Ag Alert is the newspaper of the California Farm Bureau Federation, reaching Farm Bureau agricultural and collegiate members. Agricultural members are owners and decision-makers on California farms and ranches. The California Farm Bureau Federation is a non-governmental, non-profit, voluntary membership organization whose purpose is to protect and promote agricultural interests throughout the state of California and to find solutions to the problems of the farm, the farm home and the rural community. Farm Bureau is California's largest farm organization, comprised of 53 county Farm Bureaus. Farm Bureau strives to protect and improve the ability of farmers and ranchers engaged in production agriculture to provide a reliable supply of food and fiber through responsible stewardship of California's resources.
Family fun! Outings for all ages
Resort chef shares seasonal recipes
Blossoming business: Mother & daughter team up
May/June 2022
Homegrown HOSPITALITY Farms & ranches that welcome guests
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May/June 2022
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Features
4 From the editors 5 A la carte
11 Book reviews 17 Farm-fresh tips 39 Now from Nationwide 40 Gardening 42 Ask a farmer 44 Take 5 46 It’s a bountiful life
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Blossoming businesses These hard-working women beautify life in the Central Valley.
12 Cultivating connections
Once-struggling farm thrives by offering tours and tastes to visitors.
18 A-maize-ing flavor
Fresno State gets an earful of praise for its popular sweet corn.
30 Growing a legacy
Farmer passionate about sharing grandfather’s heritage berries.
34 Inn his element
Family fun! Outings for all ages
Resort chef shares seasonal recipes
Blossoming business: Mother & daughter team up
Chef enjoys role at coastal resort—and shares five favorite recipes.
May/June 2022
ON THE COVER: Family extends warm welcome to guests at historic farm stay inn. Story on Page 24.
Homegrown HOSPITALITY Farms & ranches that welcome guests
Photo: Paige Green
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From the editors
California The weather is warming, the pandemic is waning, and it’s a great time to get out and enjoy the beauty and bounty of the Golden State. This issue of California Bountiful spotlights several Californians who help suburban and city dwellers connect on a personal level with agricultural life and all it has to offer. To financially rescue their struggling small farm, an Orange County family embraced agritourism and now welcomes hundreds of school groups and other visitors each year. To share her family legacy, the granddaughter of Rudolph Boysen, who developed the boysenberry nearly a century ago, welcomes U-pick customers to her Glenn County farm. A Sonoma County inn with a compelling history offers a getaway in a bucolic setting with vineyards, a vegetable farm, an orchard and roaming chickens. At a Mendocino resort with ocean views, a chef prepares lavish meals for guests. For those who prefer to rough it, a pack station hosts horseback-riding excursions in the great outdoors. Meanwhile, farmers markets bring the farm to the customer. Readers can learn how an enthusiastic manager runs several markets, get tips on how to keep kids engaged while shopping for fresh produce and read about Central Valley residents who line up in droves to buy fresh sweet corn from a college farm stand. Also featured are instructions on making table centerpieces with garden foliage and a story about rose farmers and a florist who bring beauty to Connecting with rural
VOLUME 45 • ISSUE 3
Melanie Duval Chief Marketing Officer Peter Hecht Chief Editor of Publications
Barbara Arciero Managing Editor Linda DuBois Assistant Editor
Kevin Hecteman, Ching Lee, Christine Souza, Tracy Sellers, Cyndee Fontana-Ott, Pat Rubin Writers Rob Andrew, Lori Eanes, Lori Fusaro, Fred Greaves, Paige Green, Tomas Ovalle
Photographers Karin Bakotich Design Services Manager Jessica Cook Senior Graphic Designer Paula Erath
Nicole Pacheco Graphic Artists Brock Tessandori Business Development Manager
Contact us: California Bountiful, 2600 River Plaza Drive, Sacramento, CA 95833 916-561-5552 cbmagazine@californiabountiful.com californiabountiful.com in California and by subscription. To subscribe, call 916-561-5552 or go to californiabountiful.com/subscribe. Subscribe: California Bountiful is available to associate members of county Farm Bureaus
weddings, parties and holidays. We hope you enjoy the journey.
