Cann represented at Protected Cropping Australia conference

Cann Group was represented by two Mildura staff members at last month’s Protected Cropping Australia 2023 conference in Brisbane.  

Mildura Cultivation Manager, Angus Murray, and Integrated Pest and Disease Management Specialist, Caleb North, attended the biennial event, hosted by Protected Cropping Australia, the peak industry body representing commercial hydroponic and greenhouse growers in Australia.  

The three-day event was the largest to date and brought over leading experts from across Australia, as well as Europe and the US. 

“Protected cropping is the fastest growing agriculture industry in Australia,” Murray said. 

“It’s grown 60% in the last five years, so we’re part of that shift to moving operations indoors, reducing pesticides and creating controlled environments.  

“At Cann, we have a world-class glasshouse. Many of the growers at the conference could only dream of the amazing technology we have to be able to cultivate plants. 

“So, without being too boastful, we’re leading edge in terms of these sorts of structures and these technological advances in growing crops indoors. 

The protected cropping industry encompasses many sectors of horticulture including fruits, vegetables, flowers and medicinal cannabis. 

“I think if you’re a grower of any type, you understand that ‘seven days a week’ mentality of keeping plants alive, so certainly there is a lot of camaraderie between growers there,” Murray said. 

“For the most part, whether you’re talking to a tomato grower, an apple grower or a cannabis grower, there’s pretty similar challenges in terms of labour and staffing, pest and disease management and environment control - a lot of stuff that isn’t unique to cannabis.” 

North added, “With protected cropping being that it is indoors, there is a lot of investment into technology and so you get a lot of people who bring their innovations to the conference to talk about what the future looks like and ways we can improve what we’re currently doing.” 

With a handful of other medicinal cannabis companies present at the conference, North explained there was a collaborative approach to much of the discussion. 

“Australia is still such a small industry as far as cannabis goes currently, we’re still in a very nascent stage. We’re also net importers – we import more than we can actually produce right now. So, for that small group of people that are actually producing in Australia, I think it is worth, not disclosing everything, but it’s worth getting to know how they do things and chatting about the challenges,” North said. 

“Approximately 90% of Australian cannabis growers are indoors with protected cropping, so it was a great spot to connect and journey together as we continue to shape this industry in Australia.” 

With Cann Group being corporate members of the PCA for the past year, the Company’s presence within the organisation recently grew further with Murray being elected to a seat on the Industry Advisory Council Committee.  

As the representative for the medicinal cannabis industry on the Council, Murray says his focus is on growing the impact of conversations around cannabis in future conferences and on the PCA more broadly.  

“Really what it means is Cann has a seat at the table to influence, ask questions and get as much as we can, as a small industry in medicinal cannabis, out of the PCA,” Murray said. 

“So, whether we need help in certain areas, or whether we need to make connections with other allied companies or other allied trades, it’s sort of a shortcut, if you will, to getting the help we need.”  

Abuzz with new learnings and potential processes that can be implemented, Murray and North agreed Cann’s continued membership of the PCA will be integral to the Company’s ongoing progression. 

“You’ve got a ton of vendors with a ton of experience, and just chatting to them can give you a wealth of knowledge. So, I only hope that we can get more and more people from Cann to these sorts of conferences next time, just because the knowledge and learning you get out of it feeds back into the business in a meaningful way.”