Eureka Courthouse Rally Opposing Measure S on Tuesday
This is a press release from the Suspend Measure S Grassroots Campaign:
Local canna-businesses and concerned citizens form a grassroots movement to make a plea to the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors to support Humboldt farmers by suspending Measure S ahead of the March 15th due date for county cultivation taxes.
Background Information and Rally Goals
The wholesale price of cannabis has plummeted post-legalization due to overproduction and prohibitive taxation, including the Humboldt County cultivation tax based on the square footage of allowable, grow space. This tax is paid even if no cannabis is produced or sold, and the tax rate does not fluctuate with market conditions. This tax is not applied to any other agricultural product. As a result, HumCo’s cannabis industry and local economy are in jeopardy as farms continue to shutter. The Suspend Measure S campaign asks the HumCo Board of Supervisors to:
- Forgive the October 2021 tax payment.
- Waive the March 2022 tax payment.
- Suspend the tax for an additional year.
- During the break from taxation, the community and the government will have time to come together, through a public process, to restructure a new equitable and fair tax.
“The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors may repeal this Chapter, or amend it in a manner which does not result in an increase in the amount of the tax or broaden the scope of the tax imposed herein, without further voter approval. If the Board of Supervisors repeals any provision of this Chapter, it may subsequently reenact it without voter approval, as long as the reenacted provision does not result in an increase in the amount of the tax or broaden the scope of the tax imposed herein. (Ord. 2567, § 1, 12/13/2016).”
Speaker Itinerary
Natalynne DeLapp (ED, Humboldt County Growers Alliance); Dylan Mattole (Legacy Farmer and Owner, Mattole Valley Sungrown); Chris Anderson (CEO, Redwood Roots Distribution); Fred Moore (CPA and Managing Member, Humboldt Craft Spirits); Sara Walker (Partner, Making Waves Management Services); Sandi DeLuca (Realtor, Coldwell Banker Sellers Realty); Laura Lasseter (DOO, Southern Humboldt Business and Visitors Bureau); Brooklynn Willett (CEO, Emerald Employment); Jackee Riccio (ED, Cannabis for Conservation); Pat Andrews (Legacy Farmer and Owner, Ice Box Flat Farms)
About the Suspend Measure S Grassroots Campaign
The Suspend Measure S campaign is a grassroots effort composed of cannabis businesses, community partners, local citizens, and organizations, powered with help from the Humboldt County Growers Alliance. Together we are working together for long-term economic vitality and prosperity for Humboldt County.
Join the discussion! For rules visit: https://kymkemp.com/commenting-rules
Comments system how-to: https://wpdiscuz.com/community/postid/10599/
the altered it and got sued .They are not allowed to change it with out 60 percent of county voting on it
The voters already gave the power to the BOS to, “The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors may repeal this Chapter, or amend it in a manner which does not result in an increase in the amount of the tax or broaden the scope of the tax imposed herein, without further voter approval. If the Board of Supervisors repeals any provision of this Chapter, it may subsequently reenact it without voter approval, as long as the reenacted provision does not result in an increase in the amount of the tax or broaden the scope of the tax imposed herein. (Ord. 2567, § 1, 12/13/2016).”
What’s the rally cry? Cancel our taxes or we’ll kill ourselves?
May as well march too. Both proven to be equally ineffective. ?
Sidenote : HGAA is collecting in excess of 250k in annual membership “fees.” Of course the executive director will spearhead this rally, her paycheck and plush perks are on the chopping block.
We didn’t get to vote on every line of the law. Eliminate the adjustment to the CPI. Increasing the excise tax along with inflation is the least fair aspect of S. Every other expense of farming, and feeding is affected by inflation.
The Country already charges “staff time” in a separate bill, so the Excise tax doesn’t pay for any County costs.
Tax rates are not $1.00, $2.00, $3.00, per square foot. etc, they are more.
What other fees for business are so unpredictable?
Kind of a “deal with the devil” situation. County ain’t going to budge and why would they?
Again, this sounds like “moving the goalposts” which they were arguing against just last week. Also the price has plummeted due to overproduction, not “overproduction and prohibitive taxation”.
On the other hand, it does sound like a fairness issue since they are taxed more than other produce growers. I think the tax could be cut in exchange for the increased controls on generators and well drilling that were discussed recently.
Being overtaxed doesn’t help when the market plummets. But they did ask for this by supporting a law with on cap on acreage.
If one believes in the law of “supply & demand” why don’t these idiot mega growers simply grow less?
The ‘mega-grows’ are quite happy to crash the price (for now). They have much lower production costs than the small grower. Many can still make money at the current prices or at least break even. Given a season or two you’ll see the prices rise again but it will be too late for most of the small growers.
I’m not promoting any sort of conspiracy here — this is just the way business works — figure out how to lower your production costs so you can better survive a price war and then let the price war commence.
JB
Look at you learn’in. Maybe some of you legals can be assistive in helping us assist corporate burn cash, lol. Gotta get these under 10k growers a real outlet to sell their goods though down in the southern part of the state. It’s a big piece that needs to be resolved or does it I am torn. Rather have’em back in the fight on the war on drugs. They have the most experience and in the game of attrition they are well seasoned survivors.
// “Look at you learn’in.”//
Learning? You apparently havn’t been paying attention to my posts for the last years.
From my 2017 48 page white paper:
// “For the first time ever, cannabis cultivation will be moving into the more common commodity realm — prices being driven by the sum of production costs (land, energy, labor, etc.). Expect prices for cannabis to dramtically fall in the legalized states, primarily the result of smart, agriculture and business minded folk now allowed to legally do smart things to reduce production costs.”//
lol, I am only play’in. Viewers enjoy our conversations and agree with your perspective often. I enjoy your perspective as well.
