Cannabis Cultivation and Science Podcast

Kelly came to B.I. in 2016 after a 17-year career in greenhouse ornamental and landscape pest management with a strong focus on biological controls and soft chemistry. Since joining the team in Redding, he’s worked in a wide variety of ornamental, food and hemp/cannabis crops developing bio control programs for a myriad of crop pests.  https://www.kisorganics.com/pages/copy-of-cannabis-cultivation-and-science-podcast-episode-63

Kelly Vance came to Beneficial Insectary in 2016 after a 17-year career in greenhouse ornamental and landscape pest management with a strong focus on biological controls and soft chemistry. Since joining the team in Redding, he’s worked in a wide variety of ornamental, food and hemp/cannabis crops developing bio control programs for a myriad of crop pests.  https://www.kisorganics.com/pages/cannabis-cultivation-and-science-podcast-episode-63

Ladybugs are amazing insects and wonderful aphid predators. However, there are a ton of reasons why you should never buy them and why they shouldn't even be legal to sell.  I was fortunate to get an expert who has been studying ladybugs and their ecology for decades. Dr. J.P. Michaud is an insect ecologist specializing in biological control and other aspects of crop protection entomology.  He has a background in evolutionary ecology and many of his research endeavors are guided by the implications of evolutionary theory.  His interests include cultural and conservation approaches to biological control of aphids in field crops, ecology of the Coccinellidae, and the interface between host plant resistance and biological control. Dr. Michaud completed his B.Sc. at McGill University and his masters and Ph.D. at Simon Fraser University.  After seven years at the University of Florida studying biological control of disease vectors in citrus, he moved to Kansas State University where he has been developing integrated management strategies for pests of field crops and approaches to conserving their natural enemies since 2003. https://www.kisorganics.com/pages/cannabis-cultivation-and-science-podcast-episode-62  

Understanding how these soil tests are performed and what numbers you should be using is really important. Some numbers on these tests don't work for potting soils. Agronomist and Author Bill McKibben takes us through the Logan Labs tests and shares what you need to know when using a soil test with potting soils. SPOILER: It's not the same as agricultural soils and not all the numbers are accurate! https://www.kisorganics.com/pages/cannabis-cultivation-and-science-podcast-episode-61

This episode is a bit different than my other episodes. With the upcoming Biocontrols Conference in Portland, Oregon next week, I wanted to interview a couple speakers and key attendees prior to the show.  I caught up with Suzanne Wainwright Evans, to talk a bit about the cannabis aphid. I also interviewed John Sanderson who is a professor of entomology at Cornell University with over 30 years of experience in pest management experience on greenhouse crops. Ronald Valentin, the director of technical business for Bioworks, and Justin Magill, head grower at Legit Farm North.

There's been little to no research on what nutrient disorders look like when analyzing leaf tissue on cannabis. Paul Cockson shares his recently published paper on the subject from North Carolina State University. https://www.kisorganics.com/pages/cannabis-cultivation-and-science-podcast-episode-59

Why do we grow the cultivars (strains) that we do? There's a lot of mythology surrounding potency and the cannabis experience. Learn how scientists are using data to help determine why certain cultivars are more popular and how high THC is a product of prohibition and not enjoyment. https://www.kisorganics.com/pages/cannabis-cultivation-and-science-podcast-episode-58

Deron is a horticultural scientist and the Director of Plant Science at Flowr in Kelowna, BC. He was the first person in North America to earn a PhD with research focused on cannabis production. Dr. Caplan has written and published several  peer-reviewed articles on cannabis production, focusing on irrigation, growing media, fertilization, and propagation. He has testified on cannabis production before the Canadian Senate’s Standing Committee on Agriculture and Forestry and has provided expert commentary on cannabis for a variety of media outlets, including CBC, Nature, and Rolling Stone Magazine. https://www.kisorganics.com/pages/cannabis-cultivation-and-science-podcast-episode-57

Certifications within the Cannabis industry are a lot more complicated than one would think at first glance. Andrew Black is the Certified Kind Founder and Director. Andrew spent the past 11 years working for Oregon Tilth, one of the nation’s most trusted organic certification agencies. Andrew has worn many hats in organic certification, including Farm Program Manager, Inspector, Final Reviewer, Latin American Specialist, and Certification Officer. Andrew has inspected hundreds of farms and food processing facilities in the United States and Latin America and has made certification decisions for hundreds more.  https://www.kisorganics.com/pages/cannabis-cultivation-and-science-podcast-episode-56

This week’s podcast is with David Bronner, CEO aka Cosmic Engagement Officer for Dr. Bronners, the top selling brand of natural soaps in North America. Not only do they make the best soap, but they’ve dedicated themselves to advocacy around our food supply, regenerative organic agriculture, animal welfare, fair labor practices, and responsible integration of cannabis and psychedelic medicine into American and global culture. In my opinion, this is one of the best examples of how a company can operate ethically and sustainably in today’s society and it was an honor to spend this time with David. I could spend the entire podcast just talking of all the amazing thing Dr. Bronner’s has done for the community and it’s employees, but the main purpose was to discuss their partnership on the Sun and Earth Certification for cannabis and the non-profit David has helped in establishing called Brother David’s.   https://www.kisorganics.com/pages/cannabis-cultivation-and-science-podcast-episode-55