Saturday, May 21, 2022
High Yields Cannabis/Marijuana/ Weed News
  • Home
  • Cannabis Stocks
  • Cannabis Strains
  • Cannabis Laws
    • Marijuana Laws in All 50 States
    • International Marijuana Laws 2021
  • Product Reviews
  • Growing
  • Write for Us
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Cannabis Stocks
  • Cannabis Strains
  • Cannabis Laws
    • Marijuana Laws in All 50 States
    • International Marijuana Laws 2021
  • Product Reviews
  • Growing
  • Write for Us
No Result
View All Result
High Yields
No Result
View All Result
Home News

Controlled Environment Agriculture: An Interview with Sam Andras

Jeremy Vedder by Jeremy Vedder
November 3, 2021
in News
0
Cronos Group Launches Delicious New Dual-Flavor Cannabis

READ ALSO

Canopy Growth Acquires Jetty Extracts

Will CBD Smokers Widely Switch To Vaporizers?

Food-focused controlled environment agriculture (CEA) is a multidisciplinary production technique whereby plants and products are grown inside greenhouses, vertical farms and growth chambers where every aspect of the environment can be monitored and controlled. Using CEA, cultivators can produce high-value and traditional food crops with the goal of maximizing plant productivity in an efficient and environmentally friendly way.

As the industry’s first integrated building and cultivation systems design firm, urban-gro is ushering in a new era in the design of efficient indoor agriculture facilities, providing productivity and efficiency benefits to CEA operators when designing and operating facilities.

We interviewed Sam Andras, executive vice president of Professional Services at urban-gro, and principal of MJ12 Design Studio. Sam joined urban-gro after his company MJ12 Design Studio was acquired in July 2020. Prior to that, he was principal in charge of 2WR+ Partners, a 20-year Georgia-based architecture and interior design firm.

Aaron Green: Sam, tell me, how did you get started in the cannabis industry?

A facility that Andras designed in Massachusetts

Sam Andras: I started my architecture firm in 2001 in Georgia and later moved to Colorado in 2012. In 2013, I had the opportunity to do three cannabis facilities and really saw it as an emerging market that I thought would be really cool to dig into and pursue. Due to the marijuana stigma at the time, our company, 2WR, decided to create a cannabis-specific entity and developed MJ12 Design Studio. We built a website and it took off. Since 2013, I’ve personally designed about 130 cultivation facilities and vertically integrated facilities, from Hawaii all the way to New Zealand.

Green: When you say vertically integrated, what does that include?

Andras: The full building design of cultivation, product manufacturing, extraction, infusion and dispensaries.

Green: Is that something urban-gro currently does as well?

Andras: Now? Yes, with MJ12 under the facility design umbrella. After urban-gro acquired us in July, they were able to start offering full turnkey services. Everything from architecture, mechanical and plumbing engineering, electrical engineering, integrated cultivation, design of fertigation, benching, lighting, water treatment, environmental controls and other plant focused services– all of that is under our umbrella.

Green: Can you explain what controlled environment agriculture (CEA) is?

Andras: Absolutely. To me, CEA is crop agnostic, it can be anything from leafy greens to cannabis. Though we’re mainly focused on the cannabis industry and controlling that environment, we do also serve some leafy green companies. Environmental control includes things like temperature and humidity levels in the various stages of growth which is key to the economic success of organizations.

A California dispensary he designed

I’m a firm believer in legalization on the federal level down the road, which means that everything’s going to be under FDA for human consumption. If you look at the European models, when you look at the medicinal product development, it’s focused on consistency of the crop, from one crop to the next. And the way you achieve consistency is with CEA.

Green: From a resource perspective, can you describe how CEA differs from indoor to outdoor and greenhouse?

Andras: When you look at the market and the sale value of cannabis flower grown indoors versus outdoors or even greenhouse, greenhouse growing has huge variations by region. I believe greenhouses function better in more of a dry, arid climate. Indoor grows give you the ability to design and control your entire environment including temperatures, humidity levels, plant sizes, watering rates and other considerations. Growing indoors, in a controlled environment, gives you more flexibility to explore different alternatives in your cultivation.

A California cultivation facility he designed

Green: Final question: what in cannabis or in your personal life are you most interested in learning about?

Andras: That’s a great question. I’m a hands-on kind of guy. I would love to spend a couple of weeks working in extraction, as that’s the piece of the puzzle, as an architect, I know the least about. We’ve designed pretty much every type of cultivation from drip irrigation aeroponics to aquaponics, ebb & flow. You name it, we’ve done it, but the whole extraction process and the different equipment, and why companies choose ethanol, butane, hydrocarbon, CO2 and how to design for those extraction processes is something that as an architect, I’d love to learn more about.

Green: Okay, Great. That concludes the interview. Thanks Sam!

Andras: Thanks, Aaron.