It’s definitely not a conspiracy. Just standard business. In some cases larger farms are owned by businesses that make money on other ventures and can use the losses of the farm to offset gains from their profitability business. Happens in many other industries.
Or the large farms have access to cheap capital and with lower costs of production (already built out large efficient facilities and closer to major population centers) they will easily outlast the small guys.
Hate to say it but small mountain farms run by owner/operators just can’t keep up in the current market. They never really had a chance.
Exactly this ^^^^^^
JB
I think market share shows a different reality. Where we at with legal sales how many billions? I’d like to say a lot about this but I am not allowed. Franzia wine does not (and never will) dominate the wine industry. All I can say, lol.
Legal farms have a cash burn issue how many more years you think before they “get efficient.” The big grows are up against a group that just needs one seed or one plant and a water source. It doesn’t get more efficient than that, lol. Making the “small guys” the competition is not a wise move for corporations.
Because the big guys got big by driving the little guys out of business. Why don’t the idiot ‘legacy farmers’ work for them? The big producers are hiring.
It’s not so much they drove the little guys out, but more that the little guys never operated efficiently enough. When pounds sold for thousands of dollars each, little guys never had to learn real business practices that they now need.
Its like taking an electric scooter on the freeway. Yes, the semi truck are gonna seem to be diving them off the road, but really the little guys are now forced to play on the big boy field. The little guys never had a chance.
Doesn’t work like that. When your profit margin is $1,000 per unit, you can produce 100 and make $100,000. Then you like making $100,000. When the profit margin slips to $50, you need to produce 2,000 units to generate the same income.
Then in reality, people like $100,000 one year, and decide they need 200,000 the next, and figuring they’ll get it, finance $500,000 on it over the next five years…
The only tax break that should be given is for 10k or less cultivation outdoor only. I oppose any power sucking or generator ran grow operation getting a tax break.
I am solar . Funny , we were specifically told that we may not use power, generator, or our well. But apparently ( gasp, shocker ) the regulations have not been equally applied to all .
I know it ain’t much to help but thank you. We are big fans of providing our own power with solar and hydro. The regulations are made for shit growers of the BOS friends and family.
Hmmmm, yes ? Like the Rolling Hills Project!
Same as it ever was, same as it ever was
Yes and….. My farm has seasonal water generated power. But CDFW is demanding that I (and every other water powered electricity generating system) only use 10 to 20% (!!!) of the water, even, as in my case, the stream that is ‘dewatered’ is a class 3! And unless it’s a torrential downpour flow, that limits the ability to make the system viable. So, while we could use the water flowing by, we instead have to run gas generators.
Just do it anyway, but make your system able to switch over to 20% easily for when you get inspected. This beaurocratic over reach in CA has reached the point of utter absurdity. I had to move my entire cultivation area away from a class 3 SMA this year. I told the CDFW guy that I was going to keep the fence up and put a small orchard in its place. He shook his head and said no I can’t. I asked why and he said there is no cultivation within 150 feet of a class 3. I said that if I plant less than 2000sq ft of a crop then I don’t have to register with the waterboard and asked if he could cite a specific law that would prohibit me from from planting bare root fruit trees here. His face got red and he said kind of angrily, “The whole point of this is to get the man made inputs away from the creek! You will have to fertilize those trees at some point and we can’t have that going into the creek!” He was ina pissy mood acting like a little child for the rest of the inspection. I have 12 new fruit trees growing there now.
He made me upgrade a functional driveway culvert from 12in to 18in diameter to accommodate the flow of a 100 year storm. If I would have know it would have taken me 3 years and $12,000 to get permission to change out a $500 pipe, I would have just done it years ago and risked a fine.
The legal permit process is a shake down at every turn.
Interesting response. Thanks!
My understanding is that the minimum setback distance from a class 3 stream is 50 feet, from a class 2 is 100 feet.
I too have experienced that ‘childish’ bluster and pouting from an official from CDFW. I was able to persuade him to be a team member and thus he was cooperative for the rest of the day. …..But then he writes a more restrictive response later.
Besides the money, the time, hassle, aggravation, there is the massaging of the situation to achieve our reasonable goals.
Yep, you are correct at 50 feet. I don’t know why I was thinking 150. The fence for our new location is 60 feet from the stream bank.
1.0 allowed generators. 2.0 must be renewable energy.
I believe that they are taxed unfairly. But I also believe that they chose to take advantage of a legal framework that they should have protested. They didnt stand with the small growers when the cap on farm size was removed from the law.
oooooh!!! An insurrection!
Sounds like everyone has plenty of stash these days!
When I was a kid I wanted it legal because all I wanted to do was grow enough to have a good stash and give some to my friends!!
Now everyone has stash and plenty to give to your friends!!!
So yeah, it’s the end of a 20 year corpo pot growing boom and a 50 year movement of new settlers in nor cal building homesteads and raising families and creating a cultural ideal of getting back to the land and fixing the world by making and growing our own crafts and tools and medicines and a whole lot of tried hard to live that ideal …….
A lot of us never stopped trying to live that ideal.
Boom times gone Bust. Just another product craze in Babylon.
The time of riches and wealth is over.
The time for survival has begun.
At least there’s some dirt and greenhouses left it’s time to grow VEGETABLES!
If the state is making changes to support legacy farmers I don’t understand why our local government is still refusing to. There is no equity the planning department will still continue to make it too costly to survive. I can’t even make minor changes to my farm even though I’m using the same footprint. CDFA just awarded grants so we can address the concerns for our water and power issues. If we aren’t able to survive we can’t even do good on our land. There is no reason to continue the punitive permitting process aside from the fact they want to kill the industry.