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California Bountiful ® (ISSN 0194-5165) is published bimonthly by the California Farm Bureau Federation, 2600 River Plaza Drive, Sacramento, CA 95833 (telephone: 916-561‑5552). Non-profit periodicals postage paid at Sacramento, California. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to California Bountiful, 2600 River Plaza Drive, Sacramento, CA 95833. The California Farm Bureau Federation does not assume responsibility for statements by advertisers or for products advertised in California Bountiful, nor does the Federation assume responsibility for statements or expressions of opinion other than in editorials or in articles showing authorship by an officer, director or employee of the California Farm Bureau Federation or its affiliates.
identifies California Farm Bureau members
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May/June 2022
a la carte
It’s time for amateur photographers to gather up those images of farm and ranch life they’ve captured throughout 2021 and 2022. From June 1 through Sept. 30, California Farm Bureau members may submit entries for the annual photo contest. Past entries have featured animals, fruits and vegetables, machinery, landscapes and employees at work. Cash prizes will be given to winners in categories for adults and youths under age 14. Learn more at cfbf.com. cameras ready Get those
Tell us dog tale your
2022
Calling all canines! California Farm Bureau is hosting its third annual Farm Dog Contest May 1 through June 30, with $1,850 in prize money at stake. Open to Farm Bureau members, with support from Nationwide, the contest asks
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farmers and ranchers to submit a brief story about their dog, plus up to four accompanying photos. For details, see cfbf.com/farmdogcontest. You can also meet last year’s winners at bit.ly/FarmDogDevotion.
Placemats honor agriculture
Diners at dozens of Santa Cruz County restaurants can admire placemats featuring artwork and a poem this summer. Each year, in conjunction with
National Agriculture Day, the county’s Farm Bureau sponsors a poster contest for kindergarteners through sixth graders and a poetry contest for seventh through 12th graders, both centering around agriculture. The contest typically draws hundreds of entries. Each of the 20,000 placemats will feature the winning image and poem, along with some fun farm facts.
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businesses Blossoming
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These hard-working women beautify life in the Central Valley
Story by Linda DuBois ∞ Photos by Lori Eanes
When Taylor Camarena was newly married and recently graduated from college, she did “the responsible thing”—sought out a well-paying 9-to-5 job. However, she found she needed to do something that fed her soul and not just her wallet. Recalling how much she had enjoyed a floral design class in high school, she began dabbling in the art form. “I started it as just a hobby,” she said, but when she would share photos of her arrangements on social media, “people actually wanted to purchase them.” So, in 2017, she started a side business in a one- bedroom apartment, where she and her husband set the temperature at 60 degrees to keep the flowers cool. “When I would do an event or something, we would really ice the place out,” she said with a laugh. After they moved into a house, the landlord helped them convert the garage into a studio with a walk-in cooler. Now, the Modesto resident’s business, Taylor Anne Co., is a full-time career. Camarena designs floral arrangements for weddings, anniversaries, birthdays, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, you name it, calling on “an incredible team of freelancers” to help with big events. This year, partly because of the influx of pandemic-postposed weddings, she’s already booked through fall.
Taylor Camarena draws on her training in balancing colors and textures to design floral arrangements for Taylor Anne Co., a now-thriving business she started in a small apartment in 2017.
