The cannabis industry is growing rapidly, and several producers have come to rely on technology to speed up the process of growing plants. In particular, touchless automation is quickly making its way into the cannabis industry thanks to its ability to save growers both time and money.
In 2017, cannabis production saw a huge increase in automation. What was once a labor-intensive process of harvesting, curing, and trimming marijuana, is now being achieved through highly-automated touchless systems. These systems are making it possible to output the same amount of cannabis in less time, with less labor, and at lower cost than ever before.
For cannabis operators, compliance and efficiency at the same time often seem an impossible task.
This is especially true for growers, who must do everything possible to ensure that their cannabis is of high quality and produced in accordance with the laws of their state.
In 2017, Matt Mayberry, Karen Mayberry and Benjamin Wong (all passionate advocates for cannabis) explored the possibility of entering the legal market when they discovered the many challenges producers faced.
One of the biggest problems was that the systems used to collect the huge amounts of data needed by regulators were outdated.
Seeking solutions
We started by visiting trade shows to get a feel for the situation and quickly started talking to growers to find out what challenges they were facing in the current market, Matt Mayberry (CEO) explained in an interview with Cannabis & Tech Today.
One of the most surprising discoveries was that farmers manage important parts of their business with notebooks, whiteboards and spreadsheets, Mayberry says. Everything from crew planning and crop monitoring to harvest observations were documented manually and there was no practical way to track operations from one harvest to the next. We have seen that these methods discourage farmers. And with the industry expecting explosive growth, they cannot keep up with market demand with the tools available.
The trio realized there had to be a better way.
With Matt’s experience in software development, Benjamin’s expertise in networking and electrical engineering, Karen’s expertise in marketing, and the fact that all three founders had experience growing plants at home or for commercial purposes, the team wanted to create a technology platform that would help growers thrive in an evolving regulated market.
Trym was officially founded in 2018 and launched its first beta app in the summer of that year.
The company offers software solutions designed specifically for growers. They provide shift management, plant tracking and analysis tools that help growers increase productivity while meeting regulations.
Trym’s Grow application monitors lighting, humidity, temperature and levels, while the Explore application integrates task planning and workflows. To optimize the software, the company also offers hardware for environmental sensors.
Moment a-ha
If you ask the founders of Trym, they will tell you that the most exciting addition to their technology package is their revolutionary touchless harvesting system.
The intuitive platform was developed after the team realized growers were spending a lot of time weighing each plant at harvest.
At Trym, we strive to help farmers save time and optimize their operations, says Benjamin Wong, COO. In examining the harvesting methods used by producers to comply with government regulations, we found that there was a wide range of methods, all of which caused significant bottlenecks in the harvesting process and ultimately cost them significant time and money. We have recognized that there are many ways to improve this process.
The Trym team noted that farmers must be holding or working with something other than the plants when they weigh and count the plants after harvest.
Everything from pen and paper to expensive barcode or RFID scanners was used to slow things down.
Even if you weigh hundreds or thousands of cannabis plants, your hands are covered in resinous trichomes.
Having to push buttons on a device or pull the trigger on a scanner all day means the equipment you use can quickly become rickety.
We decided that the most efficient way to harvest was to not have to touch anything other than the plants being harvested, and so the idea of no-touch harvesting was born, says Wong. We realized the touchless aspect by developing a cleaning station that consists of a stand, a connected mobile device such as an iPad, and a scale that connects to the iPad via Bluetooth.
Contactless scan already in use
For operators from the Golden State, compliance seems to be an endless headache.
Trym relieves stress through easy integration with Metrc (short for Marijuana Enforcement Tracking Reporting & Compliance), California’s cannabis production data collection tool from seed to sale.
But it is the non-contact harvesting technology that is getting all the attention.
Growers who have already tried the company’s system are impressed by its ease of use and remarkable speed.
We tested a touchless harvest in November 2020 with our partner, FloraCal Farms, in Santa Rosa, California. Your team was able to photograph, weigh, record and bring back 680 plants for lunch!
Non-contact harvesting is a great combination of efficiency and compliance, says Andrew Rail, compliance manager at FloraCal Farms. This allows us to fully comply with the most conservative interpretations of regulatory harvesting requirements without sacrificing time.
Kevin Nelson, founder and head grower of Santa Cruz Roots in Santa Cruz, California, was also full of praise for the system.
Weighing each plant really sucks, but there’s no quicker way than the one Trym came up with with the No Touch Harvest.
Ecosystem integration .
While effectiveness and compliance are truly at the core of Trym, it is the dedication to the healing power of the cannabis plant that is the true driving force behind the innovation.
They hope to make life easier for operators while improving the overall market for consumers.
The company is currently working on several projects that will significantly expand its environmental monitoring and analysis capabilities, allowing growers to produce larger harvests and better quality flowers.
It also adds specific functionality for large California operators to make managing compliance for multiple licenses as efficient as possible.
We see the future of cannabis technology as an ecosystem of integration, says Karen Mayberry, co-founder and chief marketing officer. No single company can create the perfect solution for the entire industry. In 2021, we will focus on strengthening our position in the ecosystem and building a network of integration partnerships.
We want the pioneers who created this industry to be able to grow their businesses and flourish in a regulated market.
