On-site testing might not be for everyone, but is it right for you?
Plant pathogen testing is expensive.
And not testing for plant pathogens is expensive in terms of lost profits.
So, should you implement on-site plant pathogen testing?
Or does it make sense to choose other testing options like mail-in lab testing or no testing?
The answer is … It depends.
Is on-site testing right for Example Cannabis Co?
You’ve been growing cannabis for some time, and you’ve got your grow conditions dialed in. Lighting, nutrition, pest prevention and mitigation, and a strong plant hygiene program are all in place.
But suddenly, you’re not getting the yield that you used to. The flower mass is smaller and has lower trichome production. It’s a less potent flower. Or you see symptoms of plant pathogens. If all your grow conditions are dialed in and you don’t have pests, maybe it’s time to start a testing program.
Our example company is a cannabis grower who recently had a series of crops that delivered lower yields and misshapen flowers with lower potency. They suspect HLVd and are looking into on-site testing equipment to eliminate pathogens from their grow space.
Is on-site testing equipment too expensive for their company size?
How to calculate ROI in growth cycles
You can estimate how long it will take for an investment to pay off by calculating your Return on Investment (ROI). For example, if a light bulb costs $100 and it saves you $50 a year in energy usage, the ROI is:
$100 investment / $50 a year in energy benefit = 2-year ROI
You can do the same thing to estimate how long it might take for your investment in plant pathogen testing to pay off. We will express ROI in the number of growth cycles.
Figure 1. Simple mathematical diagram showing that plant pathogen ROI in growth cycles = Cost of testing / avoided profit loss per growth cycle.
For example, let’s look at Example Cannabis Co. To calculate their ROI, first, we gather critical facts about Example Cannabis Co:
Square feet of grow room: 10,000
Dry flower yield per square foot of canopy: 50 grams
Market price per pound of dry flower: $800 per pound
Pathogen infection rate without testing: 25%
Percent yield loss from infected plants: 20% reduced yield in impacted cannabis
Number of plants per square foot of canopy: 0.75
Percent of plants tested per grow cycle: 10%
With caveats listed at the bottom of this article, here’s how we suggest Example Cannabis Co. calculate the growth cycles it will take to recoup the costs of the Amplifire® Pro testing machine and AmplifyRP® test kits for their cannabis plant pathogen testing program.
Figure 2. Detailed mathematical diagram showing how to calculate the ROI of on-site plant pathogen testing.
Click below to download the Agdia on-site plant pathogen testing ROI calculator and enter your own inputs. If the following link to the Excel document download doesn't work for you, please contact Agdia and we can email it to you.
Download the Agdia On-site Plant Pathogen Testing ROI Calculator
To learn more about these calculations, read on.
Example Cannabis Co’s Investment: The cost of growth cycle one testing
Okay, let’s get into the weeds and determine whether the cost of on-site testing is a good investment for Example Cannabis Co.
How much will Example Cannabis Co. invest in their testing for growth cycle number one, including one-time investments (Amplifire® Pro) and ongoing expenses (Amplify RP® test kits)?
Following is how we estimate Example Cannabis Co’s year-one investment in plant pathogen testing:
Figure 3. Detailed mathematical diagram showing Example Cannabis Co's year 1 investment in on-site plant pathogen testing.
Next, we will determine the potential lost profit from reduced yields due to undetected pathogen infection.
Example Cannabis Co’s Benefit: The avoided lost profits from plant pathogen testing and mitigation efforts
The goal of plant pathogen testing is to catch problems early and to boost crop quality. Pathogens like HLVd and Fusarium oxysporum can cause misshapen buds and lower yields, resulting in lost revenue.
The benefit of cannabis testing is to avoid revenue lost due to plant pathogens.
Following is how we calculate Example Cannabis Co’s estimated lost revenue due to plant pathogen infection:
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Figure 4. Detailed mathematical diagram showing Example Cannabis Co's estimated year 1 benefit from on-site plant pathogen testing.
Example Cannabis Co’s ROI
To calculate ROI, we take the investment divided by the benefit. So, is on-site plant pathogen testing a good investment for Example Cannabis Co.?
Following is how we calculate Example Cannabis Co’s year one ROI in # of growth cycles:
Figure 5. Simple mathematical diagram showing how we calculate Example Cannabis Co's year one ROI rounded to the nearest whole number.
Therefore, for Example Cannabis Co., testing equipment and testing kits would pay off by the end of one growth cycle.
