. I'll always grow a few for the family members I help now, but next year il only be doing a few giants on the property I don't sell to a family member interested. I don't have anywhere close to what most people do. I just grow them nice and big to keep count very low and still have enough for the people I help.


I'm just ready for something new Larry. I've done this for 20+ years and I'd rather do 6 fat girls for fun from now on. I don't do it for monetary gain and still work my ass off to pay my bills. Not having the financial gain involved is probably why I've been left alone. It's stressful enough just doing it to give away to my patients. ((Which is sad)) MJ is good medicine and should be legal on all fronts. I've seen it change lives and give quality of life to people with cancer during their last months. I've got people including a family member who don't have seizures because of it. The money aspect is what has ruined this beautiful plant. I've always stayed away from doing it for profit. Again that's probably why I've been left alone for the most part,who knows. Even the people who help me trim do it for medicine. Il always grow a few like this year. But I'l never grow what I'm permitted again. In fact I'm barely over what they allow for non card holders. Don't need lots when you can grow nice fat girls......lol
 

too larry

Well-Known Member
That really sucks. I haven't heard anything tbh ..... I've seen a few talking about stuff but don't know who they were exactly. I keep my plant count well below what I'm permitted ....well well below. The legal thing doesn't make me feel comfortable whatsoever. I stay away from selling any of my flowers and literally do it for very sick people who can't do it themselves. I stay well within a "mis" if things came to their worst. Usually the ones getting put on the radar are the ones who believe they can grow whatever wherever because their paper work says so. I'm very small compared to pretty much everyone around me. I'm actually planning on getting involved in the tattoo shop with my brother in law after this season. I'm even thinking of selling the farm. I start my apprenticeship for becoming a tattoo artist very soon. I'll always grow a few for the family members I help now, but next year il only be doing a few giants on the property I don't sell to a family member interested. I don't have anywhere close to what most people do. I just grow them nice and big to keep count very low and still have enough for the people I help.


I'm just ready for something new Larry. I've done this for 20+ years and I'd rather do 6 fat girls for fun from now on. I don't do it for monetary gain and still work my ass off to pay my bills. Not having the financial gain involved is probably why I've been left alone. It's stressful enough just doing it to give away to my patients. ((Which is sad)) MJ is good medicine and should be legal on all fronts. I've seen it change lives and give quality of life to people with cancer during their last months. I've got people including a family member who don't have seizures because of it. The money aspect is what has ruined this beautiful plant. I've always stayed away from doing it for profit. Again that's probably why I've been left alone for the most part,who knows. Even the people who help me trim do it for medicine. Il always grow a few like this year. But I'l never grow what I'm permitted again. In fact I'm barely over what they allow for non card holders. Don't need lots when you can grow nice fat girls......lol
I farmed most of my life, so I can relate. We ran cows mostly, but did some row cropping and truck farming. When Daddy died in '02, Sister moved home, and I let her have any of the farm equipment she wanted. I walked away from it. Farming is a rough way to make a living.

I don't weigh or sell any of my weed. I figure the Gods gifted it to me, so why piss them off by selling some of it. I have big numbers, but small plants. I like variety and making seeds. {I have 8-10 males right now in the bush I'm trying to manage.} Plus I'm growing on the qt, so I can't even give mine away. The folks who know I grow, also grow, and if I give them some they insist on giving me some. It is great that you can help folks. They still put people in cages for growing here, so I have to be very low profile.

I'm blessed with the economic part of life. I have a wife who made really good money for a few years. She makes more in retirement than I make working. So as long as she lives, I will be golden. And we have pretty good savings, so I will be fine even if she were to die young. I would just keep hoeing my peas and corn everyday.
 

a mongo frog

Well-Known Member
Absolutely, ancillary jobs and sales will always make the big money for sure. But that shouldn't discourage anyone from getting in the business... If I knew those jobs then maybe I'd get into them but I don't.
Plenty of room. Get your cuts right. And keep quality your main concern. Hand trim everything yourself. Go medically small. Oh and get your cuts rights. #1 priority = get your cuts right.
 
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