Cannabis News
Voltiris expands toward North America; energy innovation takes center stage at ACT Leamington Grower Summit
© VoltirisAs energy continues to directly influence greenhouse strategies worldwide, new technologies and industry debates are converging on the same central question: how to produce more efficiently while maintaining optimal crop yields.
One company that sits in this evolving landscape is Voltiris, which is preparing to expand its spectral solar technology into the North American greenhouse market.
Following a recent visit to the company’s headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, Mona Nazari confirmed that she will lead the company’s commercial expansion in the region.
“They have developed spectral filters for solar modules designed for high-tech greenhouses,” he shares. “The technology splits sunlight, directing the photosynthetically active radiation to the crop while converting the rest of the spectrum into electricity.”
In addition to generating electricity, the system also affects the climatic conditions of the greenhouse. By filtering out parts of the infrared spectrum during periods of intense sunlight, crop temperature can be moderated.
“By filtering infrared radiation during peak periods of sunlight, plant temperatures can be reduced by up to 4°C, helping to keep crops in their optimal growing range.”
According to the company, more than 2,000 modules have already been installed with commercial greenhouse partners across Europe. Early research results also suggest crop yield benefits.
“Recent trials of Delphi have shown a 9% increase in Class I yield and a two-week extension of the harvest window.” For the industry, these types of innovations are coming at a time when energy costs and sustainability goals are becoming increasingly important factors in greenhouse design.
“Energy is quickly becoming one of the defining questions for greenhouse production,” he said. “It will be interesting to see how such solutions fit into the next generation of controlled environment infrastructure.”
Industry focus shifts to energy strategy
Many of these topics will be discussed at the upcoming Advancing Cultivation Technology Leamington Grower Summit on March 31, 2026 at the Roma Club in Leamington, Ontario.
Organizers said the event will focus on practical solutions to manage energy use, improve efficiency and protect profitability in greenhouse operations.
“This year’s program focuses on what growers need most right now: real ways to manage energy, improve efficiency and protect profitability,” the organizing team said in announcing the agenda.
One of the aforementioned presentations will be given by Amos Bassi of Philips Horticulture LED Solutions, who will present the results of a multi-year tomato trial in Dutch Botany in collaboration with Grodan.
The study examines how advanced LED lighting strategies, including intermediate lighting and higher light intensities, can significantly reduce greenhouse energy consumption while maintaining crop yields.
Climate optimization will also be addressed by Paul Arena of Svensson Climate Screens, who will present practical strategies to reduce greenhouse demand while maintaining stable greenhouse conditions. His session will explore dual screen return conditions, as well as the role of vertical airflow to improve heating and cooling efficiency in LED-equipped greenhouses.
Timme Hovinga, Priva’s product director, will analyze the energy strategy from a broader operational perspective. His presentation will explore how growers can integrate energy management into long-term greenhouse operations and how to turn energy efficiency into a competitive advantage.
Addressing Crop Health Challenges
In addition to energy issues, the summit will also address crop health challenges affecting greenhouse production.
Grodan’s Dan Skinner will present new research on pepper wilt, an increasingly complex problem for Canadian greenhouse growers.
The session will examine root zone dynamics, hygiene practices and contributing fungal pathogens to help growers improve prevention and management strategies.
With research findings, technology developments and practical grower discussions on the agenda, the ACT Leamington Grower Summit aims to provide actionable insights into the industry navigating the challenges of rapidly evolving energy and production.
For Mona, whose new role focuses on bringing energy-integrated greenhouse technologies to North American growers, the event reflects where the industry conversation is headed. “The theme couldn’t be more consistent with what Voltiris is and the value it brings.”
Register for the Advancing Cultivation Technology Summit here.
For more information:
Voltiri
(email protected)
www.voltiris.com
After fifteen years of successful cooperation, managing director Moritz Böcking and the shareholders of Klasmann-Deilmann GmbH have mutually agreed to part ways. As of May 1, 2026, Moritz Böcking will hand over the position of managing director to Jan Astrup, who served as the company’s CEO in 2021/2022. Jan Astrup and Damian Ikemann will form the Board of Directors of the Klasmann-Deilmann Group from now on.
