A female-led cannabis farm in Carpinteria is working on changing the industry by using nature to its advantage.
"I think women didn't feel comfortable with cannabis for such a long time and it was more male-focused," said Autumn Shelton, partner at Autumn Brands.
But that’s changing.
"We are in a new industry where there is no glass ceiling. It's exciting to be a woman and to be able to be inspired and to inspire others to become part of this industry," she continued.
And that industry is booming in Santa Barbara. Last year, the county grew 9.8 million pounds of cannabis worth $328.9 million, according to the 2023 crop report.
Shelton and Hanna Brand are the two women behind Autumn Brands, a sustainable, family-owned, pesticide and spray-free grow in Carpinteria.
"We realized that you can wash your lettuce, but you can't wash a weed," said Johnny Brand, partner and head grower at Autumn Brands.
Six years ago, Brand and the team set out to find sustainable, non-chemical ways to grow.
"We stopped spraying and right away the bugs knew it," he explained.
"We lost a lot of plants in the beginning. It was very challenging and very expensive, but today we have this perfect ecosystem," Shelton said.
The secret…
"This is a ladybug larva. He's right next to a couple of aphids, so once he starts moving again, then he'll munch all those up. These are the native ladybugs breeding in the greenhouses, and that creates its own ecosystem," Brand explained.
This nature and nurture approach is the only of its kind in California, according to Shelton.
"Because this is new, we can take a step back and build this framework from the ground up to be able to be a better industry, because when women come into play, they tend to think more about their values rather than the bottom line," Shelton said.
