Drylands Farming Company is owned and operated by husband and wife team Doug and Lisa Richardson. Bringing sustainable, productive, low water use agricultural crops to California and other states in the North American Southwest including Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, where water conservation is increasingly necessary. In addition to water conservation these crops protect our soils from erosion, our creeks and oceans from agricultural runoff and our lands and homes from wildfire.
Doug Richardson Horticultural & Agricultural Consultant, Nurseryman
Doug became interested in Agaves and Prickly Pears many years ago but became more intrigued in recent years as the California drought has persisted, populations have grown and the need for new agricultural practices became more apparent.
He started collecting and propagating Agaves and Prickly Pear in earnest in the late 1990’s and the concept of Drylands Farming Company developed. Lover of fine tequila and mescal and formulator of a rainbow assortment of Prickly Pear margaritas added to Doug's incentive to see California distilled Agave spirits from California grown plants. His knowledge, experience and skills are well utilized in our consulting services.
Lisa Richardson
Lisa brings to the business her love of gardening, food and natural healing. Trained as a Massage Therapist and Nutritional Consultant and former owner and operator of a restaurant and retail store she adds her business experience to the mix.
Lisa contributes her own strong sense of design, aesthetics and desire to create beautiful surroundings that are productive yet appropriate for our lands and our times. She is keenly interested in the culinary uses and health benefits of the Drylands crops, and sees the potential for California farming and the consequential new products for California and beyond.
Our two horses contribute to the company with their manure! This adds a biodynamic element to our company's plant propagation program. We compost the horse manure and use it in our soil mix for our nursery stock.
Doug has over fifty years of experience in the field of horticulture as nurseryman, farmer, landscape designer and contractor. He was chairman of the Environmental Horticulture Department at Santa Barbara City College where he taught horticulture and related classes of soils, irrigation, landscape construction and water efficient and fire wise design. He now uses his vast experience and education in the field of horticulture and agriculture as a consultant. Doug has a strong sense of place and appropriate uses of land in a given climate and geographical area.
Doug has always been a pioneer in his field. Ahead of the times with California native plants, edible landscaping, the first US organic banana farm, utilizing Vetiver grass and the Vetiver System in California and promoting and implementing sustainable and ecological land design.
Doug’s complete resume available on request.