Greenhouse growers uproot other crops for a stake in lucrative cannabis market
LINCOLN, Ont. — Inside this southern Ontario greenhouse, workers delicately clip each stem of a potted orchid onto thin, black stakes jutting out from its soil, marking the finishing touches on the final floral harvest before turning over a new leaf: marijuana.
The Lincoln, Ont. facility, which was purchased by Newstrike Resources Ltd. last year and will be filled with cannabis plants in the coming months, is one of many across Canada where traditional crops are being uprooted as licensed marijuana producers seek to expand as quickly as possible ahead of the legalization of recreational marijuana this summer.
Greenhouse growers — already coping with long-standing challenges such as foreign competition and thinning margins — are facing added pressure from the rise of marijuana as a legal, commercial crop because it creates more competition for horticultural talent and higher profitability expectations for financing.
That leaves indoor farmers increasingly eyeing the more lucrative source of green.