IF there's one man who knows how to grow a good crop, it's Doug Rathbone.
Eight months after his unexpected departure from Nufarm - after 42 years with the crop protection company - Rathbone has taken to "retirement" the only way he knows how - by working.
This includes joining the board of a fledgling Victorian medicinal marijuana company that is preparing to join the so-called "pot boom" with a sharemarket float planned for early next year.
"We were at lunch [with friends] recently and my son Matthew says, 'My dad has gone from killing weeds to growing it'," Rathbone laughs.
Rathbone provided some seed capital for emerging medicinal marijuana producer CANN Group earlier this year as part of a $1.2 million capital raising.
He joined the board in the weeks after walking away from Nufarm in February, after fielding a call from CANN chairman Allan McCallum, who is a former director at fertiliser and explosives group Incitec Pivot.
"A lot of people are getting involved in it, particularly in the US," Rathbone says. "What interests me is extracting the oils [from the plant], and the seed quality."
Rathbone left Nufarm on February 4 with a $1.6 million termination payment.
A statement by the company quoting only Nufarm chairman Donald McGauchie and describing his plans to "aggressively reduce working capital" and cut costs fanned market speculation of a rift between Rathbone and McGauchie.
Rathbone rejects talk of rift. "It's just not accurate," Rathbone says. He says he is still doing some "international jobs" for Nufarm and supports the appointment of chief operating officer Greg Hunt as chief executive.
But Rathbone insists it is inappropriate to discuss his departure.
Instead, Rathbone is getting on with business. Rathbone wants to work with CANN to develop and improve seeds and plant breeding to extract as much cannabidiol (CBD) or tetrahydrocannabinoids (THC) oils as possible.
He's not the only one excited about the potential of oils derived from hemp and marijuana plants to help treat a range of medical conditions including epilepsy, multiple sclerosis and inflammatory diseases. Two former listed gold explorers have reinvented themselves as "pot stocks" - Erin Resources and Capital Mining - following in the footsteps of MMJ PhytoTech, which listed in January.
The use of medicinal cannabis is illegal in Australia but there is growing political support to legalise its use in certain cases. Medicinal marijuana is legal in more than 20 states in the US.
On Tuesday, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said his government was moving on his pre-election promise to legalise the growth, manufacture and sale of cannabis for medicinal purposes in his state.
Children with severe epilepsy will be guaranteed access from 2017 from licensed farmers.
CANN, which plans to raise $5 million through an initial public offering next year, will initially grow hundreds of hemp plants under controlled conditions until it becomes legal to grow marijuana plants.
It's not the only business keeping Rathbone busy. He's joined the boards of cotton seed producer Wee-Waa-based Cotton Seed Distributors and AgBiTech, a privately held farm pest control manufacturer based in Toowoomba. And he's also consulting and providing advice to investors on potential mergers and acquisitions.
Rathbone is also working alongside his son Darren in the family's wine business, which owns Yering Station, Xanadu Wines and Mount Langi Ghiran. The wine business has soaked up much of Rathbone's wealth but he's optimistic the tougher days are behind him. The falling dollar is boosting exports and he says the business turned a profit in fiscal 2014.
Rathbone turns 70 next month. He could be forgiven for wanting to spend more time entertaining his other passion - skiing. He managed to enjoy the last of the season at the weekend and was chuffed to learn about the benefits of entering a new decade. At Falls Creek, anyone over 70 gets their season pass for free.
