Will Terry
Will TerryAge: 36
Title: Co-founder
Company: Farming First
A fifth-generation California farmer and co-founder of California outdoor cannabis farm Farming First, Will Terry has a background in complex specialty crop production. While Farming First cultivates cannabis on roughly 134 acres, it’s still somewhat quaint compared to his prior experience in Big Ag where he grew strawberries, bell peppers and various leafy greens and herbs on more than 2,000 acres of land.
But that experience is helping Farming First cultivate successfully on a commercial scale.
“The cannabis industry can benefit greatly from the experiences of the broader agricultural industry,” Terry says, noting that California is home to the vast majority of the country’s fruiting crops due to the same conditions that equally suit cannabis cultivation. “It would be wise for the cannabis industry to avoid some of the pitfalls of Big Ag, such as the tendency to lack product differentiation.”
Terry has also contributed as a board member of the California Pepper Commission, AgWest, AgWest Nominating Committee, an alternate member of the California Celery Research Advisory Board, is a former president of the Farm Bureau of Ventura County and a board alternate member of the Fox Canyon Groundwater Management Agency.
He is chairman of the Ventura County Young Farmers and Ranchers Committee and board a member of the University of California’s Hansen Fund and was included in the Pacific Coast Business Times 40 Under 40 in 2018.
“Sometimes it’s hard to take the time to look back, but the biggest milestone for me is getting the opportunity to do what I love with a team that works hard and cares for each other,” Terry says.
Q&A
What swayed you to go into hemp?
When considering the hemp opportunity, I knew my team and I had the ability to produce a world-class product. But the main driver of my decision to get into the hemp space was the prospect of growing a crop that is remarkably water efficient. As a fifth generation California farmer, I have come to appreciate the challenge of balancing the usage of our most important finite resource: water. The prospect of growing a crop that could assist in that regard was a particular interest.
In your opinion, what should the industry learn from big ag? What should it avoid?
The cannabis industry can benefit greatly from the experiences of the broader agricultural industry. For example, there is a reason that a vast majority of fruiting crops produced in the United States come from California. Cannabis production requires a lot of similar conditions, and the cannabis industry would be wise to pay attention to that trend -it isn’t by accident. I would expect that if/when interstate commerce is made legal, California farms will receive the lion share of that benefit.
What should it avoid?
It would be wise for the cannabis industry to avoid some of the pitfalls of big ag, such as the tendency to lack product differentiation.
What sets Farming First apart from its competition?
As a team with a strong cultivation history, I believe it allows for consumers to better connect with the products that we produce. Nothing we do is cookie-cutter, and sharing our unique story of how and why we produce our products is a great opportunity to communicate on a more personal level with our customers.
What has been your biggest industry milestone thus far?
I think that big milestones are a reflection of many little milestones along the way. Sometimes it’s hard to take the time to look back, but the biggest milestone for me is getting the opportunity to do what I love with a team that works hard and cares for each other.