Humboldt County in Northern California has a legacy.
A legacy of family cannabis farms, deeply connected to the earth around them. A culture that celebrates the bountiful gifts their environment has to offer, handing down wisdom from generation to generation. From towering redwoods to fragrant, dense, terpene-rich cannabis plants, the landscape is green as far as the eye can see.
Look beyond the towering 16-foot tall cannabis plants at Canna Country Farms, and you’ll find a bounty of fresh fruits and vegetables growing as well. While they may not be as eye-catching compared to the terpene-rich titans, the farm-fresh food grown here is just as good.
“My message is knowing what you’re putting in your body, knowing where your food, flower, and medicine comes from.”
Ted Blair—Canna Country Farms
Life Changing Legislation
Ted Blair, is a second-generation cannabis cultivator. He is the driving force behind Canna Country Farms, strives to keep tradition at the forefront of all he does. Prop 64—the bill that legalized adult-use cannabis in California— has shaken up everything about the business. As a legacy operator, Ted has transitioned into this new normal. But the journey to keep the rich history of the Emerald Triangle alive has been monumental.
“Getting licensed feels like one of the biggest decisions of my life. It’s a mixed bag of emotions for sure,” Ted told Ryan Harner of Boveda.
Ryan and a small group of his colleagues had traveled to Canna Country Farms to discover more about its rich history, hear Ted’s story, and learn why the farm chose Boveda to protect their precious harvests.
Ted, who was heavily influenced by his mother and sister, shared a desire to continue his family’s heritage of living off the land. This was what drove him to take on the enormous challenges associated with licensure.
“I am glad that I made the decision I did make because if I would have said no, that would have been the end of the third generation being able…to do what they’ve watched me do their whole life.”
Canna Country: Tradition Meets Cutting Edge
Despite his commitment to upholding the practices of the past, Ted and the team are on the cutting-edge when it comes to cannabis genetics.
“The biggest difference between Canna Country and some other farms out there is that we’re doing and looking for the different thing that everybody’s afraid of—and me included!”
Canna Country has a unique offering of cultivars, denoted by numbers like #3 and #9 as opposed to the traditional strain names like Durban Poison or Granddaddy Purp. They are best known for their icon #26, an ocimene-forward cultivar that is unusual in both aroma and appearance. Its deep dark color and combination of fruit, funk, and floral is truly one-of-a-kind.
“Most people don’t have the chance to smoke this terpene, it’s pretty rare,” Ted said of the strain, which took second in sun-grown at the 2021 Emerald Cup proving it’s all about the terps over THC.
“For it (#26) to be less than 20% THC and place top 20, that’s huge to me.”
Hand Tended, Hand Harvested
Harvesting and tending the carefully crafted plants at Canna Country is done entirely by hand. This helps maintain the protection of the delicate balance of cannabinoids and terpenes within. Ted deploys Boveda in all Canna Country product packaging, ensuring his flower is protected.
“It’s a really big deal to keep these terpenes from leaving… so having Boveda in the pack to preserve that and then having that in the jar all the way to the consumer and you break that it’s up, it’s going to be as close to fresh harvested as you can possibly get.”
Ted maintains that the respect and care offered for the plants he grows is simply a way of life.
“We’re literally stewards of the property… that’s how we treat our herb as well. It’s a part of us.”
See the full video here.