“I just can’t say enough about how amazing their product is.” —TAYLOR CAMARENA Floral designer
Roses make a lovely addition to a home landscape, but there are a few things home gardeners will need to do to keep them lovely. Abi Fair and Sandi Dirkse of Blumen Flower Farm say growing roses has its challenges, but many can be mitigated by giving them proper care and attention. To give them the best start, plant them in a spot with well-draining fertile soil that receives at least six hours of sunlight. They need plenty of water to thrive. During the growing season, late spring through fall, water at least weekly—more often as needed—with a drip line or soaker hose to get concentrated moisture to the roots—but off the leaves to discourage fungal disease. Healthy foliage means more blooms. So, apply manure or fertilizer in the spring to keep the plants green and lush. Beware of too much nitrogen, however. This can result in more green leaves but fewer flowers. To keep the blossoms plentiful, they need regular pruning. As soon as a flower is spent, cut it off to encourage new growth. In late winter or early spring, cut the bushes back, making cuts about a quarter inch above the buds on the stems and cut away any sickly-looking branches. beautiful but need TLC Roses are
She also teaches workshops, sometimes collaborating with other crafters and artisans, and has accepted her first event out of the country—a wedding in Iceland. Design for success When designing, Camarena draws on her training in balancing colors and textures but relies increasingly on her intuition. “There are some loose rules, but I like to have fun with it,” she said. Weddings sustain her financially, but she enjoys even the smallest jobs. “As my business has matured, I’ve had to have a better balance of what I say yes to, but it’s so hard for me to say no because I love doing everything,” she said. She appreciates all flowers, too. “I love the funky, fun-style blooms but also the traditional garden rose because it’s so beautiful—very timeless.” Customers like a variety, too, with a trend over the past two years of wanting dried or preserved products mixed with fresh. What customers won’t find from her are imported or artificially colored products. “I’m really passionate about honoring nature as it is,” she said.
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Taylor Camarena, at left above, picks out roses from Modesto’s Blumen Flower Farm, run by Sandi Dirkse, center, and her daughter, Abi Fair. At left, Fair and Camarena move Camarena’s order of roses from the garden to her vehicle.
She sources as much as possible from local farms and supplements from the San Francisco Flower Mart during her busy season, typically mid-summer to late fall. Rosy relationships “In the Central Valley, we have some incredible farms and farmers, and I think there’s something special about getting to know them and seeing all the labor and time they put into their work,” Camarena said. One of these farms is Modesto’s Blumen Flower Farm, her favorite source for garden roses. “I just can’t say enough about how amazing their product is,” she said, noting the beauty and incredible fragrance of the roses. Abi Fair and her mom, Sandi Dirkse, run the farm, where they raise about a dozen varieties of roses with soft, natural colors. About 90% go to local florists and designers working on weddings. “They could get garden roses shipped in, but they are so delicate they often don’t travel very well,” Fair said. While white roses are always in demand, right now, muted colors are also hot, she said. Two favorites are
the coffee-beige coco loco and the mustard-beige honey Dijon. A budding farm Fair was just a freshman in college when she launched the company in 2016. “When I was growing up, my family had a dairy and a lot of almond orchards and so I’ve always loved agriculture,” she said. Her interest in growing flowers blossomed when she met a flower farmer in Ripon—and ended up interning with her. Armed with what she’d learned, Fair started a tiny seasonal-flower garden at home in Denair. When her family moved to Modesto, it coincided with her hopes to shift to garden roses—but she needed an investor to afford putting in the shrubs. So, she asked her parents if they would be interested in co-owning a rose garden. “At that time also, we had sold our almonds and I had been looking for something to continue in agriculture,” Dirkse said. “So, it was a great time for the two of us to do this together.” With the mother and daughter sharing most of
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Abi Fair, left, and Sandi Dirkse rise early every morning during the growing season to cut roses for about two hours before it heats up.
the responsibilities, the garden has since grown to about 1,200 plants. A long day During the growing season—typically late April through late October—they both cut roses for about two hours starting about 5 a.m. every day. They look for new, still-closed blooms. “The vase life of a garden rose, at best, is going to be five to six days,” Dirkse said. “So, we cut them super tight and send them out in that form. Every morning, we literally will cut everything we have.… If you think, ‘Maybe I can wait until tomorrow for that one,’ when it’s 100 degrees outside, that flower will be long gone by tomorrow.” After cutting, they quickly move the roses into the walk-in cooler, strip them of bottom leaves, give them a fresh cut and bundle them in bunches of 10. After filling the orders, they sell any leftovers through social media. Occasionally, a few will still be in the cooler on Fridays—cooler cleanout day—and they can take them home and enjoy them. After the morning rush, Fair leaves for her full-time
job as membership coordinator for the Stanislaus County Farm Bureau. When she returns in the evening, she replies to messages, coordinates the orders and handles the social media marketing. While she’s away at work, her mom can finish anything they didn’t get to in the morning and handle order pickups. Dirkse also can show people around the garden and answer their questions. The rest of the time is spent on maintenance, such as deadheading (cutting off spent roses to spur new growth), pruning and fertilizing. Their husbands help with big jobs, such as hauling away winter prunings, but otherwise the two women handle everything. “The hard, hard work goes to us. We have the scratches and the scars from the thorns to show for it,” Dirkse said with a laugh. “We’ve been trying for about two years now to find the perfect puncture-resistant leather gloves and we’ve yet to find those.”
