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Plant Empowerment offers the fastest route to sustainable and profitable horticulture worldwide

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Peter Geelen and Jan O. Voogt, together with Peter van Weel, were there at the beginning of the work on Het Nieuwe Telen (New Work). This year, a special edition of a magazine* celebrates fifteen years of the concept. Both Peters and Jan laid the foundations for Land Appropriation, the framework that underpins Het Nieuwe Telen. Plant Empowerment is the English term that has gained worldwide recognition for this philosophy.

In 2022 the founders created the Plant Empowerment Academy. Their aim is to support the sustainable development of greenhouse horticulture by promoting an open exchange of knowledge through an objective and independent breeding concept.

On the Plant Empowerment Academy website, the founders discuss how the concept came about. Their story goes back to 2004, and they describe it as the beginning of the “sustainability transition in Dutch horticulture”. That year, the first fully enclosed greenhouse in the Netherlands was built.

“Surprisingly, the plants in this closed greenhouse behaved very differently from what theory and experience in conventional open greenhouses would have us expect,” they recalled. “For example, the rate of crop transpiration, which depends on solar radiation and humidity, did not fit standard evaporation models. Higher greenhouse temperatures sometimes produced better results than lower temperatures, which contradicted prevailing assumptions.”

New insights through the combination of physics and plant physiology
These unexpected observations inspired a new research project on plant behavior in relation to greenhouse climate. Peter van Weel, then working at Wageningen University and Research, and Jane, at Hoogendoorn Growth Management, conducted the research.

“We discovered that some long-standing theories about plant behavior and climate control were partly incorrect, and even contradicted the basic principles of physics and plant physiology. Step by step, together with researcher Peter Geelen, we developed a new growing concept based on physiological and physical laws. 2008.”

© Plant Empowerment AcademyPeter van Weel, Peter Geelen and Jan O. Voogt, founders and authors of the Plant Empowerment cultivation concept, together with illustrator Jan Seelen for visualizations of the first book Plant Empowerment the basic principles, November 2017.

Plant Empowerment Academy
Other key milestones in the development of the concept were 2009, when Het Nieuwe Telen’s innovation program began, 2015, when Peter Geelen, Jan O. Voogt and Peter van Weel published the book ‘De basisprincipes van Het Nieuwe Telen’, and 2016. It starts from the natural behavior of plants and their inherent growth potential.

In 2018, a book in English followed, ‘Plant Empowerment, the basic principles’. The book was later translated into Dutch and Spanish. Today, the Plant Accreditation Academy manages the publication of all the books.

The founders of Plant Empowerment advocate close and open collaboration between all parties involved, including research and training institutes, extensionists and breeders, investors, suppliers, crop advisors, technical specialists, governments and other organizations. They emphasize that this intensive cooperation is essential for success. Plant Appropriation, they say, offers the fastest route to a sustainable and profitable global greenhouse industry. For more details, readers are directed to the Mission page of the Plant Empowerment Academy website.

In order to maintain the independence of the Plant Ownership Academy, the founders have stated that they cannot enter into commercial relations. Plant Empowerment Academy and Plant Empowerment Foundation are different organizations.

The Plant Empowerment Academy is, however, open to welcoming ambassadors who wish to contribute to their shared mission. Companies, institutes, distributors and organizations interested in joining the Academy as Ambassadors are invited to contact the founders through the Ambassadors page.

Plant Empowerment Digital Growth
In recent years there has been a growing interest in data-driven breeding, supported by modern computational tools such as artificial intelligence. According to the creators, the concept of Plant Empowerment is very suitable for this, as it is based on the physiology and physical principles of plants. At the same time, the sector increasingly feels the need for a unified monitoring protocol that can be used in both research and practice.

With the initiative and support of Kas als Energiebron, the authors published an additional guide at the end of 2023 called Plant Empowerment Digitaal Telen. This guide describes a structured method of crop monitoring, including the use of appropriate sensors and plant observations. It also explains the digital tools needed for practical implementation, such as dashboards. This uniform and standardized approach improves collaboration between different parties and facilitates the exchange and comparison of research and practice results. It also allows for a significant acceleration of the learning curve and overall sustainability transition.

