About Clayton Handy
Clayton Handy grew up in a small Idaho town, where his family has been in trucking for four generations, often serving the farming community. Many of the family business’s truck drivers were former farmers who lost their land during the 1980s farm crisis, while corporate agribusiness thrived. Even as a boy, Clayton knew “something was off” with conventional agriculture.
After attending business school, he managed a division of the trucking business but still felt drawn to agriculture. With his wife’s encouragement, Clayton pursued a degree in horticulture and Forestry while raising three kids. Later, he and his family moved to Chico, CA, where he started his career in agriculture, managing 2,000 acres on a 15,000-acre corporate farm of walnuts, prunes, almonds, pistachios and pecans.
During this time, Clayton studied regenerative agriculture at Chico State and incorporated regenerative practices into conventional systems. However, he realized change was slow in an industry deeply rooted in conventional methods.
At the same time, Clayton struggled with autoimmune diseases, and one of his sons faced similar health challenges. Through dietary and lifestyle changes, they reversed their conditions and put his son on a path to healing.
This journey reinforced Clayton’s belief in the connection between soil health, nutrient-dense food, and human well-being. However, finding truly clean food was difficult, leading Clayton to a new mission—helping others access trustworthy, regeneratively grown food.
From your partner in regeneration…
With our life savings several years ago, we purchased 60 acres and started a regenerative, organic red walnut farm—free from synthetic fertilizers and chemicals. I use adaptive grazing, no-till practices, diverse cover crops, and microbial inoculations to build soil health. Each year, our soil tests show increased microbial diversity, organic matter, and overall land vitality. Producing nutrient-dense, chemical-free walnuts has been incredibly rewarding.
For the past three years, I have been an independent consultant, working with farms across California to transition to regenerative practices. Before that, I served as Director of Agronomy at California Olive Ranch, overseeing 5,000 acres of olive production. My experience in large- and small-scale farming has given me a deep understanding of the challenges farmers face in making this transition.
My passion is to help heal the land and provide food people can trust while ensuring farmers can be both sustainable and profitable. I am honored to be part of Understanding Ag, working to drive the change that is so urgently needed.
May we all seek light, health, and abundant living. God bless.
– Clayton Handy
Contact Clayton at: chandy@understandingag.com
