Sorting Cannabis Product is Crucial to Maximizing Profits

By Allison Cohn

Okay, so you’re cannabis has matured to an ideal size and has been cured to perfection. The moisture content is just right and the trichomes are a gorgeous frosty white. Your crop is all set to either sell or store.

But there’s another important post-harvest task that will help your crop maximize its profits — sorting. Sorting the flower allows the supplier to get the highest price for their crop when selling through a reputable marketplace like Tamerlane Trading, while the buyer gets exactly what they are looking for.

HOW IS CANNABIS SORTED?

Cannabis flower is classified in several ways in accordance with the International Cannabis and Hemp Standards.

There’s your A-Flower, which are larger than 0.75 inches (19.05 mm), has a higher terpene and THC content, has received the most sunlight, and tends to test better, and is therefore considered to be of higher quality. A-flower, the bigger buds, tend to grow towards the top of the plant.

Then there’s your B-flower, which measure smaller than 0.75 inches (19.05 mm) and larger than 0.25 inches (6.35mm). Sometimes also called "smalls" or "popcorn bud," B-Flower represents those underneath buds that end up being little nuggets — the ones that fit just perfectly into your pipe. B-Flower grows near the bottom of the plant and are often less developed because they literally grow in the shadow of the A-flower. While some specific strains grow smaller flower, generally, this is the rule of thumb.

Then there is C-Flower, which measure around 0.25 inches (approx. 7mm) or smaller. Sometimes known as “bbs” or “larf”, C-Flower either develop beneath the plant’s canopy and are smaller than B-Flower, and/or are the result of handling and processing larger flower. 

A-flower, B-flower, and C-Flower can be good quality cannabis, they just represent different variations of the same plant — and different price points of that plant.

In order to maximize profit and capitalize on yield, the A-Flower and the B-Flower ought to be separated and sorted. Sorting the buds by size allows growers to deliver the most consistent and highest-quality product to their customers. Sorting also provides hard data that most accurately describes and represents the overall yield, which ultimately helps during the grading process.

HOW DOES SORTING MAXIMIZE PROFITS?

Typically, growers will have a third-party appraiser assess their cannabis yield. They’ll give a price for the A-flower versus the B-flower or C-Flower. If growers don’t sort their bud, the appraiser will estimate the percentage split and offer a price based on that estimate. Mixed material often receives a lower price, and an A/B mix or A/B/C mix won't receive the same profits as A-Flower that has been separated and sold independently of B-Flower or C-Flower

If growers sort their bud, they will receive profits for the A-Flower and the B-Flower based on the actual calculated percentages of each type of bud, therefore receiving more net cost. Sorted bud will receive the fairest prices. Growers gain the most profit when they sort their cannabis, as the highest price is received per flower type in each category.

WORTH THE WORK?

Yes, sorting cannabis takes time and manual labor. If a grower doesn’t have the time to sort their product, it’s certainly easier to just accept the lower price for the mixed material. But if they opt to sort the buds by size, it generally pays off — and pays off well.

There are various ways of sorting cannabis, from automated conveyor belt machines to more analog or DIY sorting tables, with specific-sized holes for the cannabis to sift through. Most large-scale grow operations will invest in sorting technology that will do so quickly and efficiently. Sorting the bud will also help streamline the trimming process, especially if that is also automated.

Sorting cannabis ensures that each sized bud receives the optimal and appropriate price, and while the prized A-Flower buds will sell for the most money, even the shake and trim hold value and can be turned into pre-rolled joints or utilized to make extracts. Nothing gets wasted, and no cannabis is left behind. By accurately assessing the breakdown of flower-type ratios that make up their crop, growers are ensured to receive the proper price per unit for their entire yield.

Allison Cohn

Writer

Allison Cohn loves gold spray paint and nonsense. She also has a very difficult time sitting still and keeping quiet. She can often be found dancing like a fool when she isn’t hiding out in her mountain lair or gallivanting around the globe.