Now that New Zealand is about to roll out cultivation licenses, Royal Brinkman, in collaboration with DryGair and Apex Greenhouses, have organized a one-day workshop at Southern Belle Orchard where growers can see with their own eyes how to make a Greenhouse operation more efficient. This will be held in Matamata, New Zealand, on 20th February. “There is a mixture of companies transitioning from food and flowers to cannabis that require knowledge in cannabis,” Matthew Dent with Royal Brinkman explains. “Additionally, there is a percentage of companies with knowledge of small-scale Cannabis operations, and they need to acquire the right knowledge to grow cannabis at scale, having efficiency at the top of their priorities.” This is exactly why the most renowned Dutch horticulture companies have lent their knowledge to the cannabis industry, thus making people’s businesses easier to manage and to understand.
Bringing everyone together
“We have a lot of growers interested in DryGair solutions,” Matthew explains. DryGair is a manufacturer of dehumidifier units that help growers to avoid disease, save operational costs and energy output. “Since not many cannabis grows are willing to open their doors to the public, we wanted to bring growers into facilities and show them what they should strive for, and how DryGair units function,” Matthew points out. Therefore, during the one-day workshop, attendees will tour the Southern Belle Orchard and see with their own eyes the benefits of DryGair units.
Keeping humidity under control
“Regardless of the crop you are growing, when conditions in the greenhouse reach a dew point, crops are then susceptible to moisture forming,” Matthew explains. “And moisture creates a fertile environment for pathogens like powdery mildew and botrytis to thrive. Thus, it is crucial to keep the climate under thorough control. The traditional way for controlling humidity was to vent the greenhouse while running the heating. However, this method not only is particularly expensive, as it makes extensive use of the HVAC, but also it is not even that effective. Thanks to DryGair units, it is possible to keep the greenhouse closed in low light conditions while keeping the humidity under control.”
The program of the workshop
Thus, the workshop will see experts discussing VPD, cannabis greenhouse growing, design considerations and more. “Yanor Yazma, agronomist with DryGair, will give an overview of the unit and how it performs the task of removing moisture from the air,” Matthew explains. “She will also present some data on how DryGair performs in different types of grows.”
“Then, Frans de Jong, owner of Southern Belle Orchard, will give a tour of the facility and he is going to talk about the installation process of the DryGair project, and the energy savings and positive results he experienced. On top of that, we as Royal Brinkman together with Apex Greenhouses will give a presentation on our turnkey projects, showing what are the most important things to take into consideration when it comes to setting up a grow facility.”
“I will also do a presentation on trends in hygiene in greenhouses, with a special mention of automated hygiene locks for disinfecting the staff entering the facility. I will also touch upon technologies for crop rotation and water management.”
The future surely looks bright for New Zealand’s cannabis industry. “We are seeing a handful of farms coming online, that will begin to build as the demand from the population rises, and companies establishing more export deals.”
For more information:
Royal Brinkman
Matthew Dent
03 9587 2566
matthew@royalbrinkman.com.au
royalbrinkman.com