*https://www.kasalsenergiebron.nl/content/kasalsenergiebron/docs/HNT/Magazine_15_jaar_HNT.pdf (link to Dutch magazine)

For more information:
Plant Empowerment Academy
(email protected)
www.plantempowerment.academy

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New rules raise cannabis stock limits for Malta’s associations

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February 27, 2026

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Malta’s cannabis associations will be able to hold larger stocks of cannabis under new rules introduced last week. While associations were previously only allowed to keep 500g of cannabis, a new legal notice sets different limits depending on the number of members registered with each.

Malta’s largest cannabis associations, with over 350 members, will now be able to sell 3.5kg of cannabis. Between 250 and 350 members will be allowed to possess 2.45 kg of cannabis, and associations registering between 110 and 250 members will be allowed to possess up to 1.75 kg.

Smaller ones will have stricter limits. Associations with less than 100 members will only have 700 g, while those with less than 50 members will have 350 g. Meanwhile, associations are allowed to store the equivalent of an eight-month supply in their cultivation area, calculated at 50g per member.

The new rules do not change how much cannabis a person can carry or consume. Under Malta’s cannabis laws, first introduced at the end of 2021, people can carry up to 7g of cannabis without fear of prosecution. Anyone caught with between 7g and 28g of cannabis will appear in court rather than face charges in a criminal court.

Read more at Maltese times










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Trump Administration ‘Very Anxious’ To Allow Psychedelic Therapy ‘As Quickly As Possible,’ RFK Tells Joe Rogan

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February 27, 2026

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The Trump administration is “very eager” to create a pathway for access to psychedelic therapy, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. According to the secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and senior officials of federal agencies want to “communicate to the public as soon as possible.”

In an interview on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast released Friday, Kennedy said he’s confident “we’re going to get it,” with plans to develop and finalize rules that would allow patients with conditions like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression to access psychedelic substances like psilocybin and MDMA in a “very controlled environment.”

The secretary has been noted for his advocacy of psychedelic reform, an idea he floated as a 2024 Democratic presidential candidate before ultimately becoming the nation’s top health official under the Trump administration.

The president himself has been silent on the issue, but as Kennedy points out, support for expanding access to research and new therapeutics extends beyond HHS, with the heads of the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) also looking to take advantage of the potential benefits of psychedelic drugs.




“Everybody in my agency, and in (Secretary Doug Collins’) agency at the VA, is very eager to get a rule that will allow these types of studies and allow them to go into therapeutic settings, particularly for military personnel who have suffered these injuries to have access to these products,” Kennedy said. “We are working on that process now. We are all working and trying to make it happen.”

“I think we’ll make it.”

While some of the reform proposals being considered would be designed to “encourage more clinical trials” while having “very strong guidelines,” the health secretary said the agencies are interested in the full range of options that could include psychedelic therapies and other “rapid interventions.” One of Kennedy’s personal goals would be to validate the utility of substances like psilocybin over SSRIs for depression.

“We’re looking at that as a whole category of interventions that people should be able to look at and have appropriate access to, and we should roll it out as quickly as possible,” he said.

“This is what we’re anticipating, so I can’t tell you exactly what we’re going to do, but very, very strong therapeutic guidelines, so how they’re applied, what kind of follow-up. Because a lot of these things rewire the brain. If you don’t follow-up, it doesn’t work, or you have a failure rate. So we’re developing all of those things and I think we’re developing protocols. People in the administration are eager to do that as soon as possible. I know Doug Collins is doing 21 studies at the VA that they are doing, that they are very promising.

“You need those guidelines because you don’t want to do the Wild West. You can have horror stories overnight because some people can have very, very bad experiences,” Kennedy said. “We’re looking at ways to do it so it’s in a very controlled environment.”

Asked to expand on how Rogan sees the future of psychedelic therapies and whether it will include people in the military or other non-frontline roles, the secretary said he would “personally” like to see broad access, but “we have to take baby steps because you don’t want to create a situation where people want to get hurt.”

However, “you shouldn’t have a soldier who has given everything for the country, who has suffered terribly, who has come to Tijuana to receive these treatments, leave our country to receive treatments,” he said. “It doesn’t make sense.”

“I’ve seen so much overwhelming anecdotal evidence,” Kennedy said, emphasizing that one of his relatives has benefited from psychedelic therapy“but also clinical studies that verify the effect.” And officials at agencies like the NIH and FDA are “doing everything they can to make that happen.”

