Top 5 Cultivator Challenges During the Drying Cycle

We at Cann Drying Systems (and our parent company, Nyle) have a combined 45+ years of experience in the business of drying. As we dove into the cannabis industry, we were able to identify unique challenges that cultivators face everyday – and we wanted to face them head on here. We compiled the top 5 challenges we hear from cannabis cultivators in today’s developing industry and how we’re tackling them with our drying chambers. 

Consistency of Ambient Conditions (Temp & RH)

From imperfectly sealed dry rooms (with various cracks in ceiling tiles, door frames, etc.) to excess heat coming off dehumidification and air-conditioning units – cannabis cultivators drying in a typical industry drying setup are facing large swings in ambient temperature and relative humidity. Large swings in environmental variables create microclimates in a dry room that increase the risk of mold and bacteria growth, prolong drying dwell times, and ultimately lead to inconsistent quality of the end product. Our expertly crafted drying chambers are built with precision in mind and the sealed dry room ensures conditions are consistent and reliable for every batch of cannabis dried.

Dead Pockets of Moisture

Operators in the cannabis industry often overlook the impact of consistency of airflow distribution within the dry room. A typical industry dry room will utilize large overhead fans and mounted oscillating fans – which creates what’s known as turbulent airflow distribution resulting in dead pockets of moist air throughout the room. These dead pockets often require manual shuffling of plants in the dry room to ultimately achieve consistent moisture content across the entire batch and prevent microbial growth during the dry cycle. In contrast, we utilize laminar air flow technology to ensure all product dries evenly and so there are no dead pockets of moisture anywhere within the chamber. 

Microbial Growth During Drying

Inconsistent ambient conditions (temperature & relative humidity) and dead pockets of moisture can create environmental conditions conducive to mold and bacteria growth during the drying process. Even in the most developed recreational markets such as Colorado & California – as much as 10% of cannabis flower still tests positive for microbials after undergoing state regulatory testing causing thousands (sometimes even millions!) of dollars in losses. To combat this, we offer optional upgrades to include UV-C microbial mitigation systems that helps to sanitize the recirculated air within the closed-loop chamber and reduces your risk of crop loss.

Terpene Loss & Smell Control

Cannabis cultivators are hyper-focused on maintaining terpene contents on flower – but what happens to the terpenes that are lost (even at low temperatures) during drying? As much as 50% of terpene content is lost during the industry’s standard drying process and is ultimately pumped out of your building via HVAC systems. This in turn can lead to complaints from neighbors and attract unwanted attention from potential security threats. Our chambers come equipped with a unique terpene recapture system that saves the terpenes from being wasted or creating an unoptimized atmosphere for your facility. The system’s terpene capture ability not only keeps your operation more discreet, but also turns a cost of doing business into a new added-value revenue stream of high-quality cannabis-derived terpenes that can be added to vaporizers and other high terpene full spectrum extract (HTFSE) oils. 

Space Constraints

Your square footage is often limited & precious! A common challenge we hear from cannabis cultivators is how much space they must dedicate to drying & curing, which often takes away from canopy square footage, processing space, and in turn potential revenues. Our range of chambers are made to fit your new or existing space to help you maximize the ROI by square footage. 

To learn more about how our turnkey drying & curing chamber systems can help alleviate these many challenges connect with our team here or check out more of the educational resources here on our blog.