New marijuana cultivator makes pitch for Plainfield site

PLAINFIELD — Michigan native, former Mandarin and economics double major and experienced marijuana cultivator Daniel Till introduced himself to Plainfield last week shortly after buying 45 acres in town for a proposed outdoor marijuana cultivation business.

During an open forum held at Town Hall last Thursday with 10 residents in attendance, Till pitched his business plan for Farm Plainfield LLC at his new property on 27 Broom St. The property is located next door to an existing marijuana cultivation business at 28 Broom St. called High Plains Farm.

“What I am requesting is to do a Tier 11 permit, which allows me to have 100,000 square feet of canopy,” Till said.

The property, which Till bought for $500,000 from Martin Downey, complies with state laws governing cannabis cultivators with regards to zoning and distance from a school. Minimal development will be necessary on the site, said Till. Legally, he will be required to enclose his growing spaces with a fence. But as for the rest of the property, he said that other buildings and infrastructure currently suit his business’s needs.

Resident Kare Marshall, who is running unopposed for a Select Board seat in Saturday’s town election, questioned how Till would handle the smell that comes with growing marijuana. She noted that the odor emanating from High Plains Farm is at times “nauseating.”

Till, who has been in the business for a decade, said he would plant rows of buffer crops between his marijuana plants and the fence enclosure, rather than using aerosols or other artificial ways to limit odor. It’s a method he uses at an outdoor farm in Michigan. Till said he will choose plants that flower in the fall to cancel out the smell of the marijuana plants, which are the most odorous in late summer and early fall.

Additionally, Till said he will avoid using harsh chemicals for fertilizers and pesticides, and instead chooses natural solutions, like using bacteria to ward of pathogens.

A house on the property dating from 1783, which is featured on the official town seal, will remain.

“There is no intention of knocking that house down,” said Till. “In fact, I would like to fix up the roof to make sure that water stops getting into it so that, one day, it could be rehabilitated to a point of getting an occupancy permit.”

He also said he hopes to benefit the community, and one of these ways would be by an annual donation to the town’s Historical Society, “to help maintain whatever historical sites are within Plainfield and the neighboring communities,” he said.

Farm Plainfield would employ about 10 workers, and Till said he would aim to hire town residents for those jobs.

The work involved in his process includes growing and processing the cannabis plants into rosin, an extract, which he in turn sells to manufacturers who infuse his product into vapes or other dispensary grade products.

Till grew up outside Detroit and attended the University of Michigan, graduating in 2009 with degrees in both Mandarin and economics. He later studied abroad in Beijing.

“I was ready to stay there with the intention of importing stuff,” he said, adding that China’s excessive pollution “was a little too much for me.”

Till also owns a marijuana packaging company, selling glasses, containers and other supplies used by dispensaries. The business is based in Michigan, but the workshops for his products are in China.

He also explained how, in his searching around the country, Massachusetts eventually became his “No. 1 candidate” in which to start a new cultivation farm, which he said was an extremely difficult and competitive process.

After looking at local ordinances, available sites and state laws, and later making several visits to the state, he bought the listing at 27 Broom St.

The next step in the process before planting can begin will be to sign a community host agreement with the town, Till said.

Samuel Gelinas can be reached at sgelinas@gazettenet.com.