Ongoing cost of AmplifyRP® testing per grow cycle
Your costs may differ. The frequency and number of samples tested will impact your costs. Testing for multiple pathogens, such as Hop latent viroid (HLVd), Fusarium oxysporum and Lettuce chlorosis virus, will also increase costs.
After the first growth cycle, your ongoing testing costs will be much lower because you will own the testing machine.
What are the testing options?
While on-site testing equipment has many benefits, there are other options. For example, you can also choose mail-in plant pathogen testing.
Following are some key considerations when choosing whether on-site testing equipment or a mail-in lab is the right choice for your facility.
When on-site test equipment might be right for you
It is time to consider on-site testing equipment if:
- You need results fast. On-site testing equipment allows you to pluck a sample off the plant and run testing almost right away, in about 30 minutes. With on-site testing equipment from a reliable plant pathogen testing provider, there’s no need to wait and wonder. Test and know.
- You’re a genetic provider. You grow clones and genetic materials to be cuttings for other growers. Your reputation depends on providing healthy, quality cuttings. Fast, accurate plant pathogen testing may be a priority for you.
- You’re a medium to large-sized grower. With scale on your side, typically, it is more cost-effective in the long run to own your testing equipment on-site rather than to choose a mail-in lab. The up-front costs for a mail-in lab are more economical, but over the long run, your cost per test with on-site equipment is typically less expensive.
When a mail-in option might be right for you
You might want to consider a mail-in lab pathogen testing instead of on-site equipment if:
- You are a small grower. If you only require low-volume, small-scale testing, sending samples to a lab might be more economical than investing in on-site equipment.
- You don’t need a fast turnaround. A mail-in lab option can work for you if you can wait several days between taking samples and receiving results.
- There is a high-quality mail-in lab in your state. Sending cannabis plant material by mail across state lines is a legal gray area at best, even between states where cannabis is legal. If there is not a mail-in lab in your state, it’s time to consider on-site testing equipment.
Demo machine program
Not sure if your team can handle on-site testing?
Why not demo the new Amplifire® Pro machine (coming soon)?
Try the Amplifire® Pro for 30 days. See if it works for your process and your grow site. See if you do have a viroid on site. Or see how our results compare with your mail-in lab results.
Here is the demo machine process:
- Enter into a 30-day loan contract for the Amplifire® Pro Machine.
- Buy your AmplifyRP® test kits, like the test kit for Hop Latent viroid (HLVd) or the Fusarium oxysporum test kit.
- Attend a training call with one of our testing experts. Typically, one training does the trick, but we’re available for follow-up training and Q&A as needed.
Contact Agdia
We’re the plant pathogen testing experts, and we want you to succeed with your pathogen testing program.
For mid-sized growers to large growers, we believe that a plant pathogen testing program, along with good plant hygiene, is part of a good risk management strategy. But if we feel that the cost of on-site plant pathogen testing equipment isn’t for you, we’ll say so.
Contact us to learn more. We love to talk about plant pathogen testing.
Caveats: What this doesn’t take into account:
Research on the costs and benefits of testing is still underway, and there are many variables. This article is meant to give you a feel for the ROI of testing, but with so much research still underway, this is only an estimate.
Following are some of the risk areas to be aware of when calculating your estimated ROI:
- We are not your financial advisor. This is not to be taken as financial advice.
- This article applies to year one only. It is not meant to be a full ROI assessment of your investment over time.
- Inaccurate inputs. Inputs may vary over time, and this is not accounted for.
- Lost revenue from destroying pathogen-positive plants. We also don’t consider the lost value or revenue from destroying plants that test positive.
- Labor rate and time to test. We assume testing takes about 10 minutes per plant. However, time to test and labor rates may vary.
- We assume a 0% loss with testing. This ROI also assumes that you will have a 0% loss of profits at the end of your growth cycle, which is not possible. You may have a small level of undetected HLVd, or you may have pathogens that you didn’t test for. Plants may be damaged from imperfect lighting, nutrients, or other physical damage. Your estimated loss may vary.
- We are selling this machine. The purpose of this article is to help you assess whether plant pathogen testing is a valuable investment for you. However, we do tend to be biased toward believing that plant pathogen testing is a highly valuable part of a successful agricultural business. Please keep that in mind as you evaluate this purchase.
Additionally, this ROI calculator also doesn’t consider other benefits of cannabis testing. With pathogen-free cannabis, you can work to build your reputation for delivering high-quality flower and/or clones to your customers.
There may be many other variables that this doesn’t take into account.
