Province sells tree nursery to hemp firm

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This article was published 21/02/2019 (1889 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Pineland Forest Nursery, once Manitoba’s government-owned source for tree seedlings, will be reborn as a commercial cannabis operation, the province announced Friday.

The provincial government has sold the facility near Hadashville for $1.43 million to a new company, Botanist Organic Growers Corp. The firm plans to use the site to grow hemp, a variety of cannabis containing negligible amounts of psychoactive tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).

Although hemp is usually cultivated for its edible seeds and versatile fibre, Botanist Organic Growers has a different end product in mind. Hemp can also contain significant amounts of the non-intoxicating chemical compound cannabidiol (CBD), which has drawn global attention for its therapeutic potential.

“We believe this facility will make us the largest indoor CBD producer in the world,” Botanist Organic Growers CEO and co-founder Jeremy Towning told reporters in the rotunda of Manitoba’s legislature, touting the facility’s 300,000 square feet of greenhouse space and 300 acre property.

“Our intention is to maximize our greenhouse facilities, and eventually start growing hemp CBD outdoors on our property through contracts with farmers in the area.”

Towning and fellow co-founder Duncan Gordon said they expect the facility will eventually employ as many as 200 Manitobans in jobs like production, marketing, research and sales. The founders said their company plans to set up a CBD extraction operation on site, and has begun discussions with researchers from the University of Manitoba. Botanist Organic Growers will also look for partnerships with local First Nations and Indigenous entrepreneurs, they said.

“Manitoba itself is ideal for this industry,” said Gordon, a former Winnipegger who is serving as chair of the privately-held company, which was incorporated in Manitoba this January.

“We have this amazing facility to begin with, but also a highly educated and diverse workforce.”

Although Botanist Organic Growers purchased Pineland’s physical assets from the province, the Crown land on which the facility sits remains in provincial hands and will be leased to Botanist for $200,000 a year.

Growth, Enterprise and Trade Minister Blaine Pedersen said Friday that the new business “will build on Manitoba’s strengths in value-added agricultural processing, and will leverage those strengths to pursue new product and market opportunities.”

Pineland Forest Nursery had been losing the province about half a million dollars a year, said Pederson. The provincial government announced it was closing the facility last May, and put out a request for proposals. At the time, Pedersen suggested Pineland might be put to good use as a cannabis farm.

Sustainable Development Minister Rochelle Squires said the closure of Pineland Forest Nursery won’t affect reforestation efforts in Manitoba.

“We have found private suppliers who will be supplying Manitoba with their seedlings,” said Squires.

Those seedlings will be grown from the same Manitoba seeds previously grown at Pineland, she said.

“The exact same amount of seedlings will be planted in Manitoba as any other year.”

Manitoba has already saved $100,000 this year by buying its seedlings from private suppliers, Squires added.

The co-founders of Botanist Organic Growers said their new facility still needs some work before it’s ready to start growing hemp. The company also needs the appropriate Health Canada licences before it can begin cultivating hemp and extracting CBD.

Researchers have known about CBD for decades, but the compound has gained increasing interest in recent years from both the natural health and the pharmaceutical industries. CBD is now considered a mainstream treatment for certain forms of epilepsy, and a CBD medication called Epidiolex was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration last June. CBD is also being studied as a potential treatment for conditions ranging from anxiety to arthritis.

On Wednesday, B.C.-based cannabis producer Tilray announced plans to acquire local hemp foods company Manitoba Harvest for $419 million. That deal will see Tilray and Manitoba Harvest “work together to develop innovative new CBD wellness products,” according to a press release.

solomon.israel@freepress.mb.ca

@sol_israel