A company that owns a large-scale greenhouse operation in East Ladner recently outlined its ambitious plans to enter the huge U.S. market.
Owned by Village Farms International, Pure Sunfarms has two large-scale side-by-side greenhouses on 80th Street.
President and CEO Michael DeGiglio said that while Village Farms cannot yet participate in the U.S. cannabis market, it has made a strategic entry into the U.S. with the acquisition of CBD company Balanced Health Botanicals. It could serve as a conduit to the U.S. cannabis space once federal legalization moves forward.
Village Farms also has another potential entry point into the U.S. with four company-owned greenhouse facilities in Texas, totalling of 5.5-million-square-feet.
Those facilities are currently growing vegetables under Village Farms’ fresh produce division, but when federal legalization moves forward, the company will be able to convert them for the large-scale, low-cost production of cannabis. That was the case for the Pure Sunfarms facility in Delta when cannabis was legalized in this country.
DeGiglio on the company’s website said they also anticipate there will eventually be opportunities for interstate commerce in the U.S., and its Texas assets are well-positioned to meet that need when it arises.
Pure Sunfarms is also ramping up its export capabilities.
Cannabis operations currently account for approximately 35-to-40 percent of Villages Farms’ business.
Meanwhile, there are more changes for another company that has large-scale cannabis greenhouse operation in East Delta.
Agra Ventures Ltd. last week announced that David Grand has resigned as CEO and chair of the company’s board.
Grand assumed the position of CEO on July 1, 2022, after Elise Coppens stepped down from the role. In mid-July, he also assumed the roles of director and chair of the board following the resignation of Coppens from those roles as well.
The company announced that Grand expects to remain affiliated with the Agra Ventures Ltd. as he transitions to a new role involving the company’s subsidiary, Boundary Bay Cannabis, and other short-term corporate development initiatives.
Located on 64th Street, Boundary Bay Cannabis is a partnership between Agra Ventures Ltd. and Houweling Nurseries, which operates a cannabis greenhouse on 64th Street.
Grand recently toured the East Ladner facility as part of his initial assessment of its operations.
Nick Kuzyk has been appointed by the Agra Ventures Ltd. board as its interim CEO and director, effective immediately, subject to the final acceptance of the Canadian Securities Exchange.
The company said its board “expects to embark on an extensive search for a permanent CEO in due course.”
