North Tonawanda, N.Y. (WBEN) - Taking advantage of the increased demand for adult-use cannabis, the operators of the Wheatfield Gardens Greenhouse on Shawnee Road recently shifted its focus from "vine crops" like tomatoes and cucumbers to growing and processing marijuana.
A small portion of the 500,000 square foot greenhouse has been growing hemp, and now marijuana for the past few years. But plans call for the expansion of its adult-use cannabis production multifold from its current state-approved 25,000 square-feet space to 100,000 square-feet.
"f approved by the state, Wheatfield Gardens will be one of the largest cannabis production facilities in Western New York. With the pivot, Wheatfield Gardens may double its workforce from 31 employees to closer to 85 workers within the next year.
This is a classic case of an entrepreneurial pivot by a small business operator. Wheatfield Gardens CEO Paul Elfstrum explains why his company is making the shift
"You need to find high, high value crops that can keep pace with the cost of growing in under glass," Elfstrum said in an interview with WBEN.
Epstrom says with the shift to adult-use cannabis production, he will be able to harvest his crops several times a year, as opposed to the once annual harvest for "vine crops". A typical cannabis plant can be grown and become harvest ready within 12 weeks.
"You can only do it once a year in the greenhouse," Elfstrum said of tomatoes and cucumbers. "With cannabis, we can manipulate things like the length of the day and the temperatures to induce the plant to think it's October again."
To prep for the production shift, Wheatfield Gardens has invested, or will be spending nearly $9 million in building its full-scale operation.
The shift itself comes against the backdrop of New York reporting more than $1 billion in retail cannabis sales for the first eight months of this year.
"It's going to be one of the biggest crops in the United States. People are predicting it'll be second to California," Elfstrum said of New York's cannabis industry.
All of Wheatfield Gardens' cannabis products will be sold to state-approved retailers across New York.