Joe Conklin, Lead Cultivator/ Greenhouse Manager
I manage the staff's day to day tasks, develop our strategies for cultivating, harvesting and marketing the products.
What makes your greenhouse grow/farm special? Had you worked with cannabis or as a farmer prior?
We have an 80,000 sq ft greenhouse in Cheshire, CT with 2 fully automated light depp'd rooms with a Bi-weekly harvest rotation between our 18 "ponds". We grow into a "sea of Green" style using trellis netting to maximize our space and keep each section unique to its own strain.
Prior to my career at Hemp House Farms, I had worked for myself as a consultant designing and retrofitting grow rooms and other cultivation facilities. I had worked at New England Hydroponics helping customers with cultivation advice as well as designing home grows. My job prior to starting at HHF was the lead cultivator of a small hemp farm in Eastford and Pomfret CT. Gardening has been a passion of mine since I was young helping my grandfather grow tomatoes and it has flourished into a career that I love and am able to teach and share with my kids and family.
What does your farm produce?
Smokable flower, pre-rolls, tinctures and salves. We also sell bulk flower and distillate.
In your opinion, what makes greenhouse cultivation special?
I like cultivating in a greenhouse since it's a hybrid indoor/outdoor room. You can utilize the power of the sun and have the versatility of an indoor grow room in regards to certain tools and techniques you wouldn't necessarily be able to use in a field.
What are some of your favorite technological advancements in greenhouse cultivation you’ve seen in the industry?
Ventilation and dehumidification. We're currently waiting on a large unit to eliminate moisture from our rooms, seeing how that has been our biggest struggle with cultivating hemp. The different styles of fans for different purposes is truly amazing and mind-boggling once you start to look into it.
Any good stories of obstacles you’ve had to overcome in the greenhouse?
Humidity and heat. Keeping the moisture levels down as well as the temps have sure caused me to think outside the box and get creative. Whether it was staggering times to ventilate the room or getting the shade cloths closed/open at the appropriate times, it took a big mix of tactics and dialing in watering/IPM to assist with these extremes we had to deal with.
Do you have any advice for anyone entering the industry? Where do you think the industry is headed?
Be ready for anything and everything. Right when you think it's running smooth without a hiccup, something will come out of left field to shake you, so be prepared for anything! Also, make sure you have a solid plan. Be ready weeks before you think you need to be; this will help you be prepared for something unexpected.
I think the industry is headed in a more strain- and cannabinoid-specific direction, meaning there is going to be a focus on new cannabinoids as more research becomes available. The floodgates have just opened and it's always so exciting to see new products and techniques trickle down the pipeline.
Are there any people that you’d like to recognize from your farm or the industry in general that have helped get the company to where it is now?
I'd like to recognize the owner of our company, Brant Smith, for being so committed to setting up the greenhouse properly without skimping on equipment or procedures that are going to be key to cultivating the highest quality of flower. He's committed to producing the best hemp out of New England by making sure our facility is in top-notch working order and keeping us in the know with the industry's latest news and advancements when he finds out himself. 
