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 info@mendovoice.com.
Cannabis harvest has begun in earnest with two hoops of Purple Cream that came out stellar! The electricity of fall is in the air, and now that the race to the finish has begun, the manic energy keeps me in full go-mode. I was born in September, and with the changing of the season and the joys of harvest, this month carries special excitement for me.
As I edge towards 42, I’ve been reflecting about the life I lead, the land we tend, the crops we grow. I’ve been thinking about how much food a farmer can grow in a lifetime, how many nourishing meals and interactions with community members make up my life story. I’ve been thinking about how much herb we’ve sent out into the world, the power that cannabis has to change mind states and consciousness.
I love the interconnectedness of our farm, the reliance on community for monetary support in exchange for the goods we produce. We couldn’t farm for very long if people didn’t buy what we grow, and this dependence on the relationships we foster and maintain means everything to us. It feels good to be in connection and community week after week, seeing our CSA members and market customers, bantering over the table in the exchanges of small-town life.
I love that I know where our food goes, that the fruits of our labors have a tangible effect, and that I receive feedback about our work. I treasure the interactions, each of which is a part of my identity and life path. For a brief few years during the medicinal cannabis Proposition 215 farmers’ market days, we had a similar set of relationships with returning Collective members, but in our current, bifurcated cannabis reality, we’re insulated from direct customer interaction in a way that is detrimental to our business and to our life goals of fostering connection and relationships.
AB1111 is a piece of legislation that would allow direct sales for farms at state cannabis events; it awaits the signature of Governor Newsom. The bill is a step in the right direction, a continued effort in the long process of cannabis normalization that still has many steps to go. I look at what hemp farmers are able to do in other states, selling directly to customers at farmers’ markets, and I think about the cognitive dissonance of different regulatory schemes for the same plant based on the cannabinoid components it produces.
Hemp is regulated in much the way we dreamed for cannabis; I see small farms all over the country producing their finished flowers and products, much the way we did during the Prop 215 days when we had a thriving line of topicals and tinctures in addition to flower. The tendency of California to overregulate, coupled with legislative dysfunction, has us still struggling with the absurdities of state law.
I look forward to a time when we can sell our cannabis on the table next to our vegetables at the regular farmers’ markets we attend. I don’t compete in the wholesale vegetable marketplace because of our small scale and desire to be in relationship with our customers, and I long for the same experience with our cannabis. To be able to vend at farmers’ markets would take away the extra headaches of regulatory nonsense and make the numbers pencil in a way that is difficult under the current system.
Policy development is incremental and excruciating, slow steps with much frustration. I hope that the governor signs AB1111, and that we continue the fight towards true normalization of cannabis. In the meantime, I’ll be harvesting herb and vegetables and doing the work to keep the farm thriving. I appreciate the efforts of Origins Council and all the people working in legislative and regulatory channels, for my time in those battles is over.
We harvested the hoops on Wednesday morning, cleared the beds by lunch and finished prep by early afternoon. I used the Paperpot Transplanter to plant lettuces and salad mixes, filling one tunnel. I planted the second tunnel on Friday with beets and scallions in one bed and sowed radishes and carrots in the other. It feels good to turn beds over, and having plants ready to go means that I’ve been on top of my seeding schedule.
To produce in winter, one must sow seeds in late summer, and this year is the best I’ve ever done with it. Nearly a thousand brassica (broccoli, romanesco, cauliflower, cabbage, brussels sprouts) have gone out, along with many thousands of salad mix and cooking greens transplants. Beets and turnips are planted in succession, radishes are sown, and I have big hopes and crossed fingers for good germination on two hoop house beds of carrots. Fall time cometh, and the abundance brings joy to my heart. As always, much love and great success to you on your journey!
Casey O’Neill owns and runs HappyDay Farms, a small vegetable and cannabis farm north of Laytonville. He is a long time cannabis policy advocate, and was born and raised in the Bell Springs area. The preceding has been an editorial column. The Mendocino Voice has not necessarily fact-checked or copyedited this work, and it should be interpreted as the words of the author, not necessarily reflecting the opinions of The Mendocino Voice.