A female cultivator is sitting in a chair wearing a lab coat, gloves, and eye protection. She is attaching tags to cannabis plants for tracking purposes.

A Cannabis Operator’s Guide to Plant Tracking and Cutting-Edge Labeling

May 8, 2025 Omega

Modern farming technology and agricultural prowess can only get a cannabis grower so far due to some unique challenges, goals, and regulations. Flexing their renowned ingenuity, the cannabis industry continues to rapidly innovate each facet of cultivation to improve process efficiency (such as irrigation and harvesting), cannabinoid yield, and nearly every aspect of germinating seeds and raising clones.

In addition to growing plants, cultivators have the daunting task of meeting their state’s regulations—and there is no room for error. One such requirement is to implement a robust seed-to-sale tracking system. This comprehensive approach ensures that every step—from that tiny seedling to the final product in the customer’s hand—is meticulously monitored.

It’s not just about staying compliant. It’s about staying organized, efficient, and ready to scale. How is this done? Let’s take a look.

The Cornerstone of Compliance: METRC vs. BioTrack

If you’re operating in the U.S., your state likely tells you which tracking system to use. Overall, two names dominate the tag-and-trace space:

Metrc: RFID Tag and Tracking

Metrc, or Marijuana Enforcement Tracking Reporting Compliance, is a comprehensive track-and-trace system designed to ensure transparency and regulatory compliance within the cannabis industry. By integrating radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags with a cloud-based software platform, Metrc enables real-time monitoring of cannabis plants and products throughout their lifecycle.

Each RFID tag carries a unique identifier (UID), allowing for detailed tracking of origin, testing results, handling, and chain-of-custody information. This data is accessible to regulators for auditing and enforcement purposes. Although Metrc does not have a point of sale (POS) system, it can be conveniently integrated into complementary systems like BioTrack.

BioTrack: Customizable Compliance

BioTrack is an all-in-one cannabis software solution that offers seed-to-sale tracking, ensuring compliance and efficiency across cultivation, manufacturing, and retail operations. Its platform features customizable workflows, real-time inventory management, and comprehensive reporting tools, enabling businesses to monitor every stage of the cannabis supply chain.

Additionally, BioTrack provides government traceability solutions to assist state and local agencies in enforcing regulations and preventing illegal cannabis operations.

Why Is Seed-to-Sale Tracking Important?

Cannabis isn’t the kind of crop you can track with spreadsheets and good intentions. Most legal markets require detailed documentation for every stage of the plant’s life—often using government-mandated software systems like METRC or BioTrack.

These tracking systems are important for consumer safety and exist to help maintain regulatory compliance from seed to sale. Systems like BioTrack can also improve inventory management. Whether it’s tracking a clone throughout its growth cycle or concentrates and extracts, biomass and product inventory tracking is important (and necessary). State-mandated tracking also provides benefits to growers and processors by ensuring they can make data-driven decisions to grow their company. Strain selection, yield optimization, and go-to-market strategies can all benefit from the tracking data collected in their traceability and point-of-sale (POS) systems.

Lastly, programs like METRC and BioTrack improve security and greatly reduce the chances of product going missing. It’s also easier for operators to identify any inconsistencies in their processes before regulators do. And remember, in most states with legalized cannabis, these systems are required by law.

Key Components of a Seed-to-Sale System

Regardless of which platform you’re using, most systems track the same essential phases of the cannabis lifecycle:

Cultivation Tracking – Monitoring plant genetics, inputs, lighting schedules, and environmental conditions.
Harvesting and Processing – Recording weight, trim type, batch ID, and extraction methods.
Packaging and Labeling – Ensuring accurate, compliant product labels that meet state requirements.
Distribution and Sales – Tracking product movement from your facility to the point of sale.
Reporting and Audits – Generating reports for regulators and internal audits alike.

And while software (such as BioTrack) handles the data—labels, tags, and printers bring that data into the physical world, where inspectors and team members can read it, scan it, and verify it visually and on the fly.

Real Time Tags: The Physical Backbone of Cannabis Compliance

Cultivators and growers know the importance of plant and product tracking software, but reliable labels, tags, stickers, and printing hardware are needed to complete the solution.

Enter Real-Time Tags, by Stover Manufacturing

What sets Stover apart in the cannabis space is their innovative approach to barcode tracking systems, durability in the grow room, and compliance. Their direct-thermal transfer printers have been innovated for the cannabis industry, where they’re exposed to the harsh conditions of grow lights (or direct sunlight), moisture, nutrient solutions, and cleaning chemicals. Stover’s tags and labels are designed to withstand the day-to-day conditions of cultivation and processing facilities.

These tags integrate seamlessly with popular track-and-trace software, and notably, BioTrack recommends Stover’s tag and printing solutions for their durability, accuracy, and compatibility.

Integrating Stover Stakes, Wrap-Around Tags, and Adhesive Labels Into Your Grow Environment

Above, we reviewed what track-and-tracing is and why it’s important. Next, it’s time to put out stakes where our pots are. Let’s walk through how and where to use each Stover component—from propagation through to post-harvest handling. Below are five steps to get you started using tracking tags and labels.

