Skymint Brands, a vertically integrated cannabis company based in Lansing, has established its Skymint Farms, a 200-acre sun grown cannabis farm in the Huron-Manistee National Forest.
The farm will focus on regenerative farming, sustainable agriculture, premium cannabis cultivation, and community enrichment.
“Michigan is known for its 3,000 acres of wine grape vineyards and nearly 10 million acres of farmland that give our state a dynamic food and agriculture industry,” says Jeff Radway, CEO and co-founder. “With Skymint Farms, we are on a mission to additionally put Michigan on the map for cultivating some of our nation’s best sun grown cannabis.”
Joining the company’s two sustainable cultivation facilities, the farm aims to achieve Sun+Earth status within the next two years. The seal certifies cannabis brands that farm using organic methods, holistically, responsibly, and regeneratively.
The farm will ensure its cannabis is grown using the sun as the primary source of power, rainwater as the primary source of irrigation, and use crop rotation, intercropping, and cover crops to create a nutrient-rich living soil. Within the next two years, it plans to include grazing animals to make the farm more biodynamic.
“Elon Musk once said in a TED Talk, ‘We have this handy fusion reactor in the sky called the sun. You don’t have to do anything. It just works,’” says James Barr, head of operations for Skymint Farms. “Even the best indoor grow lighting can’t compare to the natural light spectrum. Cannabis loves the sun and expresses itself very differently when farmed outdoors. Cannabinoid and terpene production is greater, and the plant is more resilient.”
Skymint’s cultivation site is in Lake County (east of Ludington) one of the poorest in Michigan. The company provides nearly 30 year-round farm jobs.
“Community is at the core of our company ethos,” says Radway. “At Skymint, we wholeheartedly believe that cannabis has a meaningful role to play in bettering people’s lives, hence our motto that happy plants make happy people. But foundational to the pursuit of happiness is food security, and in Detroit, one in six remain hungry. There’s no better way to nurture and grow community than to literally help feed it, which is why we’re proud to partner Skymint Farms with Forgotten Harvest this holiday season.”
Forgotten Harvest distributes 45 million pounds of food to Detroit residents each year. Skymint Farms will sponsor Forgotten Harvest’s annual Hope for the Holidays event to provide meal boxes to 2,000 Michigan families (about 6,000 people) over the course of three days in December.
Skymint was created in 2018 under the name Green Peak Innovations. It has 11 retail locations in Michigan and offers flower, pre-rolls, edibles, beverages, and concentrates. With the farm, flower is slated to power up to 50 percent of Skymint brand products over the next 10 years. Skymint’s brands include Skymint X DNA Genetics, North Cannabis, Jolly Edibles, and Two Joints.