© Klasmann-Deilmann Benelux
Klasmann-Deilmann thanks Moritz Böcking for his cooperation and the progress achieved in the transformation of the Klasmann-Deilmann Group. Moritz Böcking expanded Klasmann-Deilmann beyond the growing media business into new areas of commercial horticulture and promoted innovation and digitalization within the company. In addition, its achievements include the expansion of resources derived from renewable raw materials, as well as the acquisition of a subsidiary in Australia and production facilities in France and Canada, which operate in cooperation with external partners. He also significantly advanced Klasmann-Deilmann’s positioning as a global pioneer of sustainable development in the growing media industry, thereby making a decisive contribution to the company’s economic growth.
With Jan Astrup, Klasmann-Deilmann is getting an internationally experienced manager who has proven himself in the company and has extensive experience in raw materials, production, process optimization and technology. With the new CEO, raw materials and technology-driven areas for the substrate industry are now increasingly important at senior management level. Jan Astrup will strengthen the core commercial horticulture business and help develop the company for the future.
For more information:
Klasmann-Deilmann GmbH
(email protected)
www.klasmann-deilmann.com
Cannabis News
Congressional Amendments To Delay Or Speed Up Federal Hemp THC Product Ban Won’t Get Votes
Congressional amendments to both delaying the scheduled federal recriminalization of hemp THC products for another year or to speed up implementation will not be considered on the House floor this week.
Rep. James Comer (R-KY) introduced the delay proposal as an amendment to the Farm Bill, while Rep. Mary Miller (R-IL) introduced an expedited approach. Neither will move forward, however, with Comer withdrawing his measure and the House Rules Committee failing to vote on Miller’s.
Hemp derivatives containing less than 0.3 percent delta-9 THC by weight of the drug were made federally legal under the 2018 Farm Bill signed by President Donald Trump in his first term. But late last year, Trump signed new legislation containing provisions that will redefine hemp so that only products with a total of 0.4 milligrams of THC per container will be legal starting Nov. 12.
Comer’s amendment, sponsored by Reps. Kelly Morrison (D-MN), Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Morgan Griffith (R-VA), would have delayed the ban until November 2027.
According to Miller’s proposal, however, the ban will begin the day the new Farm Bill takes effect. However, it is unclear based on progress in Congress whether the large-scale farming legislation will actually become law, and the legislation could not pass until after the current recriminalization date.
Comer told the panel at Monday’s meeting that his amendment would “protect American farmers” and “help the hemp industry and the thousands of jobs that use and rely on these products.”
“It is clear that Congress needs more time to pass legislation that protects jobs, eliminates bad actors, standardizes labeling and requires third-party testing,” he said. “My amendment would give Congress another year, until November 2027, to develop this solution.”
It is not clear why he decided to remove it from the annex to the proposal Farm BillAlso known as the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026, or HR 7567.
Griffith, a member of the Rules Committee who sponsored Comer’s amendment, noted that there are “a lot of hemp products from overseas that don’t have third-party testing” on the market, “frankly all kinds of junk.”
He said the real solution is for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to regulate the products, citing a separate bill he has introduced on the issue, but argued that “we have to have time to adjust,” which he said would provide the delay amendment.
Meanwhile, Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY) also introduced an amendment to the bill that, according to the sponsor’s summary, “changes the definition of hemp to protect the legal hemp market, creating a regulatory framework that protects children, bans synthetics, and ensures that products on the market are of American origin.”
The congressman later withdrew the proposal for undisclosed reasons.
However, he recently received a letter White House officials commented on pending legislation to create a regulatory framework for hemp.
Last week, Vince Haley, director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, and James Braid, assistant to the president for legislative affairs, sent hemp policy suggestions to Barr, who is helping lead efforts to establish regulations for the plant as an alternative to prohibition.
“We appreciate your work to advance policy,” the executive order Trump signed in December, which included provisions to protect Americans’ access to CBD products, the staff wrote in a letter to Congress.
“We are submitting draft legislation and comments to your account to address the final statutory definition of hemp-derived cannabinoid products to ensure that Americans have access to adequate full-spectrum CBD products while maintaining Congress’ intent to limit the sale of products that pose serious health risks,” White House officials said, according to a social media screencast. “We are open to discussion and further technical assistance.”
