Cannabis RFID 101: Compliance Simplified
Cannabis RFID tags can vary in shape, size, material, and capabilities based on the frequency and use cases. There are three main types of RFID systems, which are high-frequency (HF), low frequency (LF), and ultra-high frequency (UHF). Most cannabis RFID tags are made of plastic in order to withstand the conditions and elements of grow environments. In Metrc states, these RFID tags are the key to keeping compliant during, before, and after harvesting, holding information about the specific plant, such as wet weight directly after harvest or once dry. Metrc ensures that legal cannabis stays legal from seed to sale, which is great for regulators, but makes harvesting more complicated than in the legacy market. WayFast cannabis cultivation scales offer a simplified harvesting process that ensures Metrc-compliance.
Understanding RFID
RFID tags can be passive or active. Passive RFID systems consist of three components—an integrated circuit or chip in the tags, an antenna, and an RFID reader. Passive RFID tags have no internal power source as the tags wait for a signal from an RFID reader and receive its power from the reading antenna. Active RFID has both a microchip and an antenna, like passive RFID, but the chips are larger and have greater capabilities, and also require two additional components—an onboard power supply and onboard electronics.
In the legal cannabis industry, Metrc uses plant and package tags, which are passive. These RFID write-only tags are one-time use only; RFID labels can only be associated with one plant or package. This promotes supply chain transparency, easy traceability, and eliminates the need to reprogram tags, but it means that every single plant tag needs to be tracked, traced, and accounted for at each step. When human error enters the mix, such as trimming scissors slicing through a plant tag, compliant plant tracking can get a bit complicated to keep in order. Fortunately, WayFast has solutions to many cannabis cultivation issues like this. Ask us how we can help!
How WayFast and RFID work together
RFID technology can make many complex business processes easier and more efficient. WayFast utilized RFID capabilities to optimize the cannabis harvesting process by providing solutions for any challenges that arise during cultivation and harvest. Commercial growers and large-scale operations need to be accurate and save time, which means having contingency plans for potential issues during harvest. WayFast’s innovative harvesting and cultivation solutions can save commercial grow operations 10-20 hours per harvest. Book a 15-minute demo to see how it works in real-time.
WayFast cannabis cultivation scales automatically read and capture all the required harvest data for Metrc, making the data readily available to upload in five easy steps. Simply turn on the scale, weigh the plants, press the done/upload button (the data will be uploaded to a USB), edit any information that has been flagged, and upload it to Metrc. This innovative system makes harvesting a breeze! WayFast scales are NTEP-Certified with a finely-tuned RFID system for the best solution in cannabis harvesting compliance.
WayFast cannabis cultivation smart scales have wet and dry harvest modes. Most wet harvests are weighed inaccurately, but WayFast has found a solution to this problem. Typical 12”x12” scales can overstate the weight of each plant up to 400g due to the center of mass of the cannabis plant not being close enough to the center of the scale. WayFast has rectified this issue with its 24”x31.6” platform that is six times larger than typical scales, ensuring that each measurement is accurate. WayFast also has both standard and incremental weighing (with Batch weighing currently in Beta, due to release in Q2 2022). With WayFast’s new V5 platform scale, weighing can be done incrementally, meaning a new plant can be added after each successful scan without the need to remove the previous plants. This mode can clock up to 1,800 plants per hour.
WayFast Cannabis Harvest Advantages
WayFast is saving cannabis cultivators time and money by focusing on speed and simplicity to help your cannabis operation keep up with the demands of the fast-growing market. WayFast provides the next generation of cannabis hardware with groundbreaking technology to meet the unique needs of cannabis cultivators to easily handle harvest compliance. Many cultivation scales take time away from the harvesting process, forcing growers and quality assurance to manage not only the process but compliantly track plant weights during harvest. Meanwhile, conventional cannabis software tools are often inefficient and dated, and integrating with cannabis weighing equipment can be its own cultivation nightmare. WayFast RFID-enabled scales, compatible with any ERP platform, resolved these issues by capturing the weights and data of cannabis plants in record time, without slowing down the harvesting process.
Whether your operation requires a platform or hanging scales, WayFast has the solution to get more done faster. What took hours before can now be done in minutes without compromising accuracy. Cannabis operations can stay competitive, compliant, and organized with WayFast RFID-enabled smart scales. Some cannabis operations are still using handheld barcode scanners and have to locate and manually scan 50,000 plants with manual entry and data input. This method simply does not work for large-scale operations. With WayFast cannabis cultivation scales, all the required data for Metrc is automatically captured.
WayFast optimizes your harvesting and staffing by eliminating unnecessary touchpoints and can help your cannabis operation save thousands of dollars in labor costs. There are no other cannabis cultivation scales on the market that can consistently capture accurate weight and harvest data like WayFast. Its scales are changing the way large-scale cannabis operations keep track of plants from seed to sale, letting you control the data, reduce errors, and get hours back that you can focus on your grow. WayFast can help smaller operations go from pilot to full-scale in an easy transition.
Want to learn more? The WayFast team would be happy to show you exactly how they can integrate into your current systems to help your business stay compliant and profitable. Book a 15-minute demo to see the WayFast cannabis smart scale in action.