Although derided in certain circles, trimming machines have come on leaps and bounds since their introduction at the tail end of the last century. In the light of these innovations, savvy growers are increasingly embracing harvesting solutions to mechanize the resource intensive harvesting process, streamline operations and enhance profitability. Despite significant technological breakthroughs contempt remains, but what is driving these outdated views?
Misconceptions on the aptitude of trimming machines is largely down to outdated judgements on the very first devices, long before the arrival of legal cannabis and hemp markets. When growers had crop sizes in single figures confined to tents in spare bedrooms, automated trimmers may have appeared surplus to requirements and expendable. However, in today’s regulated industry, where even micro-cultivators are producing 175 lb harvests, hand trimming crops is no longer commercially viable.
QUALITY, CONSISTENCY AND COST
In the modern cannabis market, quality, consistency and cost are king and reign supreme. Artisanal harvesting methods are still prized, but rarely does it raise flower standards sufficiently to justify its price. The calibre of hand trimmed flower relies on a motivated workforce, with results consequently varying between employees and between crops.
To establish uniformity at scale, producers need to mechanize trimming with solutions that safeguard standards and simultaneously streamline the labour-intensive task. With the commercial success of cannabis markets, substantial resources have been invested into research and development to mechanically replicate hand-trimmed flower at scale.
The best specialist technologies can be adjusted on a strain-by-strain basis, to account for differences in flower density and wet and dry product. The ability to trim wet and dry cannabis or hemp affords growers the capability to apply an initial cut to remove bigger leaves and accelerate drying, in addition to a dry trim to refine and perfect the final aesthetic, effectively providing two trimming solutions in a single machine.
The first generation of automated trimmers did not benefit from these design features, nor had they been engineered to protect trichomes and flower potency. However, the times are a changing and top trimmin’ has gone electric!
ELITE HARVESTING SOLUTIONS
Electropolished dual-purpose hybrid tumblers have been produced to outperform both traditional wet and dry machines, providing the versatility to trim product efficiently regardless of moisture content. This enables growers to remove the larger leaves when wet to accelerate drying, and then finish with a dry trim to refine and perfect the appearance of dried flower.
As appreciation of cannabis’ medicinal properties develops, so do solutions that protect these attributes. Non-stick coatings, like QuanTanium**,** provide greater trichome preservation to protect potency and minimize downtime for cleaning, by stopping resin from adhering to the machine. Increased awareness of the plant’s therapeutic potential is also driving market expansion, with producers substantially scaling operations to meet demand.
Industrial operations need industrial harvesting solutions, with the biggest and best capable of processing up to 3,000 lbs of wet material every hour. Many of these benefit from the same cutting-edge technology created for commercial harvests, but bumped up to tackle Herculean hemp and cannabis harvests. With ground-breaking innovations integrated across the product portfolio, from TableTop trimmers to the XL 10.0, there is an elite harvesting wet and dry trimmer for every harvest.
To support growers of every size and convert the naysayers, CenturionPro has developed Rail Systems to better match throughput for more grow sizes. Unsure of the throughput for your grow size? Don’t worry we’ve got a solution for that too! The CenturionPro Product Selector.