Rogan’s podcast interview comes a month after the release of a book by a reporter who allegedly had a romantic relationship with Kennedy, in which, as a presidential candidate, Kennedy still used psychedelics like DMT for “fun” and hid his drug use from his wife.

Meanwhile, in November, Kennedy, Vice President JD Vance, FDA Commissioner and other Trump administration officials attended the “Make America Healthy Again” summit. it was a session dedicated to studying psychedelic medicine.

In June, Kennedy said that his agency “Fully committed” to expanding research into the benefits of psychedelic therapy. and, along with the head of the FDA, aims to give military veterans legal access to these substances “within 12 months.”

The secretary also said that in April He had a “wonderful experience” with LSD at the age of 15He took it because he thought they would be able to see dinosaurs, as depicted in a comic he was a fan of.

Last October, Kennedy specifically criticized the FDA under the previous administration for the agency’s “eradication of psychedelics” and a laundry list of other issues that he said was a “war on public health” that would end under the Trump administration.

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Data collection as an operational tool in commercial cannabis cultivation

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1 day ago

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February 26, 2026

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At the latest edition of Indoor Ag-Con, Jeremy Shechter focused his presentation on how data collection should work as an operational tool in commercial cannabis cultivation.

Jeremy, founder of Open Source Horticulture, opened by challenging a common assumption within the cultivation community. “We’re not as good as we think we are,” he said, pointing to the gap between perceived performance and what can actually be demonstrated. Without data, he argued, operators tend to rely on preconceptions rather than evidence.

Genetics, Jeremy explains, cannot be evaluated in isolation. “Genetics don’t just happen in a vacuum,” he said. In other words, data collection becomes the only reliable way to understand how genetics behaves in different rooms, facilities and operating conditions.

Profit figures alone, he adds, rarely tell the whole story. Teams may be able to articulate a number, but struggle to explain how that result was achieved. “Show me the dashboard,” Jeremy said, describing situations where performance claims fall apart because historical data is not available or cannot be accessed. In those cases, memory fills the void, even though, as he said, “our memory is very bad.”

© Eelkje Pulley | MMJDaily.com

The importance of setting goals
Jeremy envisioned data as a mechanism that allows teams to move toward defined goals. “One of the most important drivers for people is moving toward a goal,” he said, and progress is only seen when it’s measured consistently. Without solid data, goals remain abstract.

A recurring point in the presentation was the need for moderation. To illustrate this, he quoted Leonardo Da Vinci: “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication,” Jeremy said, describing the tendency to overcomplicate data systems. He argued that not all data is worth collecting, and that excessive measurement often creates noise rather than insight.

Deciding what data matters, Jeremy insists, should not be left to chance. “Data is not created equal,” he said, “teams can easily spend time collecting information that doesn’t impact results. KPI selection should be driven by leadership and tied directly to business performance, then clearly communicated to crop managers.”

Entrepreneurship then becomes the key. “If a data point doesn’t inform a decision, it shouldn’t be treated with the same rigor.” Jeremy used room pressure as an example, explaining that while deviations from a set point can indicate a problem, they don’t necessarily correspond to long-term performance tracking. In other words, trends are more important than isolated readings.

Data collection systems
Jeremy also discussed the structure of effective data collection systems. “It has to be top to bottom,” he said, describing the need to follow every step of the process from cultivation to packaging. “Those systems have to be custom built for each facility.” He again emphasized the importance of keeping it simple and easy. “If you want to keep doing something, keep calm,” Jeremy said. Adding steps to any process increases friction and reduces compliance, whether in cultivation or data entry.

Paper-based workflows were highlighted as a persistent problem. Jeremy described the operations involved in entering data and then transferring it to a computer, a process he noted is inefficient and error-prone. Fully digitized systems, using tablets or mobile devices, were presented as a basic requirement for reliable data access.

Towards the end of the session, Jeremy touched on how data influences decisions beyond crop metrics. He noted that some cultivars can produce high yields but perform poorly after drying, becoming brittle or difficult to handle. Without tracking these results, operators run the risk of optimizing for numbers that don’t translate into finished product performance.

For more information:
Indoor Ag-Con
www.indoor.ag

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