North America’s Largest Marijuana Grow is Somewhere Unexpected
New Mexico’s largest medical marijuana company, Ultra Health, is gearing up for the potential of legalization in its state. However, it’s taking preparation and growth to a whole other level for the cannabis industry.
In January of 2018, Ultra Health released its plans to build a brand-new cultivation site in Tularosa, New Mexico. This site isn't going to be some regular, modern-day cannabis facility. Ultra Health is gearing up for this cultivation center to be the largest in the state. There are even some cannabis experts who believe this Tularosa facility will become the largest marijuana grow in North America.
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Tularosa Cultivation Site
Ultra Health announced the location of this facility in preparation for the upcoming, potential legalization of retail cannabis. With the state of New Mexico beginning to understand the tax dollar and employment opportunities they are missing out on, legalization is hopefully right around the corner. Either way, Ultra Health is positioning itself to ramp up production and be at the front of the pack.
This cultivation site will take up nearly 200 acres of open farmland, which gives Ultra Health more than 8.7 million square feet to work with. Marijuana grows of this size are unheard of, and the licensing of this operation will be very interesting, primarily if they include an industrial hemp operation. Ultra Health Tularosa has big plans for this site to maximize production and change the way cannabis is grown.
Specs of the Cultivation Site:
20 Acres of Indoor Cannabis Cultivation
80 Acres of Outdoor Cannabis Fields
100 Acres of Outdoor Industrial Hemp Fields
120,000 Square Feet of Production Buildings
Not only will this be the largest marijuana grow, but Ultra Health is on a mission to lead the industry in new cannabis cultivation methods. This entire facility will be powered by sustainable resources, such as solar and wind. This cultivation center is a significant step forward in setting precedent for how marijuana is produced as an agricultural and commercial crop. Efficiency is everything when it comes to production facilities, and Ultra Health believes this facility will maximize efficiency and maintain a high standard of quality.
What This Means for the State Market
The marijuana industry is a novel market that is growing before our very eyes. Even though this is a new industry, it’s beginning to follow the same capitalistic structure of every other market sector in our society today. Ultra Health’s massive marijuana cultivation facility is going to ramp up production drastically and create a consistent and sustainable supply for New Mexico. However, this may limit the amount of small-business competition. As we are seeing in many of the other existing cannabis industries, it is a race to the bottom to see which vendors can get their prices as low as possible.
The efficiency and production capabilities of this cultivation site may give Ultra Health the ability to own New Mexico’s market. By maximizing its processes, it can cut its costs of growing cannabis and hemp down drastically. In turn, this increases the volume of Ultra Health’s marijuana products that can be sold and brings savings to the consumers. It'll be interesting to see if an operation this large will affect the amount of competition that can survive in the New Mexico cannabis market.
Things to Pay Attention To
The growth of cannabis companies, like Ultra Health, is phenomenal for pushing the federal legalization of marijuana. As educated consumers and citizens, we need to pay attention to a few different factors of this booming industry. The recreational cannabis market is all about price right now. The way this industry is set up forces companies to focus on cutting costs and selling a high volume of low-cost product. Manufacturers and cultivators must drop prices to be able to remain competitive within this price-conscious market. This means vendors can no longer solely worry about quality if they want to keep their doors open. The path this industry is taking is a recipe for allowing big businesses to take over.
As the small cannabis businesses continue to be unsuccessful in this race to the bottom, we need to keep an eye out for the conglomerates and monopolies that could form. The cannabis industry is built on the small mom-n-pop shops that initially brought patients high-quality medical marijuana. However, as cannabis is not a federally-legal substance, many of the anti-monopoly measures within our government do not apply to this federally-illegal industry. It would be a shame if we saw extensive cultivation begin to destroy independent competition due to lack of regulation. Having the largest marijuana grow in North America comes with the responsibility to set a precedent for the future cultivation of cannabis. As educated consumers, we need to keep the industry honest as it continues to grow, and protect the quality of our marijuana products!
Stay tuned for more updates on the largest marijuana grow, here!
