Most greenhouse growers know the feeling: something has gone wrong somewhere, but by the time the last crop appears, it’s too late to know where. When a crop moves from a reproductive to a production compartment, each stage has its own climate goals and its own data. Until now, no single tool tied all of this together in a single view.

30MHz has built that tool. The Crop Strategy allows growers to set weekly climate targets for each crop and compartment, covering parameters such as total PAR and temperature bandwidth, before the start of the season. As the crop moves through each production phase, the dashboard monitors whether reality is following the plan. When it is not, an alert is issued in time for action.

Early adopters found deviations at the compartment level within days of going live. In one case, a grower caught a temperature drift that would have reduced final yield in the second week and corrected it the same week, something that would have gone unnoticed until harvest.

“You always knew something wasn’t right, but you couldn’t pinpoint it,” says Lars van der Lely, Customer Success Manager at 30MHz. “Now you see exactly which compartment, which week and what to do.”

© 30MHz

The module includes weekly climate targets for each crop and compartment, real-time monitoring at multiple production stages, real alerts when deviations from targets, side-by-side comparison of two crops in different zones or seasons, inter-annual benchmarking in a single view and direct integration of sensor data to keep strategy and measurements in sync.

The tool has also been used in the cultivation of cannabis. “The parameters that matter most are temperature, including canopy and root zone differentials, RH and VPD, light intensity and DLI, and substrate moisture and EC, especially during transplanting,” explained the 30MHz team. “Propagation requires high RH, often 80 to 90 percent, to compensate for underdeveloped root systems, while flowering requires a much lower VPD to encourage transpiration and trichome development. What makes us unique is that all of our tools work for all types of crops: cannabis, flowers, and edibles.”

In terms of compliance, all sensor data is time-stamped, stored and retrievable. Custom dashboards and exports consolidate historical climate data for each location and zone, eliminating the manual work of extracting and combining records from multiple sources. The Crop Strategy adds a layer of structured monitoring of growing cycles on top of that. “Our honest response is that 30MHz already has the data infrastructure upon which a compliance workflow can be built,” says the 30MHz team. “Currently we don’t have GMP-style batch records or audit reports, but for a serious prospect of medical cannabis in the EU, this could be a co-development conversation, or a collaboration angle with a QMS or compliance software provider.”

Cultivation Strategy is also the data base for the next 30MHz build. Once a plant’s plan is structured and linked to actual sensor results, the platform can automatically generate personalized recommendations. The RTR module already does this for energy use, and is estimated to save producers 10 to 15 percent annually. Cultivation Strategy brings this same intelligence to the entire production journey.

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30MHz
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“The revision removes a major structural penalty, but the tariffs will reshape who gets the profits. Everyone else, the big dispensary companies, could emerge as the main beneficiaries.”

By Justin Leiby, Cannabis Research Institute

With federal cannabis reorganization partially underway and the potential end of 280E tax penalties looming, it’s an open question how much relief the cannabis industry will get. Regardless of the future, 280E is a significant financial impact for cannabis operators.

I conduct an annual survey of cannabis operators for the Illinois Office of Cannabis Regulation, and in the most recent survey operators estimate that 44 percent of their operating expenses in 2024 were not deductible under 280E, Schedules I and II. That it only applies to the drugs listed. Assuming a 21 percent corporate tax rate, that means a penalty of $92 per $1,000 spent.

Under the Trump administration’s current process of moving cannabis to Schedule III, the pain of the 280E penalty has not been distributed equally, and those who suffered the most may reap greater benefits beyond the (hopefully) temporary importance of separating medical and adult operations.

Small operators report more 280E waivers than large firms (45 percent vs. 37 percent of operating expenses), while firms that rely entirely on dispensary operations do as well as those that do not (50 percent vs. 43 percent).

Comparing the impacts of 280E and tariffs

To put the financial impact of the reorganization into context, it should be noted that some of the benefits may never materialize to operators thanks to the impact of tariffs imposed over the past year.

I combine Illinois survey responses with public financial filings to better understand the relative impacts. Like all businesses, cannabis operators have two types of operating costs: the direct costs of acquiring and producing products such as raw materials (“costs of goods sold”) and the indirect costs of operating the business such as rent and insurance (“selling, general and administrative expenses” or “G&A”).

