For many years, cannabis cultivation was an underground process in Missouri, cultivated only by those daring enough to break the law in hopes of producing quality medicine.
Today, Missourians can grow medical marijuana, not only in their homes but also for large legal grow operations in huge facilities with thousands of feet of plants.
The scale of these jobs compared to a typical home development is drastically different. Cannabis industry grow rooms are high tech and feature large amounts of automation. Not only does one need to know the plant-related biological processes necessary to perform the job, but also the intricacies of the environment and how the automation works and maneuvers. How does one acquire the experience or qualifications to work in these commercial cultivation facilities?
Mike Birkel, President of Cultivation Solutions Group and founder of the Midwest Cannabis Institute, Missouri, the premier cannabis grower training program, with institute director Josh McNeill, a cannabis plant expert experienced in managing large-scale indoor cultivation operations, are ready to begin the process of training and certifying individuals interested in learning the necessary skills to work in the cannabis industry.
“The Midwest Cannabis Institute is a state-of-the-art training facility that will prepare students to grow cannabis on a commercial level. The school is intended to take any person, who has no knowledge of how to grow cannabis, into an in-demand person in the multi-billion dollar cannabis industry,” said director Josh McNeill.
Normally, it would be difficult to license a facility like this that is open to the public, however, if the plant being grown is cannabis, the process for licensing and public access is easier. But why cannabis instead of medical cannabis, and is there a difference between the plants?
“We grow hemp because it was easy to get an industrial hemp license at a good price. License prices (medical marijuana) are pretty high in Missouri, so we decided to go the cannabis route. A hemp plant and a hemp plant are identical in their characteristics, except that hemp has 0.3% or less THC. All other aspects of cannabis and the cannabis plant are the same, so growing cannabis is no different than growing cannabis, except that if you smoked our cannabis plants, you wouldn't get as high as you would with a cannabis plant. Principal McNeill said.
When asked to explain what kind of training would be included in the program, McNeill responded enthusiastically: “Every part of the growing process is included in the training, starting with seed and continuing through to sale. We focus on growing high quality cannabis with a focus on patient safety, ensuring all students have a good understanding of how to safely grow cannabis to ensure patients receive the highest quality, purest, medical cannabis. This course will prepare students with the ability to enter a large commercial development with all the knowledge and skills needed to succeed.”
Principal McNeill elaborated, explaining: “The school is a comprehensive program that covers all aspects of farming in a 12-week program. Students will learn how to grow from seed to sale. When students begin the program, they will begin by learning how to grow seeds in the first week of class. The program proceeds through the cultivation process, entering the propagation stage, then the germination stage, then the flowering stage, and finally the harvest stage. Students will also learn how to dry/cure the plants after the harvest is complete.”
“We also offer one-day courses to learn about specific growing topics. We'll be teaching one-day classes on things like cover, mowing, canopy management, irrigation strategies, IPM strategies, crop planning, crop safety and more.”
McNeill spoke of an added benefit: “Learning in this program will also help you build relationships with new people in the cannabis industry with the same passion as you and give you knowledge that can be shared with others.” He continued, “By the end of the program, students will be able to successfully take cuttings, top mother and plant plants, flowers, identify and create ideal environments, identify best practices for growing safe, pure cannabis, and more but”.
Inadequate training and lack of experience have often plagued the early days of cannabis legalization in new states. Although there are many crossover fields, the hemp plant has a certain demand that requires experience to tend.
The Midwest Cannabis Institute seeks to provide specific training programs that will offer certification to employers. The Institute also hopes to work with the State of Missouri to standardize this practice for use throughout the state, eventually requiring this type of training in order to work in a development facility. This practice is used in many different fields, most notably in electrical work.
“The idea came about after visiting facilities and it was obvious to me that there was a lack of formal training and methodology and specific safety aspects. That's when the idea of formal training came to fit the observed needs in these facilities for worker safety as well as patient safety. This current training platform is used in many other commercial industries and the idea of having this type of training in the cannabis industry seems like the right thing to do,” explained President Mike Birkel.
When asked about the development of the institute and the direction he thought it would take, Birkel said, “I imagine the result is a more homogenous type of training where there is a similar base between an apprenticeship grower and a grower who already has on-the-job training. We envision that the methods and processes applied by development workers will lead to safety, productivity and uniformity in the industry. To that extent, we hope to commit the state of Missouri to issue a state-approved apprenticeship license that will include specified classroom training and on-the-job training. We hope that this state license can one day become a standard for the cannabis industry.”
As cannabis culture grows daily, certification and education are the cornerstones of the industry in more established states. With the potential for adult use legalization coming in two short months, it appears the Midwest Cannabis Institute is just in time to train the next wave of cannabis industry workers and usher Missouri into a new era of cultivation success.
