movers & shakers
Some of the Sanctuary Soil crew in front of media bins in the mixing area.
Sanctuary Soil & Feed
Quality, Integrity, Value
With its 200-plus-acre
production facility located
in Vernalis, California,
Sanctuary Soil & Feed
is among the largest
producers of organic soil
amendments in North
America. Mitch Davis,
one of the Sanctuary Soil
brand’s founders, shares
how the company has
achieved so much success
since starting out, and
talks about their bulk
soil delivery service that
reaches all of California.
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Maximum Yield USA | February 2014
Before starting Sanctuary Soil &
Feed, Conor Davis had founded
a company in the recycling industry, and Mitch Davis worked for
American Express in corporate
finance. Mitch has been an avid gardener and breeder for more than
35 years, and Conor moved from
the recycling industry focus to biomass processing of forest products
for big ag, energy, cellulose and the
landscape industry. The company
behind Sanctuary’s premium soil
products was formally established
in the 90s by Conor, who built the
company into the largest producer
of worm castings in the United
States. The Sanctuary brand was
born when Mitch joined Conor to
move into the greenhouse, outdoor
garden and hydroponics market.
Since Mitch and Conor joined
forces, the company has grown to
become the largest premium bulk
soil and amendments delivery service in California.
“We saw a place for an Ultra
Premium soil line and great
service,” says Mitch of the early
years. “We started with field trials
and testing, and then we put our
soils out with the best growers in