Visit Mendocino County and the Mendocino Cannabis Alliance joined together last week to honor Mendocino County's licensed cannabis operators who swept the awards in the 2022 and 2023 cannabis divisions at the California State Fair.
According to Mendocino Cannabis Alliance CEO Michael Katz, nine farms from Mendocino County took home a total of 18 State Fair Cannabis Awards for 2023. He noted the farmers dominated the outdoor division, bringing home seven of 10 Golds. In 2022, eight farms from Mendocino won a total of 17 awards. All of the 2023 winners are members of the Mendocino Cannabis Alliance.
For the past two years, the California State Fair has presented "Golden Bear Awards" to the highest testing cannabis cultivars in multiple divisions, including cannabis grown from outdoor, mixed light and indoor light sources. Unlike other high-profile cannabis competitions, the State Fair entries are judged strictly by science. The cannabis is not smoked, smelled or touched. Awards are given purely on the percentages of particular cannabinoid or terpene profiles, leaving virtually no room for subjective judging.
Three Mendocino County farms received a Golden Bear Award in 2023. Potter Valley-based Heartrock Mountain Farm carried home a Golden Bear for their CBDa. They also received a Gold for their Love Laughter strain.
Esensia, located in the high country east of Hopland, received a Golden Bear Award and also garnered two Gold awards for their Pixie Dust and Maracuya strains. They received two Silver Awards for their Rose Petal strain.
Multi-located GreenShock Farms received a Golden Bear Award, a Gold for their Passion Orange Guava, and a Silver for Tropical Sleighride.
Other winners for 2023 included Gold winners HappyDay Farms, Martyjuana and Family First Farms. Higher Height Farms received a Gold and two Silver medals. Wood Wide Farms took a Gold medal in the Indoor category, and Emerald Spirit Botanicals took Gold in the Most Unique category for a second year in a row.
2022 winning farms included Arcanna Flowers, Bush Family Farms, Esensia, First Cut Farms, Greenshock Farms, Mendocino Family Farms and Silver Dragon Cannabis.
At an Anderson Valley reception on Aug. 20 at The Bohemian Chemist Dispensary located in the Madrones, Katz and Visit Mendocino County's Partner Relations and Communications Manager Jamie Peters-Connolly took to the podium to both congratulate the winners and affirm the huge opportunity this acknowledgement from the state represents toward the furtherance of a thriving Mendocino County cannabis industry. Then the mic was handed over to some of the winners in attendance.
Chiah Rodrigues and her husband, Jamie Beatty, own and operate Arcanna Flowers in Redwood Valley. Rodrigues made a point of stressing how important it was to her and her family to receive recognition from the State Fair – a sentiment echoed by nearly all the winners.
"It's a validating contest because of the science behind it. We all know that it's about this location. So many wins came from Mendocino County because of the terroir and the uniqueness of where we live," she said to the attendees.
Mark Greyshock of Greenshock Farms has grown cannabis throughout the state but agrees that Mendocino County's unique combination of climate and terroir provides the perfect conditions for cannabis farming.
"I was able to be in Sacramento when they handed out the Golden Bears, the olive oil, the wine and the beer. I spent 30 years of my life running from the law, growing cannabis in the mountains. To be at the State Fair and come out and be proud of what we do was an amazing moment."
Like several of his companions being honored, Jerry Munn from First Cut Farms has won numerous awards for his cannabis. He said, "My farm is in Covelo. Covelo is the terroir that grows the best cannabis." He described his winning strain – Limeadelic, which he created in 2016.
"It's very unique in a lot of its psychoactive properties. It's got a great uplifting high from the limonene and the calming effects from the myrcene. The terpenes effect the high, and the great thing about the State Fair awards is that they reflected the terpenes. When it comes to normalizing cannabis, which events like this do, we need to educate the public, and the terpenes are just another step. In our community here, cannabis is really normal. It's time for everybody to accept how normal cannabis is," Munn concluded.
Marty Clein from Martyjuana is also from Covelo. Clein served as the Ambassador for cannabis at the 2022 State Fair, and didn't hold back on how meaningful his award is.
