Cannabis Business Times has announced its Cannabis 2018 Cultivation Conference keynote speakers: Mel Frank, Robert C. Clarke, Mojave Richmond, David Holmes and Scott Reach.
During the three-day cultivation-focused conference in Oakland, Calif., these industry experts will anchor two keynote sessions on Tuesday, March 13, the second day of Cannabis 2018.
Frank, Clarke, Richmond and Holmes—some of the top breeding experts in the world—will be hosting a panel discussion on “Breeding Cannabis Varieties.”
Reach will share his perspectives during a session titled “What I Learned from My First Year as a Large-Scale Cultivator.”
“Breeding Cannabis Varieties,” will share advice on the most important aspects of breeding new varieties, including breeding for indoor strains vs. outdoor strains, important traits to breed for, an update on the status of genetic fingerprinting on cannabis strains and strain classification by chemotyping—as well as guidance on the decision about whether or not to patent your genetics.
About the Panelists
Mel Frank has nearly five decades of cannabis cultivation experience and is an internationally recognized book author, publisher and contributor to many cannabis-based magazines. In 1988, he founded Red Eye Press, publishing his “Marijuana Grower’s Insider’s Guide” as well as updated versions of the “Marijuana Grower’s Guide Deluxe,” which he co-authored with Ed Rosenthal. His photographs have been made into posters, calendars and trading cards, and reproduced as art. He currently collaborates with a network of cannabis researchers, works as a consultant and is the senior advisor to several California-based marijuana companies.
Robert C. Clarke has devoted his entire professional career and much of his personal life to the study of the cannabis plant and human-cannabis relationships. He is the author of “Marijuana Botany” and “HASHISH!,” co-author of “Hemp Diseases and Pests” and “Cannabis: Evolution and Ethnobotany,” as well as several book chapters and numerous peer-reviewed articles, and has participated in many international conferences. He maintains a lengthy working relationship with HortaPharm BV in the Netherlands, specializing in industrial and medicinal cannabis breeding, and continues to serve as project manager for the International Hemp Association. He presently heads BioAgronomics Group Consultants, an international cannabis consultancy specializing in smoothing the transition into a wholly legal and normalized cannabis market.
Mojave Richmond settled in the Netherlands in the early 1990s and became involved in the country’s newly emerging marijuana industry and breeding cannabis for specific therapeutic properties. Richmond developed the award-winning strain S.A.G.E., which served as a springboard for creating many notable cultivars, including Zeta. As laws began to relax in the U.S., Richmond moved back to California and began working as a cannabis farming consultant, designing custom hydro-organic cultivation facilities. Richmond continues to breed and develop new critically acclaimed varietals that present specific therapeutic attributes without compromising agronomic viability. He currently serves as an advisory board member for a National Institute of Health cannabis study based in Los Angeles. He is a founding member of the international consulting company BioAgronomics Groups.
David Holmes is founder of Clade9, a cannabis cultivation and genetics company that operates facilities in California, Arizona and Nevada. Although Holmes was classically trained as a mathematician and did research at NASA/JPL, he has 18 years of cannabis cultivation and breeding experience. Some strains he developed include Snake Eyes, Phoenix OG, Diamond Dust and Bract City.
Learning from a Large-Scale Cultivator
Longtime cultivator Scott Reach—one of the most respected names in cannabis breeding and cultivation—will present in his keynote presentation, “Learning From a Large-Scale Cultivator,” his unique viewpoint as a grower who built a state-of-the art cultivation operation. Reach has been hands-on with every aspect of his new facility, from design and construction to daily operations and maintenance.
“Growing is one piece of the puzzle,” said Reach, “and they must all fit for the picture to be complete.” Reach’s tale of a grower’s path to large-scale cultivation will provide attendees with a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to make a cultivation dream a reality, pitfalls that can await you at every turn, lessons learned and unexpected challenges that have faced him along the way. Learn, laugh, leave with a whole new perspective on a launching a larger cultivation operation.”
The Cannabis 2018 Cultivation Conference will be held March 12-14. For more information: cannabiscultivationconference.com
