Humboldt County Cannabis Appellations Baseline Study Selects Ten Farms to Participate
Weather Station at Moon Made Farms
Press release from the International Cannabis Farmers Association:
The International Cannabis Farmers Association is pleased to announce that ten cannabis farms have been selected to participate in the Humboldt County Cannabis Appellations Baseline Study. The ten farms participating in the study are 36 Works, Amaranth Farms, Briceland Forest Farm, Fallen Oak Farm, High Water Farm, Kingsview Farms, Lady Sativa Farms, Moon Made Farms, Organic Medicinals and Sunrise Mountain Farms. Water and soil samples have been collected and analyzed and weather stations installed on each of the ten cannabis farms that span Humboldt County’s sun grown cannabis growing regions.
This study aims to provide a scientifically-derived environmental and geographic baseline for the development of cannabis appellation in Humboldt County within the framework of the California Department of Food and Agriculture’s Cannabis Appellations Program yet to be launched. Dr. Hollie Hall, lead researcher, explains that “this study will provide a competitive advantage for the sun grown cannabis producers of Humboldt by informing cannabis appellations programs.” Daniel Stein from Briceland Forest Farm elaborates that through the comparison of weather, soil and water data across sun grown cannabis growing regions, “This study makes it possible to scientifically quantify the difference that the environment makes in cannabis agriculture.”
The research is a cooperative effort between ten Humboldt County permitted cannabis farmers, Compliant Farms Certified (CFC), and the International Cannabis Farmers Association (ICFA). Funding is provided by grants from the Watershed Fund, the Headwaters Fund, the Dr. Bronners Family Foundation and Imperial Analytics.
The current project phase is scheduled to end on August 1, 2022 and will result in the mapping of the geographic distribution of commercial outdoor cannabis farms in Humboldt County, two seasons of soil and water data and preliminary weather data, comparative analysis results shared with the public, and technical support in appellation petition development. Each host farmer has access to 100% of the data generated for their farm and fully controls who they want to share that data with. Envisioned future phases of the Baseline Study include research related to the phenotypic plasticity of cannabis plants and soil moisture and temperature variability.
For more information, please visit https://compliantfarms.com/
appellation-of-origin- baseline-study/
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So..if the purpose is to “quantify” the environmental contribution to the character of cannabis….what if a place in France has all the same conditions; soil chemistry, climate, air quality and whatever. Can they call it Humboldt? This seems like a waste of time. If it’s grown outdoors in Humboldt, it’s Humboldt weed.
Not to mention they are collecting data during the worst drought in history. But grab that grant money.
The proposed appellations will likely be smaller than county scale. I believe the goal is more about identifying how small or large an area is appropriate to warrant their own appellation.
My guess is that most appellations will be tied to river sized watersheds, with some rivers separated into several appellations possibly (think Upper Eel River Valley and Lower Eel River Valley, for example).
Appellation? But what happened to “terroir”? Well anyways I don’t know anybody back east who cares exactly where their great weed at low prices comes from. “Humboldt” was a great name and it was an awesome time we all had. Now most Humboldt weed is being grown by profit-driven teams who blew up the amounts grown beyond what they could produce with quality. Yes- tons of okay weed being sold from Humboldt has tarnished the name and most smokers know that the name “Humboldt” signifies nothing except an old nostalgic idea of history and the old days. We had an opening for extending our rep (that was before “legalization”) but we slept, our leaders slept and that train has left the station. But yeah- keep throwing money after that lost dream. The thing is…we already lived the dream, it’s not something to chase now!
We did make a very nice product here. The difference from other places, was that it was our genetics (from seed) sun grown and it was different from other products from other places. Now it’s all from clones, and it seems more to simulate indoor in technique of growing and with name brand genetics, and it is all that the buyers want (runtz, etc)
Im not sure you can blame anyone but the consumer and the times we live in, but it is the current situation. These people are wasting their time and money with studying the climate and the terroir.
The fact is we did and still can make a very nice product here, that is different from other places. Good old Humboldt full sun outdoor. But it ain’t selling and that’s the sad truth.
Yes we can. The Humboldt Brand lives always. Now it’s the Humboldt Extracts from the finest indoor weed. Outdoor has become irrelevant sadly. Say, what’s with the gas prices? And everything else? When it gets rough, have a Nor Cal puff!