"I'm not going to cry, " he smiled, "but this recognition feels really important to me. I work really hard at the craft, and California saying, 'You're like a vineyard growing a high-grade flower or fruit' is just the most incredible feeling." Clein continued, telling the audience that he came to Mendocino 10 years ago from the Wine Country to be part of the culture and community. He met fellow award-winner Casey O'Neill and recounted his time on Bell Springs Road, learning about cannabis and receiving information from legendary farmers.
"Now people ask me those questions," he smiled. "I think California's done a good job allowing cannabis to come forward and be a standard part of agriculture in America, and I hope someday we can sell our cannabis for whatever and to whomever we want. Some of the pounds I see out there are $5,000 pounds, and I think we can get there again."
Mike Strupp is from Woodwide High Craft Farms. The coastal native is glad to see Mendocino County getting the recognition it deserves.
"When we were growing up, it was 'Humboldt, Humboldt, Humboldt,' because they put themselves out there as the cannabis region. It's really cool to see Mendo getting its shine. Anyone who's still here doing cannabis really loves it, because it's not the same as it was 10 years ago." Strupp continued by discussing his passion – genetics – and how craft cannabis is at the heart of the winning farms.
"I think that Mendo speaks craft. We don't have any big mega-farms. Even if we thought we were big a couple years ago, we've seen what big is now. I love the genetics – combining things and seeing what comes out. I call it 'sifting for diamonds.' When you cross two plants, you don't know what's in there, and you have to go through everything to see what really shines. Having a place like Mendocino brings out these genetics to the fullest, and here we are with an award that's based on tests and quantitative analysis that shows this."
Nate Hayward is from Higher Heights Farms. He is gratified to see a community of farmers coming out of the cannabis closet, receiving accolades from the state and celebrating Mendocino County. He moved to Mendocino County because Trinity and Humboldt were "too much." Hayward references the map of Mendocino County posted at the event, which illustrates the locations of all the State Fair winners.
"Everything about this place is perfect – the coast, inland, Anderson Valley – all the way up to Covelo. I love seeing this map. The winners are from everywhere – not just from one region. Other counties have so much more square footage, so much better regulatory structures. Mendo's kind of a fiasco. Hopefully it's getting better, but I'll believe it when I see it. The culture, the people that have been doing it 20-plus years – that's why our weed comes out like this – because we actually really care."
Hayward provides a positive note of encouragement to his industry companions.
"We have a base of knowledge here that's world-class. That took a long time and a lot of risk and effort. Nobody gave us any of this. This was hard-fought wins for everyone involved. This year, whatever little upswing we see – whatever little stabilization we see, bank on that. We've got to put ourselves out there in a big way. We have to capitalize on whatever little momentum we have. There's nowhere to go but up."
Phil Crews from Mendocino Family Farms received a round of applause when he said, "I don't think we'd still be going without MCA." He also thanked the Madrones for hosting public cannabis Farmer's Markets throughout the summer. "Thanks for giving us a chance to show that we're respectful through the rules. There's quite of bit of rules we know shouldn't be there, but we're going to respect them, because we're respectful people, just like anybody else."
Crews told a poignant story about his personal history as a farmer.
"For 40 years, we've been growing cannabis and hiding. Some of us did quite a bit of time in jail. So, coming out of jail, going through five years' probation and having your freedom taken away because of a plant – and all of a sudden, years pass. And now I see myself standing at the State Fair, with a Gold Medal around my neck. To us, it looks like it's from the State of California. My children no longer need to hide." He commended the county for keeping the cultivation canopy topped at 10,000 square feet.
"We're unique to anybody in the world because of that. If they had allowed acres and acres of weed in Mendocino County, we'd blend in with everyone else. We know we have the best cannabis in the world." Though the wins did not come without tremendous struggle, Crews – the elder cannabis statesman at this event – had nothing but gratitude to share.
"I love all the young people coming in, doing what they're doing, with the same passion I had when I was their age. We're all living a good life, even though we're not making a lot of money – barely pulling things off. I wake up every morning and appreciate the birds, the animals, the flowers and the life around me. When you get to my age, you start appreciating the real small things in life," he concluded.
To learn more about the Mendocino Cannabis Alliance visit https://mendocannabis.com. To learn more about craft cannabis events, dispensaries and experiences in Mendocino County visit https://www.visitmendocino.com.
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