The annex to the administration’s proposed legislative text has not been released publicly, and the White House and Barr’s office did not immediately respond to Marihuana Moment’s request for more details.
It’s not clear from the text of the letter whether the White House was proactively sending legislative proposals to the lawmaker or whether they were responding to something sent by his office, though two cannabis industry sources suggested to Marihuana Moment that Barr was sending the language to the administration, and then providing technical feedback.
Trump this week It inspired lawmakers in Congress to take action to change the currently planned hemp banand suggested that this threatens to federally recriminalize full-spectrum CBD products.
“I’m calling on Congress to update the Act so Americans can continue to have access to the full-spectrum CBD products they trust and support, while maintaining Congress’ intent to restrict the sale of products that pose health risks,” the president said in a Truth Social message Thursday, the same day his administration announced it is moving forward to re-regulate marijuana.
“We need to do this RIGHT and FAST, especially for those who have found CBD to help them,” he said. “Also, I’m told it will help our BIG FARMERS that we love and will always be around.”
Rep. Jim Baird (R-IN) had it introduced the hemp ban delay amendment before the House Agriculture Committee when it took up the Farm Bill last month, but the president of that panel determined that the proposal was not in line with the legislation.
The Farm Bill passed by the previous committee includes provisions to help the hemp industry and farmers who grow cannabis for industrial purposes, such as fiber and grain. For example, the legislation would amend statutes related to states and tribes developing regulatory plans for industrial hemp production, including policies on testing, sampling, background checks and record keeping.
Other bipartisan hemp reform bills are pending in Congress.
This month, for example, it was introduced by Senators Rand Paul (R-KY), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Joni Ernst (R-IA). The Hemp Safety Enforcement Act, which would give states the option of federal recriminalization of THC hemp products. it will be established this year.
Ernst withdrew his name, however, as a sponsor of the legislation. His office did not respond to Marihuana Moment’s request for clarification on the move.
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The US Department of Agriculture published this month shows that US farmers grow $3 billion in hemp crops by 2025— 64% increase compared to the previous year.
Meanwhile, this month the Trump administration launched a new initiative Cover up to $500 of hemp-derived products annually for eligible Medicare patients. The program being implemented by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) focuses largely on CBD, but also allows a certain amount of THC in products.
Anti-marijuana organizations filed a lawsuit against the Medicare hemp coverage policyand Health and Human Services attorneys. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and CMS Director Mehmet Oz recently He submitted a letter requesting the filing of the case.
Meanwhile, the White House Management and Budget Office has held a series of meetings a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) CBD product enforcement policy.
The FDA also issued guidance making it clear that it does not intend to interfere Establish a Medicare coverage plan for hemp-derived products.
CMS finalized a rule that will be adopted separately Coverage of certain hemp products, primarily as specialized health-related benefits, through Medicare Advantage the plans
As hemp products become more popular among consumers, some big brands are trying to get in on the action.
The main retailer Target, for example, is expanding its involvement in the hemp-derived THC beverage market. Last year, the company began a pilot program in 10 stores in Minnesota that sell cannabis drinks. That apparently went well, and now the company has secured licenses from Minnesota regulators to sell lower-potency edible hemp products — including THC drinks — in 72 stores in the state.
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North Carolina lawmakers say they’re fueling debate over the state’s marijuana laws — a move by the Trump administration to reclassify it as a less dangerous drug.
Across the country, a set of laws and enforcements regulate marijuana. The drug is illegal under federal law, but dozens of US states have legalized it. And almost all states have legalized medical marijuana prescriptions for certain ailments. North Carolina is among the remaining states to resist any form of legalization. Republican politicians in North Carolina have resisted passing any bills to legalize or decriminalize marijuana, despite public opinion polls showing broad public support for such changes.
Senate President Phil Berger said he expects his chamber to revisit efforts to legalize medical marijuana this week. “We will have a conversation within our caucus if they are interested in whether we do something,” Berger told reporters Tuesday.
The recent actions of Republican President Donald Trump may add a new dimension to these conversations. Trump’s acting attorney general on Thursday signed the drug classification as a less dangerous and less strictly regulated drug than marijuana. Federal law does not legalize marijuana for medical or recreational use.
Read more at WRAL News
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