It wasn’t always Josh Keats’s job to drive the tractor. The co-founder of Henry’s Original once had a small crew to farm his 2.8 hectares of cannabis from his base in northern California’s “Emerald Triangle”. But on this autumn day, it’s Keats operating the heavy machinery, trundling down rows of rich green stalks because he had to let go two-thirds of his staff to stay afloat.
Yet, he’s grateful. Other cannabis growers, processors and retailers have had to make more painful cuts, or have folded altogether. “We are witnessing massive insolvency,” Keats says, “especially on the west coast.”
