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reserve your ad hereThe perfect storm has been building in California’s cannabis industry, taking an especially hard toll on legacy, sun-grown farms. The combined pressures of massive overproduction, unprecedented droughts, and wildfires, along with regulatory burdens, have conspired to create what many in the industry are calling an “extinction event” for small-scale, family-run farms.
While Proposition 64, and the legalization of cannabis in California, held the promise of greener pastures, many of the state’s craft farms were left to fend for themselves in an inequitable marketplace.
Regulations adopted in 2018 laid the groundwork for massive cannabis production that is currently far-outpacing demand in the state.
According to the California Department of Food and Agriculture, licensed cultivators produce more than six million pounds of cannabis annually, even though Californians consume less than a third of that amount. While craft cannabis farms can be as small as 2500 square feet, few limits exist for the acreage or number of industrial-sized farms. Overproduction has caused a precipitous price drop for all cannabis sold in California, and the small-scale outdoor farms are getting hit hardest.
When you add onerous licensing fees, regressive cultivation taxes, and other regulatory requirements, craft farmers are struggling to survive.
“Taxes are without a doubt the greatest cost associated with the regulated market.” said Daniel Fink of Down Om Farms in Nevada County, California. “Being held to the same commercial regulations as farms with the benefit of economy of scale makes huge challenges for the smallest farmers,” continued Fink. “If small farms were regulated as agricultural, we would have a fighting chance.”
A large majority of cannabis in California is now dominated by large-scale, indoor and greenhouse mono-crop facilities, but the Emerald Triangle (encompassing Humboldt, Mendocino, and Trinity Counties) is home to more than one-third of all cannabis cultivation licenses in the state, with over 1,700 licenses in Humboldt alone.
The Emerald Triangle is also where many legacy farms weathered decades of adversity during the era of prohibition, only to be squeezed out by the legal regime.
Many of the farms being affected by the current landscape are Sun+Earth Certified, upholding rigorous regenerative organic standards which go beyond USDA Organic requirements and include cover cropping, mulching, composting, and reduced tillage to increase soil vitality.
Such practices also eliminate a reliance on toxic pesticides and other chemical inputs and, through carbon sequestration, help reduce the cannabis industry’s extremely large carbon footprint. The health and environmental benefits of regenerative organic cannabis should be ample reason alone to preserve and protect these small legacy farms.
But their extinction not only impacts the lives of farmers tending the land but also spells the end of an era. Cannabis genetics that have been passed down over generations are being replaced by designer strains that fall out of vogue as quickly as they appear.
Cannabis grown in the Emerald Triangle and other California appellations carries with it the history of the modern cannabis culture and has a unique “terroir” that embodies the soil, topography, and climate in which it was grown, something that cannot be replicated by mass-produced, commodified cannabis devoid of heritage.
“We are undergoing a mass extinction of small, family-run cannabis farms, and this loss of diversity will be sorely missed once consumers realize the quality and terroir that is only possible on a small scale,” claimed Kila Peterson of Sweet Creek Farm in Guerneville, California, a Sun+Earth Certified farm.
“We are women-owned and run, and we farm where we live,” continued Peterson. “Because we own our land, we have that extra incentive to take great care of it. We go that extra mile with organic and constantly look at ways to close loops on our land. We teamed up with Sun+Earth this year to help communicate our integrity to our customers.”
The limited amount of retail opportunities in California is another externality many small producers and operators are facing. The cultivation rate and product availability continue to multiply, but the shelf space doesn’t exist to sell it all. It’s a buyer’s market, and the market is largely dictated by high THC potency and price point. Well-resourced entities are buying dispensary shelf space making it nearly impossible for small farm-owned brands to compete. Sun+Earth is working diligently to educate consumers at the point of sale about the devastating impacts of industrial cannabis and why choosing sun-grown cannabis can have a positive and direct effect on cannabis communities.
“We have to get the word out that earth-conscious cannabis is a better option for people and the planet,” said Judi Wood of Sun+Earth Certified Sol Spirit Farm in Trinity County. “We know this cannabis consumer is out there. They just have to learn that they have this option and understand how it benefits them.”
“Part of the barrier is cautious retailers not understanding that people will pay a little more for regeneratively farmed and sustainably packaged cannabis,” continued Wood. “If you buy organic produce and support your local farmers’ market, you should be buying Sun+Earth certified cannabis.”
The State of California has recently implemented modest recovery programs, but struggling farmers say the measures are not nearly enough to prevent their extinction.
In April 2020, the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) announced that $30 million would be allocated under the umbrella of the Cannabis Equity Grants Program to help California cities and counties support low-income farmers and farmers of color. Then, in March 2021, GO-Biz announced another allocation of $15 million. However, the roll-out of equity grants to local jurisdictions has been slow and inadequate to meet the need.
In October 2021, the newly-formed Department of Cannabis Control unveiled guidelines and application requirements for $100 million in grants to local jurisdictions, proposed by Governor Newsom and passed by the legislature earlier in the year. With three-quarters of the state’s cultivation licenses still provisional, these funds are intended to bring more farms into annual compliance.
But many in the industry believe this funding is too meager and does little to address inequitable market competition and formidable regulatory burdens.
High on the list of demands are (1) waiving the cultivation tax for small-scale farmers and (2) placing a moratorium on new licenses to stem the flood of cannabis due to overproduction.
Overproduction may also become less of a problem once the issue of interstate commerce is addressed and legal cannabis states can freely exchange cannabis products without the threat of federal enforcement. But, unless federal legislation contains explicit protections for small farmers, they will continue to struggle and face extinction.
The Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act (CAOA), federal legislation introduced by US Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and Ron Wyden (D-OR), is an important proposal, but it falls short of providing protections for small farmers. Comments submitted on the CAOA by nonprofit New York Small Farma embody the importance of regenerative organic farming and the critical needs of small farmers. These comments are a blueprint for legislators and should be heeded if we hold any hope of sustaining small legacy farms for more generations to come.
We are at a crossroads in the cannabis industry. If we continue on the current trajectory, small legacy farms will become a thing of the past, replaced by mass-produced cannabis lacking in terroir, culture, and respect for the land. We must come together to lift each other up, unify and amplify each other’s voices, and provide sacred stewardship of this powerful plant.
“To survive in the new regulated market, we must stay true to our roots of natural farming and connect with those who truly care about the source of their cannabis,” said Fink of Down Om Farms. “Stewardship of land and care of community is the highest honor imaginable.”
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reserve your ad hereHeather Dunbar is a passionate, mission-driven sustainability advocate with years of experience in the cannabis industry including cultivation, education, sales and marketing, communications, and strategy. Heather has also worked extensively in the natural products industry and organic food movement, leading product development, brand development, and community outreach for several pioneering businesses. Heather is a natural leader with a passion for improving the world through permaculture, regenerative practices, community development, and using business as a force for good. Heather is a contributing author of multiple publications including, CBD: A Patient’s Guide to Medicinal Cannabis. She holds a degree in Human Development and Health Psychology and an MBA focused on sustainable business strategy and leadership. She is currently the Director of Communications and Marketing for Sun+Earth Certified and Brand Manager for Brother David’s Sacred Allies.