All cultivation permit holders should have received a recent letter from the County regarding the Financial Security Requirement for Measure S “security.” This new requirement applies to all cultivation permit holders, and needs to be addressed prior by March 26th. The ordinance adding this requirement, passed October 6th by the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors, can be found here. (If you have not received a letter from the Planning Department, check that your address on file is correct).

The Bureau of Cannabis Control (BCC) 1st round of equity funding has been awarded, the portion allocated to Humboldt County is in the amount of $1,204,000. This funding is available for approved equity applicants through the County of Humboldt Office of Economic Development. The pre-application closes at 5pm on March 19th. The first round of grant funding will be awarded for up to $10,000 per qualifying applicant. This Trellis grant funding is likely to be directed for infrastructure needs.

Each year is an opportunity to learn new tricks, refine established methods, and bring beautiful cannabis plants through their life cycle to reach patients and consumers. Thinking through the harvest flow, we’ve considered how batches are tracked for entry into the regulated market. Tracking the trace, while considerably less sexy than the plant itself, can be a part of business development that builds upon successful strategies, supporting your long-term success. This edition of The Understory offers a quick guide to FAQs we’ve been hearing throughout the year.

We wanted to check in and offer this connection resource, in case farms need to move product off their premise without using the METRC/ transfer process. Gov. Newsom declared a statewide disaster this week, which kicks in the disaster relief section as needed. The following linked letter can be download and fill in the pertinent pieces and sent to CDFA, post transfer, to alert the agency, within 24 hours of the move. This is a live link with info as to licensees who are able/willing to receive product incoming.

We have all been thinking about ways we can continue to protect each other during this time. In the spirit of information and resource sharing, we’ve put together a basic guideline for a standard operating procedure (SOP) you may tailor to your farm and business needs. The CDFA and Cal-Osha recently released COVID-19 information for protecting ourselves and our neighbors during the pandemic. Our local healthcare providers and county planning also have an eye on providing endorsed guidelines specific to the industry.

With mid-summer harvests underway, it’s time to check in on sales compliance. There is a lot to cover in this edition of The Understory, and sales will move most smoothly with informed considerations and preparations in place. A little foresight in building relationships with buyers before you are ready to transfer cannabis can give direction to how the harvest is processed, as well as dictates your state cultivation tax implications, and record keeping requirements.

When preparing for onsite compliance and pending inspections, a little growing pain now will translate into cool waters come agency calls. For this edition of The Understory, we’ve teamed up with the compliance experts at Margro Advisors(info@margroadvisors.com) to bring you some preparedness highlights; check out their “Top Ten Tips for Inspections”. Make sure to take a look at the informative workshops they are bringing to SoHum in partnership with the International Cannabis Farmers Association (ICFA). Knowledge is power.

We hope this finds you well and in swing, tending your gardens and enjoying the lengthening days. For this edition we are focusing on pesticide considerations and requirements. Contact the ever helpful folks at the county Ag department if you haven't yet taken steps to comply with pesticide handling regulations by setting up your farm operator identifications and obtaining pesticide applicator certification. As a commercial farmer you are required to know and follow pesticide regulations at the local, state and federal levels.

Spring is popping! This edition outlines Track and Trace requirements as SICPA/CalOrgin transitions, and the basics of METRC onboarding. We’ll also take a quick look at annual applications under review. You’ve probably seen the notices. SICPA CalOrgin is no longer operational for Humboldt County, the CalOrgin call center is offline for support and questions are now directed to the Humboldt County Agriculture Department. The program was slated to be offline completely, without access, by March 31st.