Tariffs primarily affect the larger portion of the former, while 280E primarily affects the latter.

Together, these costs consume 84 cents of every dollar of revenue generated by cannabis operators, paying creditors and non-280E taxes consumes another six cents. I calculate a 280E penalty of three cents on the dollar by multiplying an average write-off of 44 percent, an SG&A percentage of 35 percent, and a US corporate tax rate of 21 percent. Considering the small profit margins of cannabis, the economic benefit of removing the 280E penalty is undeniable.

However, this will be partially or fully offset by tariffs that increase input costs such as packaging, vape hardware and building materials. One in six operators reported increases of 20 percent or more in input costs and more than half reported increases of 5 percent or more.

In my example, even a modest 5 percent increase wipes out most of the gain from 280E penalty relief, and an 18 percent increase wipes out all gains entirely.

Variable and deferred benefits

Like 280E, the fare load is heavier on some operators than others; in this case, cultivation and brewing operations that rely on imported packaging products, construction, and high-tech hardware. One in six cultivation and infusion companies (17 percent) reported input cost increases of more than 20 percent, while dispensary-only companies reported no such impact.

Because dispensary-only operators experience greater tax distortions from 280E and report lower tariff impacts, they will benefit the most from ending the 280E penalty.

Replanning Changes Competitive Landscape

The reorganization removes a large structural penalty, but the tariffs will reshape who takes the profits. All else being equal, large dispensary companies may be the main beneficiaries.

That’s right, observations like this start the debate instead of solving it. Some of the benefits of the rescheduling will not be realized immediately because operators have made long-term strategic choices based on the 280E tax cuts and cannot immediately release those choices.

For example, in the Illinois survey, more than half of operators reported that 280E led them to cut discretionary investments in product development, research, and sustainable technologies necessary to reach a market. Similar percentages indicate a shift to leaner staffing patterns, from security protocols to customer experience and changing facility designs for tax reasons, such as more difficult to limit retail space.

“Who wins” depends on how well operators can adapt to the new landscape.

Justin Leiby, Ph.D., is a professor of accounting at the University of Illinois Gies College of Business and faculty-in-residence at the Cannabis Research Institute. His research and teaching focuses on audit, governance and risk management, and includes extensive collection and analysis of operational and financial data from the cannabis industry.

Custom Cones USA has announced the launch of Cones Canada, a wholly Canadian operation designed to meet the growing needs of Canadian pre-roll producers, processors and brands.

With a stocked warehouse in Ontario and a dedicated Canadian e-commerce platform, Cones Canada eliminates the complication that Canadian businesses have historically faced in sourcing pre-rolled cones: no import fees, no customs delays and no currency conversion headaches. Orders are billed in Canadian dollars (CAD) and shipped from Ontario to anywhere in Canada.

Why Cones Canada, why now?
The legal cannabis market in Canada continues to grow, and pre-rolls are a $1.4 billion market. In 2024, pre-rolls passed as the top category in the country, and retained their title in 2025 with 77.2 million units sold, again the highest of any category, according to cannabis analytics firm Headset.

Canadian growers and processors have long relied on Custom Cones USA’s reputation for quality. Its cones have been tested to Health Canada standards for flowers and are trusted by leading pre-roll manufacturers worldwide. However, cross-border orders came with additional cost, time and logistical complexity.

“We’ve been supplying Canadian cannabis brands for years, and the demand from our Canadian customers made this next step an easy decision,” said Harrison Bard, co-founder and CEO of Custom Cones USA. “With Cones Canada, we’re bringing the same products, the same quality standards, and the same expert support that our customers have always trusted. Only now we’re doing it without limits.”

Cones Canada’s Ontario facility carries four of the most popular pre-rolled cone sizes from the Custom Cones USA catalog, each in two types of European-sourced paper: Refined White and Natural Brown.

In addition to ready-to-ship bulk cones, Cones Canada offers access to Custom Cones USA’s machine, packaging and custom branding options, including full-color filter tip printing, cigar bands and outer wraps. and custom packaging, Canadian brands can build a distinctive, shelf-ready product line backed by Pre-Roll Experts.

For more information:
Cones Canada
conescanada.ca/