But… that’s not really on brand for humboldt. Indoor, can be grown anywhere. Climate controlled, rooms of clones. It doesn’t have the taste of the spring water, the sunshine, tanoak pollen etc. That’s what makes good humboldt product. But you’re right. There’s not a market for it. So what? Should we sell out and grow indoor? Compete with other states that have half the electric costs as we do? We won’t win there. I don’t see a good angle for us, except that our outdoor is a special thing, even if it’s ‘irrelevant’ as you say.
“When it gets rough, have a Nor Cal puff!” Still in high school cheer?
I am partial to Mendocino and Humboldt outdoor sun-grown. I also think it’s the best! But unfortunately the less- savvy-than-I consumer has the buying power. I still think that “legalization” and it’s regulation should have banned indoor growing. Yes. Here they are telling us we can’t buy gas-powered chainsaws yet meanwhile allowing massive energy waste of indoor and mixed-light greenhouses. THAT would help with the market for sun-grown weed and an area like ours could again rise. Indeed I m confused that environmentalists have not begun a campaign against indoor weed and promoting of sun-grown outdoor weed…the weed growing that Nature intended and that God smiles upon!
Right the f&*k on.
So you actually believe that “God” cares about your irrelevant concerns?
I am back east, no one cares about humbodlt weed and most are afraid of it. Maine growers exploit the environmental factors that the West Coast face, so other then donating to a lost Era, humbodlt weed sits on the vendors tables, with angry vendors. The cleanest and sexiest weed sales for 5 to 20 per gram. Even the 5 makes those humbodlt jars look expired. Think about the weeds energy foot print, no or rarely any testing or history, and angry vendors to boot. Most growers out East wier taught by the best or transplants that carry the torch.
Maine is certainly coming up and starting to blow the doors off of that Boston-New York market. But Maine weed needs large energy inputs to balance the cold and low-light months. Of course their electricity (and gas) costs much less than our most-expensive-in-the-country electrical AND gas costs. If only we could convince people that sun-grown was the best environmental choice and that the environment actually mattered…is anybody even working that obvious angle?
Our full sun outdoor, grown from seed, went for a good price back east last year. The buyers often think that they don’t want outdoor, but if you present it to them without comment they will often select it out of the lineup
Appellation is a specific geographic area. Each appellation holds a set of unique agricultural conditions determined by climates, geography, geology, water, etc. in which crops are grown. The characteristics taken on by the crop from it’s environment are the phenomenon the French call Terroir. California has 4 wine growing appellations, North Coast, Central Coast, Southern Coast and Sierra Foothill. Here is the quick breakdown of regions and appellations as per wine: Country=>Region=>Sub-region=>Village=>Town=>Vineyard If relating wine to cannabis, listing the farm name can indicate different qualities even in the same variety of product – “Terrior varies from town to town, sometimes they could be just across a small river from one another. This of course has major impact on the grapes and the wines; usually quality of the wine improves when the labels actually list the name of village or town, as oppose to labeling the larger Appellations. For example, Cabernet Sauvignon from North Coast California wouldn’t likely be as good as one from Stags Leap District or St. Helena. Although, both towns are in Napa Valley, which is a part of California North Coast Appellation. “
What is the process for cannabis appellations? Is it similar to wine grapes, American Viticultural Area, or AVA?
https://www.ttb.gov/wine/american-viticultural-area-ava
Yes, basically that is the general plan.
After reading the article again and links provided, it would seem this cannabis appellation designation is all done in-house by the growers and ICFA. Its nothing like the AVA process, because that involves the Fed’s.
However, I did find these articles interesting:
https://www.winemag.com/2021/06/14/california-cannabis-appellation-guide/
https://www.wine-searcher.com/m/2021/05/wine-country-fights-back-in-weed-wars
https://www.wine-searcher.com/m/2021/12/dawn-of-the-ganjier-wines-latest-challenge
They are the ones researching it. They will eventually submit applications for appellations to the state and receive a permit to use the appellations brand exclusively.
It seems to me there will be elements to this that are impossible to quantify. Getting weather data and soil data are great but at the end of the day, it’s dirt and can only be comprised of so many things. I hypothesize that many, many farms even ten’s of miles apart will be very similar. With that said I have no doubt that Humboldt/ the triangle climate is special, and that’s why that valley weed will never actually be as good, even though you will only ever hear the opposite of that statement from commenters here.
