A group of friends who consider each other family are the brains behind Farm Coast, with each member bringing their own set of values to the table. Partners Anthony Darby, Tim Dennis, Matt Hedger, Cody Salerno and James Russ Jr., along with director of cultivation Chris Baqir, make up the brains behind this operation.
As license No. 001, they are the first micro-grow license to get approved in the state of Maryland. In their first year of production, they relied on about 95% autoflower plants to get products on the market. They plan to switch to photoperiod plants, dialing in “heavy washers specifically selected for rosin production,” according to Darby.
Traditionally, a grow license serves a single purpose: to grow their flower and release it under a single brand or family of brands. The Farm Coast team is doing things a little differently by growing their own flower as well as sharing canopy space with other licensees, giving them a place to cultivate their plants. This is huge for people who have a license but might lack some of the resources, such as land, to bring their vision to life.
A big issue faced by many of the new social equity processing licensees is a lack of their own starting material. Farm Coast’s model helps those companies gain more control over their inputs in hopes that they can increase the potential quality of their finished product.
The property houses storage containers that the Farm Coast crew fabricated and built out themselves, sourcing them from the Port of Baltimore through Darby’s friend. These containers serve as a space for drying plants, a controlled environment for the vegetative stage as well as mom plants and pretty much anything else besides a flowering stage plant room. The versatility of a storage container can help a grow dial in their processes in so many ways in the pursuit of the best products possible for the end user.
Around 1,600 plants live on their outdoor plot right now, with enough space for a total of 2,000 outdoor plants.
“The big guys just don’t have the capacity for 400-square-foot runs of super craft Cannabis. That’s what we want to do,” Darby said.
Farm Coast has a strong commitment to outdoor and greenhouse growing, holding the belief that full-spectrum sunlight produces superior terpene profiles. This is essential for growing heavy washers capable of producing highly expressive profiles and a high output for washing hash that will be turned into hash rosin. With a few companies producing rosin on the Maryland market, Farm Coast would like to establish itself as a member of this underserved segment of the industry.
A lot of their plants right now are going toward fresh-frozen material as a part of their partnership with Element MD. Farm Coast provides the starting material so Element MD can extract and fill their live resin, single-strain vapes, which are expected to hit the shelves of Maryland dispensaries on Nov. 7. Their flower is expected to be on shelves by the time you’re reading this article.
“Modern flavors are good. … But for me personally, what I reach for and smoke is an OG or a Chem Dog most of the time,” Salerno said.
They are working on developing a strain called First Responders OG, which will donate a portion of proceeds to the local fire department in Wicomico following the Oct. 1 legalization of consumption for both firefighters and paramedics.
It takes a village to bring a dream like this to life without cutting corners. The team at Farm Coast shows passion, dedication and a wealth of knowledge that is needed to elevate their company to the next level. They truly care about the customers they are going to serve and wouldn’t release anything to the market that they wouldn’t be proud to consume themselves. Between those elements and a strong desire to continue their community engagement in Wicomico County, they are on the right track to reach their goals.
