Casey O’Neill is a farmer and owner of Happy Day Farms in Laytonville, Calif. The opinions expressed in this column do not necessarily reflect the views of The Mendocino Voice. If you’d like to write your own column for The Mendocino Voice, send your idea to [email protected].
This week went by at a fever pitch; farming and farmers market, Hall of Flowers cannabis trade show at Cal Expo, a sales trip, and the Grasslands and Meadow Gathering. A lot going on, maybe too much, but I wouldn’t have traded any of it. This life is full, but I love the magic of fellowship, of seeing old friends and meeting new ones, and the support of a great team who help make it all happen. Now begins the descent towards winter, with the last cannabis plants cut and hanging and the beds being cleared for veggies or cover crop.
Tomorrow we’ll prep the garlic beds for planting Tuesday morning. We’re going to take a week off from the market to let the slower growth of the season’s crops catch up a bit. I’ve been pushing the beds too hard and haven’t let things size up enough to make economic sense for us, so a week of recovery will do them well as it will us. It feels weird not to go to market, but there will still be plenty of good stuff available, and we’ll be back in full force next week.
Amber and I went over to Sacramento on Tuesday to help set up the Farm Cut booth for the Hall of Flowers trade show. This was the first HOF I have attended, and it was good to see old friends and spend time together with our cooperative group. It was nice that there was a sungrown area with some of my favorite farms representing, and it was a good chance to get to talk to buyers from dispensaries. This was the first year for the Craft Sungrown Showcase, presented in partnership with the cannabis product review platform Budist. Thanks to HOF and the Budist crew for shepherding the Sungrown Experience!
Looking back, I’m saddened by the ways the industry has shifted over the last ten years, and at how small the sungrown representation is at these types of trade shows. This is the first time we’ve attended one since the Emerald Cup in 2021, and I couldn’t help but think back to the days of the Santa Rosa EC’s and of all the faces who are no longer in attendance. Regulation didn’t have to go this way, and I’m still embittered by the gutting of the 1-acre cap at the end of 2017, and by the punitive approaches taken by the various regulatory agencies involved. I still have hopes for us to sell direct to customers at farmers markets, but I’m happy bringing our farmers market representation to dispensaries so customers can see what we’re all about.
I’m glad to see that there are still small, diversified farms figuring out how to make it work through myriad difficulties. Each of these operations represents a vision of land and community stewardship that I’m grateful to stand with as an alternative to large-scale monocrop farming. In a world of changing climate, we need farmers with adaptive strategies for the future.
One of the great wins of the year has been our work planting native plants through two grant programs. The Point Blue Conservation Science grant we got provided funding for thinning overstocked young firs, fencing off riparian areas to plant willow, and planting about 700 feet of native plant hedgerows. Through the CRGP grant from CDFW that was administered by the Mendocino Resource Conservation District and Mainspring Consulting, we planted 400 feet of native plant vegetative buffers.
I’m still a native plant novice with much to learn about species, growth requirements and germination needs, etc. We’ll be saving seed from the plants that we’ve already planted, and continuing to expand our plantings in the years to come. In the next few weeks, we’ll be planting acorns and native grass plugs in areas where we had burnpiles at the ranch because the heat of the fire will have knocked down the seed load, so the native plants will have a better chance to get established with less competition.
At the Grasslands and Meadows gathering in Laytonville yesterday, I was struck by Kyle Farmer’s presentation about rotational grazing and his words that “the restoration economy is real.” I agree wholeheartedly as I look back on the work we were able to do with native plants, riparian zones and woodland thinning this year. Funding that puts people to work managing landscapes to benefit water tables, support native plants, build habitat for the species that live here and food sources for pollinators, including migratory birds, is a win for everyone, and we need more programs like it!
I’m heartened by how many people are working together to support healthy landscapes; these shared efforts are the antidote to feelings of hopelessness and frustration. I have high hopes for increased funding and am happy to write letters of support for local organizations like the Resource Conservation District, Point Blue, the Northern Mendocino Ecosystem Recovery Alliance, Eel River Recovery Project and the many others involved in the space. As always, much love and great success to you on your journey!