So happy to see my tax dollars pissed away on a lost cause.
This is private money being spent by industry advocates
Too little, too late…
County/BOS dropped the ball.
Marketing campaign should have been launched years ago.
Local “leaders” sunk us all. They drove out the Cannabis cup and they drove out 420 celebrations. Then when “legalization”was inevitable they set up a system to grab as much quick cash as they could while destroying the local growers. Talk about short-sightedness and greed and blowing missed opportunities!!! Arcata should have a 420 celebration every year along with an academic symposium on cannabis sponsored by Humboldt Poly. And Eureka should have jumped at the chance to host an international Cannabis cup at the fairgrounds… Instead they embraced their meanness and threw it all away pretending that they were saving children from drugs. Now we have meth zombies and fentanyl addicts clogging up our streets so yeah-really smart “Business Leaders” we have here!
I’m with you on all of that! So many missed opportunities. Greed, pandering, and shortsighted decision making in abundance, & from leaders on both sides of the political spectrum (supposedly).
That’s some diatribe.
Actually, the politicians are us. We deserve precisely what we have, nothing more and nothing less.
So is it safe to assume that these selected farms actually put their plants in the ground? What a f*$kn novel idea. Too bad 90% of the industry doesn’t do that. I sincerely hope that the consumer market rewards this concept, but I don’t see it happening. Weed ain’t wine.
“Weed ain’t wine.”
That about covers the entire subject in a mere 3 words. Impressive.
While “weed ain’t wine” may be catchy, folks who are passionate about cannabis have an opportunity to develop a sophisticated pallet for premium cannabis. There are absolutely geographical sweet spots for outdoor cannabis cultivation. The triangle happens to be in a sweet spot with dry summers, and cool moist evenings. I know a cultivator who grows the same strains in Lompoc as he does in Petrolia with the same techniques. The quality is substantially better in Petrolia, no competition. Local folks putting their own region down clearly haven’t put much thought into this. Bottom line is the world will put an adequate demand on small batch cannabis if the quality is there, but too may folks are trying to compete with the mega farms by growing more with less care. It’s not over yet but we have to remember what we are known for. Too bad the appellation project didn’t include green house cultivation, which is a more valuable commodity for sun grown cultivators.
Do different tarps and plastics provide for a diversity of terpene profiles? Hmmm…. This one has a hint of stranded polyethylene with an undertone of bleached PVC
All valid inquiries that the impoverished long-time wannabe local marijuana connoisseurs are no doubt perfectly well equipped to easily answer what with their broad and deep appellation wisdom honed over decades of constantly seeking to subvert law enforcement.
Who is subversive, the growers or consumers (or both)? How are they subverting LE? Not necessarily disagreeing with you but don’t quite understand why you use the word subvert.
// “I know a cultivator who grows the same strains in Lompoc as he does in Petrolia with the same techniques. The quality is substantially better in Petrolia, no competition.”//
Not a fair test. Let the industry breed for the Lopoc climate for 30 years (as has been done for the Triangle) and then swap strains and see what happens.
The Triangle is the absolute best climate for strains bred for that climate. It’s no suprise that those strains don’t do as well in another climate.
It’s true that it’s a tough argument to make that an annual plant could be very affected by small environmental differences, especially when I’m many cases it’s a store bought and imported soil that is used as a growing medium.
Grapes are perennial, deep rooted vines that can be hundred of years old and have roots many tens of feet into the ground. That’s terroir. A 4×4 hole full of royal gold, not so much.
The appellation rules, as I understand them, will only apply to full term plants planted in native soil
Ok I like that more 👍not that my opinion matters much, I’m not involved in the permitted growing world.
Ya, for all the problems of the legal market I think the appellations are a cool idea. Whether or not you believe that terroir applies to cannabis flower, the appellation program will at least ensure you’re getting full sun, outdoor, grown in the ground. And as I understand it, the people who form any given appellation will also be able to specify other cultural practices as well as specific strains.
It’s honestly the clearest path I’ve seen to move genuine emerald triangle culture and products into the legal market
“Appellations” in an article about marijuana?! Now THAT is comical. Talk about trying to gussy up sleeze. Absolutely brilliant.
Norrhcoast Appalachia, grasping. Created in the lab of the marketing mind, this effort is most entirely foo-foo.