[Original Source]

Total
0
Shares
Share 0
Tweet 0
Pin it 0
Share 0

Related Posts

California cannabis brands fined for violating Environmental Laws
News

Canopy Growth Acquires Jetty Extracts

May 19, 2022
Will CBD Smokers Widely Switch To Vaporizers?
News

Will CBD Smokers Widely Switch To Vaporizers?

May 19, 2022
Massachusetts Adult-Use Marijuana Sales Officially Exceed $3 Billion, State Reports
News

Massachusetts Adult-Use Marijuana Sales Officially Exceed $3 Billion, State Reports

May 18, 2022
Aleafia Health Announces the Appointment of Mark J. Sandler
News

Best Cannabis Movie Quotes of All Time

May 18, 2022
MedMen’s Tracy McCourt appointed President of West Hollywood cannabis organization
News

FDA Issues Warning Over Copycat Cannabis Consumables

May 17, 2022
Medical Marijuana, Inc. CEO Featured on Seeking Alpha’s CEO
News

Arizona Recreational Marijuana Sales Hit A New Record In March, State Reports

May 16, 2022
Next Post
Study finds medical cannabis improves quality of life in older adults with chronic pain

Study finds medical cannabis improves quality of life in older adults with chronic pain

  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
Monthly Spotlight: The Best of Plain Jane CBD

Monthly Spotlight: The Best of Plain Jane CBD

April 8, 2022
The Ultimate Dr. Dabber Stella Vaporizer Review for 2022

The Ultimate Dr. Dabber Stella Vaporizer Review for 2022

April 19, 2022
volcano hybrid review 2022

The 2022 Volcano Hybrid Vaporizer Review: All You Need To Know

March 19, 2022
The Utillian 5 v3 Wax Pen Review for 2022

The Utillian 5 v3 Wax Pen Review for 2022

March 27, 2022

The 7 Best Smell-Proof Weed Bags To Keep Your Bud Stash Safe

April 27, 2022
The Best Synthetic Urine Kit to Pass Your Drug Test in 2022

The Best Synthetic Urine Kit to Pass Your Drug Test in 2022

March 28, 2022
The 10 Best Smell Proof Backpacks for Weed in 2022

The 10 Best Smell Proof Backpacks for Weed in 2022

May 5, 2022
Cronos Group Launches Delicious New Dual-Flavor Cannabis

Watch a new documentary focused on Nipsey Hussle’s cannabis business

May 21, 2022
Former NFL Running Back Marshawn Lynch Launches Premium Blunt Brand

Former NFL Running Back Marshawn Lynch Launches Premium Blunt Brand

0
Major Marijuana Coalition Forms To Coordinate Legalization Push, But Some Key Advocacy Players Aren’t Involved

Major Marijuana Coalition Forms To Coordinate Legalization Push

0
MMJRecs - cannabis leaf

How Medical Marijuana Can Help Treat Sleep Disorders

0
Colorado Cannabis Sales Exceed $2 Billion in 2020

Colorado Cannabis Sales Exceed $2 Billion in 2020

0
Cronos Group Launches Delicious New Dual-Flavor Cannabis

Watch a new documentary focused on Nipsey Hussle’s cannabis business

May 21, 2022
Stem Holdings Reports Fiscal Full Year 2021 Financial

Pasadena cannabis licensing suits can proceed, California panel says

May 21, 2022
Jushi Holdings Inc. Expands Partnership with Laundry

From The Earth seeks atty fees in kickback case against LA suburb

May 21, 2022
Anything Technologies Media, Inc. Gives Update Regarding

3 armed suspects rob marijuana dispensary near Pasadena

May 21, 2022

Archives

  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • March 2020

Categories

  • 1933 Industries
  • 4front Ventures
  • Acreage Holdings
  • Ascend Wellness
  • Ayr Wellness
  • Body & Mind
  • C21 Investments
  • Cannabis Stock Quotes & News
  • Cansortium Inc
  • Captor Capital
  • Ceres Acquisition Corp
  • Chalice Brands
  • Columbia Care
  • Cresco Labs
  • CuraLeaf
  • Gage Growth
  • Glass House Brands
  • Green Thumb Industries
  • Grown Rogue International
  • Harborside
  • Item 9 Labs
  • Jushi Holdings
  • Lowell Farms
  • MariMed
  • MedMen Enterprises
  • News
  • Next Green Wave
  • Planet 13
  • Plus Products
  • Product Reviews
  • Red White & Bloom
  • SLANG Worldwide
  • Sol Global Investments
  • TerrAscend
  • TILT Holdings
  • Trulieve
  • Verano Holdings
  • Vext Sciences
  • Vibe Growth

Recent Posts

  • Watch a new documentary focused on Nipsey Hussle’s cannabis business
  • Pasadena cannabis licensing suits can proceed, California panel says
  • From The Earth seeks atty fees in kickback case against LA suburb
  • 3 armed suspects rob marijuana dispensary near Pasadena

QR Code

Controlled Environment Agriculture: An Interview with Sam Andras
No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
  • News

© 2021 High Yields