McGifford: “We’re seeing a solid upwards trend”

By Wade Stephens
Sunraysia Daily

Cann Group has harvested a record amount of dry inhalable cannabis flowers from two successive crops at its Mildura facility.

The milestone medicinal crop was propogated in June, and harvested over the past fornight.

The facility’s general manager, Russell McGifford, said the crop was a result of upscaled production, and a sign of things to come.

“We’re expecting to see yields increase well over the next four to six weeks,” he said.

“We’ve seen a solid upwards trend since July in yields and we’re well on track to beat further records in the coming months.

“It’s good proof that we’re through the teething period of the facility and now we’re on to a nice smooth consistent future.”

The operation is currently working to an annual production of eight tonnes, up from four tonnes, and is aiming for 12.5 tonnes.

Cannabis flowers at the facility are typically graded into two streams - inhalable and extraction. Premium flowers are graded as inhalable and remain as dried products delivered to consumers in jars, while those graded for extraction are purified and used for other products, such as oils.

With additional crops coming online, Cann increased its level of scrutiny this year.

“We took a good look at how we were grading the flower and made some heavy changes in terms of what we classified as inhalable and what we classified as extraction material,” Mr McGifford said.

“The impact of that is we actually wound up putting a bit more flower into extraction, just to make sure that the flower that was going to jars to patients really maintained the higher quality.

“The fact that we’re now breaking those inhalable yields, even though compared to this time last year, we were probably less stringent, is a really good sign.”

Cann has signed a variation agreement with Levin Health regarding the supply of its flower products through to December 31, 2023.

This will see Cann supply product worth $1.58 million from September 1 to December 31.

The company will supply a total of $2.29 million in flower products to Levin for the period July 1 to December 31, as well as an additional $850,000 in oil products.

“What this shows is Levin’s confidence in our ability to supply and produce high quality material,” Mr McGifford said.

“They’re willing to take on and work with us to provide more of our dried flower to patients that need it.

“It’s a really positive sign and backs up the hard work we’re doing to improve the quality of the output on site.”