A focus on maintaining healthy soil Park Farming Organics, Sutter County
Scott Park acknowledges the unconventional way he and his son, Brian, farm was neither planned nor imaginable when he planted his first field of processing tomatoes in 1974. During his early years, the first-generation farmer says he imitated other growers’ “use of powerful tillage equipment and ample visits to the chemical storage room.” But when his production plateaued, yet he was spending, spraying and tilling more, he began to doubt the sensibility of his practices. He decided to break from the norm in 1986 by incorporating after-harvest wheat straw in the field rather than burning or baling it. The idea came after he worked on land in which the owner had used organic matter in the soil, crop rotation, and minimal tillage and synthetic products. The ground was unlike the “brick” soil structure he was used to. “Maybe what everyone else was doing was not the best way to farm,” Scott Park recalls thinking. Today, with Brian Park and wife Jamie managing the farm, maintaining soil health remains the cornerstone of the Parks’ farming philosophy. Rather than focusing on boosting crop yield, they emphasize upholding practices such as crop rotation, maintaining crop diversity, and building biomass and microbial life in the soil. They say thoughtful nurturing of the soil increases its fertility while warding off insect pests and plant diseases. This reduces the need for pesticides and fertilizers, which lowers their costs. The improved water-holding capacity of the soil also makes plants more resilient. “Making the soil healthier sounds corny,” Scott Park says, “but it really solves almost all our problems.” Building healthy soil requires patience, the Parks stress. Because it does not happen overnight, income can take a beating during the transition. But after a couple of years, Brian Park says the field becomes profitable, producing yields comparable to or better than conventional methods, with quality crops that keep buyers coming back. “Being a good steward of the land is the avenue to sustainable profit,” Scott Park says. Park Farming Organics became one of the first mixed-crops farms in the state to be certified regenerative organic in 2022; the farm received its first organic certification in 1995. In addition to meeting standards on soil health, certified regenerative organic farms must demonstrate social fairness in how they treat employees. The Parks agree that paying employees a living wage, providing health insurance and retirement benefits, and sharing profits and bonuses simply make good business sense. They say their employees feel invested in the farm and want to see it succeed. “The better we take care of our employees, the better the farm runs,” Brian Park says.
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