Step 1: Germination and Cloning—Pot Stakes for Early Identification

For propagation trays and young clones, nothing beats a simple, rugged pot stake. Stover’s pot stakes are made from thermal-printable plastic and available in multiple thicknesses, making them suitable for both seed-starting cell trays and larger clone pots. These stakes slide easily into the soil and maintain print legibility even when exposed to high humidity, nutrient solutions, or occasional chemical splashes.

A picture of six plant identification stakes placed in the dirt. Each stake gets shorter than the next, manufactured in the colors white, red, yellow, purple, orange, and blue. — Quick to apply and tough to misplace—pot stakes are the go-to for early plant ID in high-turnover clone rooms and nurseries.

They’re especially useful for clone operations and nurseries where regulations might not require permanent tagging and where tracking strain genetics, propagation date, or mother plant info is critical. If your operation doesn’t yet need wrap-around compliance labels at this early stage, pot stakes are a fast, effective, and clean solution.

Step 2: Vegetative Growth—Wrap-Around Tags for Permanent Compliance

Once your plants move into veg, especially if they’re staying for the long haul, it’s time to level up to wrap-around tags. These are the backbone of most compliant cultivation operations.

Stover’s wrap tags are built for cannabis. A locking notch designed to create a secure closure that won’t damage the plant, even as stalks thicken, is an important (and sometimes necessary) feature. In fact, many states require tags to remain intact from early vegetative stages through to harvest.

A GIF of three stover wrap-around plant tags. As the image changes from one tag to another, they display the tags in the colors white, green, and pink. — Stover wrap-around tags lock in place with a compliance-ready notch. They are built to stay secure as the plant grows during its vegetative and flowering stages and remain with the plant until harvest.

These tags come in multiple colors, which can be used to visually differentiate strains, phenotypes, or cultivation dates. For outdoor and greenhouse grows, there’s a higher-security wrap tag version that locks tighter and resists wind, rain, and temperature swings—ideal for more rugged environments.

While wrap-around tags are thermal printable, cultivators who want the flexibility of hand-marking with a Sharpie or grease pencil can still do so. The material holds ink well and doesn’t smear under normal grow conditions.

Step 3: Flowering and Full-Term Growth—Wrap-Tag Adaptability

As the plant enters its reproductive cycle, any label failures can result in compliance risks and massive headaches. Thankfully, these wrap-tags are engineered to expand slightly without breaking or stressing the stem. This ensures compliance, minimizes plant damage, and keeps your data connected to your biomass—no matter how big your main stems get.

Step 4: Tray, Pot, and Room Labeling—Adhesive Labels and Sign Stock

In a mature grow operation, plant-level labeling only gets you halfway. You also need to manage your trays, bins, and rooms with clear, weatherproof identification.

Stover’s adhesive labels are engineered to stick to virtually any surface, including plastics, metals, and painted surfaces. They’re available in multiple sizes and made from waterproof plastic that stands up to moisture, direct light, and rough handling. Perfect for labeling harvest bins, clone trays, and even racks in the drying room.

An image of a small planter with Stover adhesive identification labels attached to it. The lower half of the image displays a 5x7 Stover thermal-printed sign. — Weatherproof labels and printable signs keep your trays, bins, and grow rooms clearly marked without smearing or peeling. Mitigating identification guesswork is just another way to improve your facility’s efficiency.

For broader organization, Stover also offers plastic sign stock on rolls, designed to run through their printers. This lets you produce your own custom signage for identifying rooms, sections, or even batches—ideal for multi-room facilities with multiple teams working in tandem.

Step 5: Onsite Printing—Everything You Need in One System

Stover doesn’t just sell tags. They provide an entire ecosystem: thermal printers, ribbons, labels, and software, all engineered to work together. That reduces misprints, avoids the pain of mismatched hardware, and keeps your labeling system reliable.

Their simple Track and Trace software allows operators to customize labels with strain names, lot numbers, harvest data, or internal codes. It’s compatible with most cannabis tracking platforms, and BioTrack specifically recommends Stover for their durability and seamless integration.

Reorder-Friendly, Scalable, and Smart

Thermal labels are fast, dry instantly, and work with Zebra-compatible printers. As your operation scales, Stover’s products scale with you—offering fast delivery and consistent quality batch after batch.

And in a world of unstable tariffs and where your next grow can’t wait, Stover’s plant tags are conveniently made in the USA. Their production facility is located in Port Orange, Florida, where it designs and manufactures plant tags and labels for the cannabis and horticultural industry as a whole.

BioTrack Compatibility

As we mentioned earlier, Stover is a preferred vendor for BioTrack, with direct integration and compatibility. Even if your state uses METRC (which requires RFID), growers often still use Stover labels as a secondary tagging system for internal data collection and batch management.

Make Compliance Your Competitive Advantage

While heavy-duty pot stakes are great for early-stage plants or unregulated clone facilities, they don’t meet permanent label requirements for most licensed operations. Wrap-around tags, especially those with Stover’s secure notch system, are the best choice for full-cycle compliance. And labeling isn’t just about organization—it’s a foundational part of a legally defensible, scalable cannabis business.

With Stover’s Real-Time Tags, you can trust that your physical tracking system is just as strong as your digital one.

If you’re looking for help integrating these into your grow, be sure to reach out to our team or connect with your account representative directly. We’ll be happy to get you started or help augment your cannabis operation’s tracking SOPs.