Few figures in hashish embody each the visionary drive and technical rigor of Mike Straumietis, the founding father of Superior Vitamins. Identified all through the cultivation world as “BigMike,” he has spent greater than twenty years chasing a singular objective: unlocking the plant’s full genetic potential. From early tissue-sample experiments within the Nineties to at this time’s eighth-generation nutrient formulations, Straumietis has constructed his firm on an unyielding perception that hashish can and must be handled like all high-value agricultural crop.
When Hashish & Tech In the present day caught up with him, Straumietis was within the thick of making ready for MJBizCon, the place Superior Vitamins stays a fixture on the expo ground. What adopted was a deep, unfiltered dialog concerning the evolution of hashish science, the breakthroughs that outlined his profession, and the way forward for cultivation — from digital genomes to cannabinoid-optimized genetics.
Hashish & Tech In the present day: You’ve mentioned rising hashish has advanced from artwork to specific science. What second outlined that shift for you?
Mike Straumietis: It was 1999. I puzzled if anybody was truly making these merchandise for hashish. So we began doing tissue samples from a number of strains each week, from veg by flowering, and labored with UBC and BCIT, which is mainly the MIT of Canada.
We realized hashish may be very exact in what it needs at particular factors in its progress cycle. There’s an actual shift within the micronutrients between bloom and develop, and as soon as we mapped that, we may get precise about feeding. Chelation expertise is big in that—having the fitting chelates of micronutrients makes all of the distinction.
Once we hit the ceiling of what vitamins alone may do, I joined the Plant Progress Regulation Society of America. That’s the place I began speaking to PhDs from all around the world, the very best minds in agricultural science. They’d compounds and stimulants that had been too costly for mainstream agriculture however excellent for hashish. That modified the whole lot.
We’re now on our eighth era of formulations. It blows away the seventh. It took three years and greater than three million {dollars} in analysis. We’re already engaged on the ninth and gearing up for the tenth. The tenth is one thing completely new, the subsequent wave in agricultural science, and we’re already making use of it to hashish.
C&T In the present day: The pH Excellent line is known for its computerized stabilization. What impressed that improvement?
Straumietis: Consistency. You’ll be able to’t have a formulation that shifts relying on the atmosphere or the person. We ran 1000’s of trials in hydro, coco, and soil to verify it labored in each system. We wanted one thing so dependable that even when a grower made small errors, the plant would nonetheless thrive. That’s the fantastic thing about pH Excellent—it’s forgiving and helps folks be taught.
C&T In the present day: Talking of dwelling growers, what’s your tackle that motion?
Straumietis: It’s the subsequent large factor. Extra tomatoes are grown at dwelling than purchased in shops. If that holds true for hashish, tens of millions of individuals are going to develop. You’ve acquired autoflowers now—simply plant and go. The regulation may enable three or six crops, however that’s sufficient for private harvests. Everybody ought to have the fitting to develop.
Folks love displaying off their gardens on-line. As soon as extra states enable it, you’ll see hashish rising subsequent to tomatoes and peppers. It’s a part of the identical yard revolution.
C&T In the present day: Your new SB1 additive makes use of nano-carb and phyto applied sciences to boost terpenes and resin. How does it work?
Straumietis: A few of that’s proprietary, however I can let you know a part of it’s a sugarcane extract fermented in a really particular manner that provides us an edge. It’s like rocket gas. Growers utilizing SB1 are seeing shut to 6 p.c terpenes, greater cannabinoids, and higher harvest weights. It’s a part of the eighth era of merchandise—an entire new expertise platform for hashish.
C&T In the present day: You talked about the subsequent era is already underway. What makes the ninth and tenth so completely different?
Straumietis: The ninth era is an optimization of what we have already got. The tenth is a very new platform being found in mainstream agriculture proper now. It hasn’t been utilized to hashish but, however it is going to be. It’s extraordinarily tough and costly, however we’ll do it.
C&T In the present day: Let’s discuss your Cultivator Collection. You’ve mentioned it’s the one three-part water-soluble line that meets hashish’s phase-specific wants. How does that translate to yield and efficiency?
Straumietis: While you give the plant precisely what it needs, it thrives. Folks neglect the chemistry. There are anions and cations. Should you give too many anions, the plant exudes an alkaline substance that harms the rhizosphere. We’re heavy on cations, which retains it acidic and steady.
We additionally discovered hashish makes use of numerous iron—nearly like a secondary nutrient. In veg, it needs extra calcium, iron, manganese, and boron. In bloom, it needs extra nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus, and zinc. The calcium demand drops in bloom.
Hashish is an accumulator plant. It’s going to soak up something, good or unhealthy. So you must watch out. And right here’s a giant delusion: hashish doesn’t want as a lot phosphorus as folks suppose. Universities at the moment are backing what we printed twenty years in the past—the “phosphorus delusion.” Corporations overuse phosphate as a result of there’s a surplus of it globally, however an excessive amount of truly limits yield.
Should you go to the phosphate mines in Morocco, they’re pumping it into the bottom like loopy. However the plant doesn’t use all of it, and it finally ends up hurting its skill to supply.
C&T In the present day: Is overfeeding nonetheless the commonest mistake?
Straumietis: Completely. Folks suppose extra is healthier, nevertheless it’s not. Precision beats extra. Should you’re an athlete, you don’t simply overload on one macronutrient. Vegetation are the identical. Give them stability and timing, they usually’ll reward you with consistency.
C&T In the present day: Schooling has at all times been a part of your mission. Inform us about your new initiatives.
