For Outdoor Growers, Terroir Means Everything!

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An Interview with CEO, Jeff Oberfelder, of Be Well Farms; Chelan, Washington

"Terroir" is the word used to describe the combined factors which all contribute, collectively, to the finished wine that you're drinking. Terroir referes to the soil, the regional climate and the local micro-climates of the local geography where the vineyard is located. 

Terroir does not just refer to the composition of the soil. It refers to the interaction of everything, including organic factors (like humans).

The "microclimate" refers to the meteorological phenomena and variables within a very small geographc region. Hillside vs. valley for example or coastal vs. inland.

For you outdoor cultivators, here's the views of the CEO of Be Well Farms, Inc. in Chelan, Washington; Jeff Oberfelder. Nestled away in the cascade foothills of central Washington, his 16 acre farm is surrounded by pasture, organic orchards and hiking trails. Be Well Farms is managed by, Jeff, an experienced industry veteran of the natural foods industry and experienced in leveraging organic growing methods, exclusively. Be Well Farms offers over 50 strains for recreational use.

"We find that our C+H farming operation needs to put a stake in the ground to drive the distinction between indoor and outdoor growing.", says Jeff.

"Be Well Farms is a stand-out example where environmental sustainability goes along with economic sustainability. Sun-grown C+H products have better aesthetics and greater appeal to the recreational consumer, like fine wines do for wine enthusiasts. There is a growing preference for organic, naturally grown, long-flowering Sativas.  These are expensive for indoor growers to grow. Plus, more importantly, they (i.e. indoor growers) just can't match the terroir that our outdoor harvests' bring.

Chelan is an ideal place for growing marijuana with 320 days of sun per year. The other distinction that we like to make to consumers is that we can produce long-flowering Sativas. The indoor market has shifted towards indicas, which I think was a great fit for medical markets where people are looking for pain relief and to sleep. I look at indoor weed and I call it 'loud weed'. The reason being, is that it was harvested prematurely. This, in turn, is because of those nasty power bills adding up. If you're an indoor grower, you’ve got a lot of pressure to get the next crop in because of the cost of materials and the energy bill. 

We find that indoor-grown C+H products have very bright white crystals. There are few amber crystals. It’s a very green grop, generally, because the chlorophyll has not had a chance to break down. An indoor crop can smell great, but that is because the terpenes have not been able to volatize, during in the curing and drying processes. Indoor Cannabis hits you hard , causing a tickling of the throat and a numbing of the tongue.

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We believe that C+H products, grown Indoors,

provide an inferior therapeutic and recreational experience,

pure and simple.

The recreational user is now becoming a different user. They tend to be professional, they tend to be active, and they want Sativas. The one thing we know about Sativas is they generally take longer to flower. That’s going to affect the bottom line of an indoor grower. Thus, they’ve moved, very quickly, towards early-flowering plants.

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It has been estimated that one (1) percent of the nation’s power is being used to grow marijuana, right now! 

That’s enough to power a city of 2 or 3 million homes.

In terms of carbon, it’s equal to having 3 million cars on the road.

Smoking a single indoor-grown joint is like driving a car 44 miles, or leaving a 100 watt lightbulb on for 25 hours.

The bottom line: It takes a lot of energy to replicate the sun!

Our Be Well Farm brands are predominantly, Sativa. We’re educating our farm customers that this is the higher value, and harder to grow, crop.

Here at Be Well Farms, we employ a lot of techniques to grow the highest quality marijuana that we can produce. The secret sauce consists of full spectrum rays (of the sun) combined with our advanced soil technologies and organic practices."

[Dave_M]

Jeff, really great article!

We also love your, very significant and memorable, quotes.

Thanks!