Creating a Cannabis Farm Collective: Mendocino Generations скачать в хорошем качестве

Creating a Cannabis Farm Collective: Mendocino Generations

It started with a simple question, in the rapidly changing California cannabis regulatory and business environment, how do small farmers protect their natural, sustainable lifestyle. In Mendocino, Chiah Rodriques and some friends formed a farm collective called Mendocino Generations, and grew from 3 farms to over 40. Chiah is now the operations director. The collective helps farmers get compliant, navigate local and state regulations, market and brand themselves. In short, the collective frees the farmers to do what they do best, grow world class organic sun grown cannabis. Mendocino Generations provides strength through unity. How do you deal with 43 farmers with 43 different voices? Differences of opinions based on each farmers different circumstances. What are some of the biggest issues facing farmers? Farmers are dealing with building and planning regulations. Different agencies within the local and state government are regulating growers and processing facilities and don’t understand farming or think cannabis farmers all have huge bags of cash and can therefore give handouts to every agency along the way. Farmers need to make sure local regulators and neighbors know that they’re real people, with families and lives. Mendocino Generations members regularly show up to board of supervisors meetings to meet with regulators and their neighbors. An example challenge facing farmers relates to building and planning. Building and planning department wants any building that has cannabis in it to be a commercial building. Out in the country, how do you get your dry shed to commercial compliance? It will cost a ton of money. Mendocino building and planning listened to the cannabis community and modified the regulations. You can apply for an agricultural exemption for your building if it only touches cannabis and isn’t used for other purposes. Local government was resistant to cannabis in the beginning, but is fairly open now, visiting farms, taking meetings, connecting at local events. The government is starting to understand that a lot of the local farmers aren’t rich dope growers but farmers trying to do things the right way.