Casey Piscura took his life on Feb. 2, 2025 — a Sunday. That week the news broke slowly, then quickly rippled through the community, opening a chasm of grief shared among the people who knew and admired this seemingly unstoppable farmer. Several memorials were held in the weeks that followed, including a gathering of hundreds at Spring Creeks Ranch on Feb. 12, 2025. The question of his legacy loomed large. What of Wild Mountain Seeds and Seed Peace?
More than a year later, the community can take heart knowing that these projects, in service of regenerative agriculture, remain strong thanks to family and friends.
Bob and Debbie Piscura and Gina Piscura-Herndon, Casey’s loving father, mother and sister, have taken the nonprofit Seed Peace into new territory. Casey initially founded Seed Peace to complement the work of his seed-breeding business, Wild Mountain Seeds. He aspired to nurture communities, farmers and soil toward a more sustainable future for the industry. Eventually this nonprofit merged with another, The Farm Collaborative.
In the wake of Casey’s death, Seed Peace was separated from The Farm Collaborative and given a new purpose: To connect farmers with wellness resources, including eye and dental care, primary care doctor visits, specialized mental health counseling, emergency grants and alternative care like massage therapy and yoga. Farming is often done from a passion for serving people and caring for the earth. Nonetheless, farmers face unique challenges that can lead to burnout, isolation and financial stress, all of which contribute to depression and anxiety.
“When you have a need, think of Seed Peace,” Bob tells farmers. “Contact us.” He gave the example of a young woman who caught salmonella and faced a $750 charge for medicine. Working with Thrive Osteopathy, the primary care practice of Dr. Emily Zerba, Seed Peace was able to obtain a coupon and pay $155. Other local care providers include Valley Vision in Glenwood Springs, Rivers Dentistry, The Yoga Collective, Inner Space Wellness, Pathfinders and the Colorado Agricultural Addiction and Mental Health Program (CAAMP).
“We’ve definitely had some additional uptake,” Gina said, “but it has been slow.” For now, Seed Peace serves Garfield, Pitkin, Eagle and Delta counties, as well as parts of Virginia, where Casey grew up. Farmers receiving any government aid like SNAP or Medicaid, or making less than $75,000 a year, are eligible for Seed Peace benefits. Some services have a “pay it forward” fee to build the fund, but many are 100% covered. For $360, Seed Peace can connect farmers with a year’s worth of primary health care.
“The goal is for Seed Peace to be sustainable financially, so farmers can be sustainable,” Gina explained.
CAAMP offers six free therapy sessions with a mental health counselor trained to better understand the plights of agricultural workers. Seed Peace can provide an additional six free sessions. A contact with National Farmers Mental Health Alliance has told Bob it’s sometimes difficult for farmers to accept help, but if a trained therapist meets with them, within four sessions, “usually, they’ve given these farmers the tools and they can pat them on the back and maybe go on maintenance visits,” Bob relayed.
Farmers practicing regenerative agriculture, as well as prospective donors and care-providing partners, can learn more about Seed Peace at www.seedpeace.org
Wild Mountain Seeds
Meanwhile, at Sunfire Ranch, owners Jason Sewell and Jaymeson Leo, with ample help from Justin Blumenthal and Adam Ting — friends and farming confidants of Casey — as well as interns and volunteers, picked up the pieces last spring and successfully took Wild Mountain Seeds through the summer growing season. Together they delivered vegetables through a community-supported agriculture model (CSA) and at the Carbondale Farmers’ Market. Additionally, a partnership with Lift-Up continues to make the locally-grown crops more accessible.
“The goal was really just to keep things status quo in terms of continuing to save seed and continuing the vegetable production,” Leo said.
This year, on Jan. 15, seed sales resumed. Casey used to say that diverse produce from the farm was a delicious byproduct of his true passion — seed breeding. He collected plant varieties from around the world to test and strengthen at high altitude with a relatively narrow growing window. His seeds gained renown for their resiliency, as well as colorful and flavorful fruits.
Sewell compared the idea with performance athletes who train at elevation. Farms around the country and world see it working, with Wild Mountain Seeds hardened and adapted to thrive in this and milder climates.
After Casey’s death, Leo focused on fulfilling outstanding seed orders then pressed “pause” on new sales. Ting, who spent many summers working with Casey, knew which crops to flag and seeds to save so that the business could resume. Leo organized what was left and is now seeing to it.
A CSA will again be offered, this time with a flower add-on, and Wild Mountain Seeds will return to the Carbondale Farmers’ Market. The ranch is now hosting volunteers on select Fridays and Saturdays and is in the process of hiring crew members. Blumenthal, now directing projects with help from a newly-hired crew leader, is optimistic about the season. “We’re trying to make Casey proud,” he said.
Stay apprised at www.wildmountainseeds.com, where you can also sign up for the summer CSA, available for pick-up at the farm from June 11 to Oct. 8 with egg and flower add-on options.
Mental health
“Agriculture is not a financially-beneficial choice,” Sewell admitted. “We do it because we love it. It fills our hearts.” He aims to make Sunfire Ranch a hub for local agriculture, with housing for farmers, a commercial kitchen and extensive refrigerated storage. He dreams of cultivating generational labor, housing families on the ranch building toward long-term community. “Really from a structural standpoint,” he said, “with a foundation, a framework, so that people are satisfied in all walks of their life: mind, body, spirit.”
As Stella, Sewell’s daughter, wrote in an assignment for her sixth grade class at Waldorf School on the Roaring Fork: “Casey P. was one of the smartest people I have ever met. Sometimes his mind would race ahead of his body, leaving him overwhelmed thinking about how to make the world healthier. The challenges seemed endless. Casey felt that there could always be more to do. Living on a 1,200-acre ranch, with a five-acre garden, was no small task. There was always more work to be done, especially without using herbicides and/or pesticides to make things faster.”
Regarding Casey’s suicide, Bob said, “We think often about how this happened and why this happened. There’s no answer to that. But one thing I’ve learned is: You can be on top of your game, the most loved person — and jeez, I can’t believe how many people loved Case — but then still, mental health issues are tough.”
Seed Peace and Wild Mountain Seeds remain intrinsically tied. Every packet of seeds includes a Seed Peace sticker, so farmers are aware of that revolutionary model for delivering benefits to the hardworking people who most literally put food on the table.