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In March 2019, a small group gathered in an undisclosed location in the quiet NSW town of Armidale with a bold ambition – to grow a medicinal cannabis company unlike any other in Australia. Among them was Rangi Faulder, Head of Plant Performance at Australian Natural Therapeutics Group (ANTG), who recalls assembling grow tables, hanging lights, and fitting out the facility while waiting for critical permits to arrive.
Four months later, the first cultivation license from the Office of Drug Control turned the lights on. It was then that Rangi delivered the first batch of Eve plants to the facility – a high CBD variety that formed the foundation of ANTG’s flagship cultivar range. The portfolio quickly expanded with government authorisation to grow high-THC varieties. By November 2019, cultivars like El Jefe ‘Rocky’, OG Kush ‘Mariposa’, and Tangie Chem ‘Solace’ entered production – varieties that would go on to become mainstays in the ANTG product lineup.
“There were challenges early on,” Rangi reflects. “Our first four crops had a mite infestation on-site, which threw a spanner in the works and delayed our crop schedule. We had to start over from scratch, but it never happened again”. Through continuous learning and innovation – from optimising substrates to trialling new lighting technologies – ANTG steadily increased both crop yields and product quality, from approximately 80 kilograms per crop to outputs of over 140 kilograms to date.
“Every crop, we measure everything – plant height, stem diameter, flower yield – and we track it company-wide. Being proactive has been key to our success,” says Duncan Simpson, ANTG’s Cultivation Manager. “The company’s leadership set a clear path from the beginning. They had a very clear vision of what they wanted to do and executed it well.”
This May, ANTG celebrates a major milestone – the production of its 100th crop. Across six years, the Armidale team has achieved this landmark without a single failure, a testament to its robust crop management systems, team resilience, and passion for excellence.
Duncan says, “For me, seeing where we have come as a company, it’s amazing to see what we have grown into. We have multiple production sites, we have really expanded the product portfolio, some of it with varieties Rangi bred in-house, we’ve got multiple dosage forms now and are exporting to New Zealand and Europe. Seeing the growth – not just of the company, but of our staff and their skills – has been one of the most rewarding parts of the job.”
Meet Rocky
A standout among ANTG’s cultivars is El Jefe – known as Rocky in New Zealand and Australia. It was one of the first high-THC indica flowers in Australia, exceeding 30 per cent THC. The cultivar is named after founder Matt Cantelo’s father, Ross (“Rocky”), who struggled with pain during his battle with cancer. “It was rare to find a phenotype in the 30 per cent range,” says Rangi Faulder. “We knew it had strong analgesic potential, so we focused on resin production and consistency.”
Today, Rocky is ANTG’s most widely cultivated strain and a leading export to the European market, particularly Germany, Europe’s largest medicinal cannabis market. “I didn’t expect the Rocky legacy to grow as big as it has,” says Rangi. “It’s been a marathon but incredibly rewarding.”
“It would have been easier to be an importer,” Rangi reflects, “the early years were prolific, but we always knew that cultivating and manufacturing ourselves would give us full control over quality and yield, enabling us to control our destiny.” That decision meant navigating immense regulatory hurdles and capital requirements to secure cultivation, R&D, and GMP manufacturing licenses – a feat few companies in Australia have achieved.
A strong focus on research and development also became a central pillar of ANTG’s operations. Early partnerships with academic institutions, such as the University of Newcastle, helped validate the therapeutic potential of ANTG’s high-CBD cultivar Eve, used in cancer research, while internal breeding programs have continued to drive innovation across their portfolio. Rangi’s program spans three cannabinoid spectrums with Eve, Rocky, and Juno. Eve delivers high-CBD with minimal THC, Rocky provides high-THC potency, and Juno – a cross of Eve and Rocky – offers a balanced cannabinoid profile. It is a direct result of feedback from clinicians and patients and marks a unique milestone in ANTG’s cultivation journey.
Rangi states, “When we first built the company, we understood we needed to have R&D as a main pillar – providing evidence to support the efficacy of the products and to advance the plant science that enables clinicians to better understand how these products work. There wouldn’t be that many companies in Australia that have embarked on or gone down the same pathway. We acquired cultivation, R&D and manufacturing licenses, requiring a lot of time, effort, and capital. It’s provided us with a basis for controlling the supply chain and relying only on ourselves to meet the market demand.“
“It speaks to the leadership here,” Duncan says. “Our executive team, led by founder and CEO Matt Cantelo and COO James Gaskell, supported us in building something lasting. There is a wealth of knowledge from top to bottom, which is probably one of my favourite things about working with ANTG. Being able to contribute to positive, meaningful change in people’s lives, growing a natural medicine – it’s amazing. It’s a privilege to be in that position, working with the plant and working for ANTG.”
Words supplied by ANTG | 1800 287 628 | Website | Facebook | Instagram | Photography Phillip Maenpaa and Dan Peled
