The Equity Guru business model is pretty simple: “Every deal we do with a company buys our attention, not our favour.”
One of our biggest challenges comes from quiet client companies.
By “quiet” we mean – “a 60-day cycle with no news”.
When that happens – we have two choices: ignore the company or write soggy articles rehashing stuff you already knew.
Crop Infrastructure (CROP.C) – is so noisy that we went out for coffee – came back – and discovered it had conquered half the world.
Crop is engaged in the business of investing, constructing, owning and leasing greenhouse projects, providing turnkey real estate solutions for lease-to-licensed cannabis producers.
The standard Equity Guru disclaimer warns: “You should consult with a licensed investment professional before making an investment.”
We are not telling you to buy shares of Crop.
But we do believe this company is worth a long, hard look.
On March 16, 2018 the stock hit a high of .84, then fell to .15 on July 4, 2018.
It’s now trading at .25.
Let’s review August’s news:
On August 23, 2018 Crop announced the appointment of Greg Douglas to the Executive Advisory Board. Mr. Douglas will have a special focus on Crop’s Jamaica operations.
Last month Crop announced it has signed a joint venture (JV) agreement whereby the company has a 49% interest in a zero-cost lease of a 217,000 sq. foot Jamaican property “ideally situated for future Cannabis production and extraction”.
The 5-acres of prime agricultural land has been secured in the Westmoreland Parish, some of the most fertile land in Jamaica.
Mr. Douglas is the Management Information Systems (MIS) at the Bureau of Standards in Jamaica and the Project Coordinator for a proposed Medical Cannabis (Ganja) Track and Trace Pilot Project.
Crop Infrastructure CEO, Michael Yorke, stated, “Greg can be considered one of the foremost authorities on the Jamaican cannabis industry. He will be of considerable assistance to Crop as the business develops there.”
On August 22, 2018 Crop announced that its Nevada subsidiary leased “an additional 750 acres of contiguous agricultural farmland bringing the total Nevada acreage to 1,065 acres with 240 acres under pivot.”
Pivot irrigation typically consists of galvanized steel pipe with sprinklers positioned along their length and mounted on wheeled towers. The flat Nevada landscape is ideal for this type of irrigation.
The lease also provides access to over 300 acres of additional water rights. The additional 750 acres of pivot development potential will substantially increase production for the 2019 season.
The two-year lease will cost $566 USD per acre/per year. Crop is going to use a chunk of the revenue from its first crop to pay for the lease.
It is estimated that the 240 acre pivots will yield 240,000 pounds of hemp flower. The total cost of production is expected to be below $700,000 USD with many of the costs already incurred. The first harvest is expected in early Q4 this year.
“We are confident with over 1,000 acres that our tenant will remain the largest hemp farm in Nevada,” stated Yorke, “The next phase of development will be a state-of-the-art extraction facility to make high-value CBD isolate.”
On August 09, 2018 Crop announced that its Humboldt County, California tenant has started harvesting cannabis from 10,000 square feet of greenhouses.
The operation began in the first 2,000 square foot greenhouse. The remaining four greenhouses will be harvested at the rate of one per week. New starter plants will populate the freed canopy space.
The Humboldt property is 8.46 acres. On site are five 5,000-gallon water tanks, a well and pump house and a 30 x 60 ft. drying shed.
On August 15, 2018 Crop announced that its San Bernardino dispensary application has passed stage one of the application review process. Crop plans to finance the purchase of real estate on the granting of the license.
The proposed dispensaries will operate under the brand, “Emerald Heights”.
On August 2, 2018 Crop published news on its joint venture; 25-acre Xhemplar hemp farm in Italy.
The 25-acre property was produced approximately 600,000 healthy hemp plants in less than two months.
The plants are expected to be harvested in the next 20 days.
“We’re looking forward to Crop building out the extraction facility and unlocking the true value of the hemp plant,” stated, XHemplar Chairman Andrea Castiglione.”
The high CBD hemp will be sold as biomass or processed into CBD isolate for international markets.
“CROPs portfolio of cannabis infrastructure assets now includes cultivation properties in California, Washington State, Nevada, Italy and Jamaica,” stated CROP Director & CEO Michael Yorke, “Management will continue to aggressively pursue new international opportunities.”
Federal regulations prevent mainstream lending institutions from participating in weed sector growth. CROP invests in producers and processors through lease programs and fee-based management options.
It’s basically a weed-specific Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT).
This August, 2018 – Crop has been making a lot of noise.
As shareholders, we love the sound.
Full Disclosure: Crop is an Equity Guru marketing client and we own stock.