Santa Barbara South Coast Chamber Magazine 2022-2023 - 48

AGRICULTURE
CARP GROWERS
Above: Ivan Van Wingerden and his father Ed Van Wingerden lead a greenhouse farm tour in Carpinteria to
showcase sustainable growing practices and the sophisticated climate controls and plant production techniques.
Growing New Roots
Below: Carpinteria
Valley greenhouse
farmers have made
the Santa Barbara
Coast Region a
major supplier of the
California cannabis
market while using the
new crop to sustain
the agricultural legacy
of the area.
FOR CARP GROWERS the
association of
nine Carpinteria
Valley cannabis producers who farm
at 20 greenhouse farms, " Cultivating
Excellence " on the Santa Barbara
South Coast has multiple meanings.
They cultivate consistent, high-quality
cannabis year-round for a statewide
market that is environmentally
sustainable and aligned with the
community's values.
The Cannabis Association
for Responsible Producers
(CARP) was formed in
2018 setting out to stand
out among cannabis
farmers through public
engagement, education,
philanthropic
partnerships,
The Cannabis Association
for Responsible Producers
(CARP)
2018 setting out to stand
out among cannabis
and
leading by example
as model operators
in a new (once illegal)
industry. When suspicions
ran high about who was farming
this stigmatized crop, farmers
knew it was time to reach out to the
community and to demonstrate the
compatibility of the cannabis crop
in an area with a deep agricultural
legacy going back generations.
Agriculture has been an economic
driver in Carpinteria since the 1800s,
with crops of walnuts, lemons, and
avocados evolving over the years
and decades, depending on market
pressures and profitability. The
arrival of Dutch farmers in the 1960s
added a new chapter with greenhouse
agriculture and the flourishing
cut-flower industry, which earned
Carpinteria the title of " California's
Flower Basket "
for steady yearround
flower production.
Fast-forward to 2015, domestic cutflower
production had been on the
decline for decades, slowly slipping
away to South American competition,
then disappearing altogether
with the Great Recession. Operators
searched for new crops to preserve
their farms.
Medical cannabis had a market
and margins that could rescue the
flailing greenhouse farming industry.
In 2016, with Prop 64 and adultuse
legalization,
farmers carved
out their place as leading suppliers
of the massive California cannabis
market.
CARP Growers organized two years
later to help distinguish its members
as responsible farmers prepared to
work within a tight community-even
with a stigmatized crop. Since then,
thousands of neighbors have toured
cannabis farms, the cannabis industry
has become a leading nonprofit
supporter and the stigma has slowly
faded away with time and understanding.
For
more information visit carpgrowers.org
48 SOUTH COA ST MAGAZINE SBSCChamber.com
https://carpgrowers.org/ http://www.SBSCChamber.com
Santa Barbara South Coast Chamber Magazine 2022-2023

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