Though frustrated, farmers like Jacobs and Carbone are hanging on. Carbone said they are planting on less than the acre they’re legally allowed and are holding off on infrastructure investments, like hoop houses, to help with growing. Jacobs, whose brand is Bud & Boro, said he won't grow plants for distillate this year because of the backlog. The lack of sales is a particular problem for small farmers who stretched themselves thin financially to produce last year's crop and now need capital for their second year. “What we really need to see is more retailers get open, and that’s going to actually give us the sustainable solution,” Carbone said. Elsewhere in rural New York, Brittany Carbone, co-founder of Tricolla Farms, said the stock they're sitting on includes 1,500 packs of pre-rolled joints and about 2,000 packs of edibles. More valuable still is the distillate at various processors he's waiting to sell. Jacobs keep his bins of buds at Slack Hollow Organics in secure, temperature-controlled units. There are concerns the smokable flower will eventually become too old to sell. Statewide, there is estimated to be hundreds of millions of dollars worth of unsold cannabis, about 80% in the form of cannabis oil, according to the Cannabis Association of New York, a trade group. That means limited shelf space to sell the 136,000 kilograms of cannabis grown in the state last year, much of the product meant to be processed for items like gummies and vapes. Federal law prohibits the New York farmers from transporting their crops across state lines. Unlicensed shops rushed in to fill the void, especially in New York City, but those outlets aren't a legal market for the state's farmers. ![]() Instead, one store was open by the start of the year, with 11 more opened since. Last fall, Governor Kathy Hochul foresaw 20 new shops opening every month or so to start this year. The state's process for licensing new dispensaries, however, has moved at a far slower pace than expected. State leaders had always planned to gear up the market in stages, giving a chance for a diverse set of participants to get a toe-hold. Marijuana growers in western states have also complained that low prices, tough competition from the black market, high state taxes and federal banking and exporting restrictions have made it tough for legal growers to make money.īut the farmers' plight in New York is directly tied to the bumpy launch of the state's recreational pot market. ![]() New York pot farmers aren’t the only ones struggling with difficult economic conditions.
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