Patrick is one of our outstanding hemp farmers, bringing the land his family has farmed for over 150 years into the next frontier of farming. He has converted Brown Family Farms’ tobacco fields in North Carolina to grow regenerative hemp crops as well as vegetables for the local CSA he founded to heal his county’s food desert crisis. The farm’s mission is to help provide a holistic solution to customers naturally through regenerative and organic agriculture. Both a community and national leader for minority farmers, Patrick is re-claiming the local land by expanding the farm and buying back acreage his ancestors were once enslaved on. Patrick’s love of earth and people shows in his beautiful words: “My ancestors gave me this opportunity. I can’t let them down by not utilizing this land for good. To use what we already have to expand and produce jobs. To bring economic development to this area, to heal, clothe and feed our community and give people a second chance at life.”

Cannon is one of our amazing, forward-thinking cotton farmers. He is proud to continue his family’s legacy as the 6th generation to care for the land at the Bowles Farming Company in the Central Valley of California. Environmental stewardship, ethical treatment of workers, and sustainable production are all of the utmost importance to Cannon and the Bowles Farming Company. The key to the success of the farm is the health of their employees and their families, the health of their soil, and their good stewardship of resources through pioneering practices that are regenerating the land for cotton in the Central Valley. TRACE™ is so honored to have Cannon and the Bowles Farming Company as one of our cotton farmers through our alliance with the California Cotton and Climate Coalition (C4).

With an ardent dedication to improving soil health for future generations, Tony and his team steward Stone Land with pride and deep care for the earth. They have a “can-do” attitude - where other farmers might see roadblocks, they see opportunities. Through water conservation, greenhouse gas emissions reduction, cover crops, and maintenance of the natural habitat, Stone Land employs various practices that better the local environment. The regenerative practices they have adopted for our partnership through C4 include a reduction in nitrogen inputs, ceasing glyphosate use, incorporation of livestock, and no-till/low-till farming. “Sustainable farming is our passion—We only have one earth.”