Straumietis: The largest Achilles’ heel on this trade is the shortage of standardized coaching for cultivators. That’s why we launched the Conflict Room: Elite Cultivation Techniques ebook. It’s state-of-the-art. It covers under-canopy lighting, future developments, and the whole lot a grower must know.
Our ACT Staff wrote it. These are top-tier cultivators who grew up on Superior Vitamins, went on to direct main amenities, and got here again to share their information.
We’re additionally partnering with Inexperienced Flower to create certification packages by fifty schools throughout America. That’s the subsequent era, giving folks the instruments to develop professionally and profitably.
C&T In the present day: How do you see formal schooling altering as hashish turns into mainstream?
Straumietis: You’ll see extra ag college students going immediately into hashish as a substitute of conventional crops. The stigma is fading. They already suppose like scientists, which is what the trade wants, folks educated from day one to develop effectively and sustainably.
C&T In the present day: What concerning the workforce itself—legacy growers versus newcomers?
Straumietis: A whole lot of of us got here from the underground. They’re hyper-independent, not used to construction. You then’ve acquired new grads from agriculture packages—open-minded, desperate to be taught. While you practice them proper, they adapt quick.
I used to be a type of impartial guys. I felt like I used to be a part of the world however not of it. I didn’t observe all the principles, however I paid my taxes and constructed one thing actual. Hashish attracts that form of spirit.
C&T In the present day: Superior Vitamins has expanded into Europe and past. How do you keep consistency throughout numerous rules?
Straumietis: Europe’s about 5 to seven years behind North America, nevertheless it’s catching up. All our merchandise are registered there. We go in early and speak to folks earlier than anybody else does. We’ve already been to the Center East, we’re discussing a producing facility in Thailand, and we’re in talks throughout Asia and South America.
When the U.S. strikes from Schedule I to Schedule III, it’ll open the floodgates. Nations like Kazakhstan, Japan, South Korea, and Malaysia are watching. As soon as America strikes, the remainder of the world follows.
C&T In the present day: What’s your technique in new markets?
Straumietis: It’s at all times schooling first. We meet with regulators, scientists, and growers. Each area has completely different compliance wants, so we adapt our formulation. We don’t simply promote merchandise; we assist construct infrastructure. That’s what makes it sustainable long-term.
C&T In the present day: How does sustainability issue into your product improvement?
Straumietis: Sustainability isn’t about slogans. It’s about economics. While you dial in genetics and nutrient supply, you’re not simply enhancing yield—you’re chopping waste. The suitable inputs imply much less runoff, much less power, and extra effectivity per watt.
Smarter formulations already let cultivators produce extra with fewer sources. In a market the place margins are skinny, that issues greater than ever.
C&T In the present day: How is Superior Vitamins serving to growers produce extra with much less?
Straumietis: Genetics is the subsequent large frontier. We’re engaged on tetraploids and octoploids—the identical ideas firms like Driscoll’s use for large blackberries. With these, we are able to create triploids: sterile, high-yield crops that resist illness.
Growers utilizing our genetics are already getting as much as 5.88 kilos per mild. We all know a six-pound mild is feasible. Cannabinoid and terpene profiles go up, and once you make hash, you earn a few thousand {dollars} extra per mild.
One cause is trichome membrane power. Rivals’ membranes are skinny, in order that they lose their aroma after just a few weeks. Ours keep thicker, preserving terpenes and odor months later.
C&T In the present day: Do you see genetics as the important thing to long-term sustainability?
Straumietis: Completely. The suitable genetics require fewer sources and fewer intervention. A plant bred for stability and density makes use of much less mild and water. While you mix that with exact vitamins, it’s a recreation changer.
C&T In the present day: What’s the subsequent frontier in hashish science?
Straumietis: Digital integration. Sometime quickly, you’ll be capable to sequence your plant’s genome, feed that knowledge right into a system, and it’ll let you know precisely how one can develop it. We’re engaged on that now.
Somebody goes to digitally manage the hashish provide chain. You’ll scan your plant’s genome, add it, and get a full cultivation roadmap. That’s the place the long run is heading.
C&T In the present day: What applied sciences will make that attainable?
Straumietis: AI and automation. Think about sensors speaking to vitamins, which speak to irrigation and lighting, all adjusting in actual time to what the plant wants. You’ll have a digital twin of your develop that predicts stress and adjusts situations earlier than issues begin. It’s coming sooner than most individuals notice.
C&T In the present day: You’ve known as hashish a trillion-dollar trade within the making. What drives that confidence?
Straumietis: Have a look at the beverage trade. Beer firms are dropping fifteen to twenty p.c of their market to hashish. On the finish of the day, it comes down to 2 molecules—alcohol and THC. Folks are likely to choose THC. It’s safer, it doesn’t kill folks, and you’ll drive on it.
They are saying hemp is a fifty-billion-dollar facet of the trade, and THC is thirty billion. That’s wild. As soon as the beverage firms totally enter, the whole lot adjustments. You’ll have interstate commerce, then worldwide commerce. States like California and Michigan will prepared the ground.
C&T In the present day: Any closing ideas on the place hashish is heading?
Straumietis: The way forward for hashish is fascinating. I’m enthusiastic about the place we’re at and the place we’re going. This trade is evolving sooner than any crop in historical past, and we’re not achieved but.
A Plant With out Limits
Straumietis and his staff are sketching the blueprint for the subsequent period of agriculture. His work at Superior Vitamins covers the whole lot from biology to knowledge science and entrepreneurship. Whether or not by optimized genetics, digital cultivation mapping, or next-generation bio-stimulants, his mission stays fixed: to push the plant additional.