Linda DuBois ldubois@californiabountiful.com
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book reviews
Leanne Brown wrote Good Enough: A Cookbook— Embracing the Joys of Imperfection & Practicing Self-Care in the Kitchen as a burned-out new mother. Much more than a cookbook, this is a mix of essays and stories about self-care with about 100 recipes. The dishes draw from a variety of ethnic traditions and include plenty of vegetarian options. This book is ultimately about embracing the joy of imperfection and finding peace and happiness in and out of the kitchen. Paperback from Workman Publishing. $19.95. How to Grow a Monster , by New York Times-bestselling author Kiki Thorpe, follows a brother and sister whose mom grew way too many zucchinis last season and their attempt to stop the zucchini madness. Named “Book of the Year” by the American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture, this 32-page book for ages 5 to 8 is part of the Makers Make It Work series. The story explores gardening and includes a gardening- related activity for kids to try. Paperback from Kane Press, Astra Publishing House. $5.99. In A Ranch for Generations , author, journalist and blogger Robyn Rominger tells the story of a California ranch and the lives of its inhabitants from the time it was homesteaded during the Gold Rush to the present day. We learn of the families, love lives, travels and business dealings of the various generations. Some suffered hard times and others enjoyed the good life. Whether it was raising cattle or sheep or growing crops, the residents preserved the land for agricultural purposes. Paperback from Amazon. $25.05.
The First-Time Gardener: Raised Bed Gardening by CaliKim guides beginners through growing their first garden in a raised bed, complete with photographs, helpful hints and lists of pros and cons. It covers choosing the best raised bed for the available space, shows how to build simple beds and provides information on soil, mulch, watering and fertilizing. An organic gardener from Southern California, CaliKim is known for her YouTube channel, CaliKim Garden and Home DIY. Paperback from Cool Springs Press. $26.99.
Grill master Steven Raichlen shows how seasonal produce can be the centerpiece of a backyard barbecue in How to Grill Vegetables: The New Bible for Barbecuing Vegetables over Live Fire . The James Beard Award-winning author’s advice includes everything from selecting a grill and finding fuel to grilling and smoking techniques. Recipes cover appetizers, salads, side dishes, entrees and desserts. Meat is used in some dishes as a condiment, enhancing the flavors of the vegetables. Paperback from Workman Publishing. $24.95.
California Bountiful’s Book Reviews highlight books related to rural living and California agriculture. To suggest a book, email cbmagazine@californiabountiful.com.
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Visitors to Tanaka Farms, including Alex Lee and Angela Park, above right, take a wagon ride through the Orange County farm, above, and pick strawberries, carrots, broccoli and other seasonal crops.
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Cultivating connections
Once-struggling farm thrives by offering tours and tastes to visitors
Story by Ching Lee • Photos by Rob Andrew
On their one-year anniversary together, Alex Lee of Orange took his girlfriend, Angela Park of Rowland Heights, on a wagon ride to pick strawberries, pet farm animals and roam the fields of a working farm. Their trip to Tanaka Farms in Irvine was a departure from their typical date, which Lee described as usually hitting the mall and getting something to eat. Friends who have been to the diversified fruit and vegetable farm, he said, consider it “the go-to place” for farm tours and for “getting to do something hands-on.” “I thought it would be fun for me and my girlfriend,” Lee said of the outing. “We really enjoy outdoor stuff. I just thought it would be a cool, unique experience.” Being his first time on a farm, Lee said learning about some of Tanaka Farms’ history and the crops it grows “gave me a good perspective of how much work goes into everything.” “With how modern everything has become, it’s easy to overlook something like where our food comes from,” Lee said. An urban oasis Considering the secluded feel of Tanaka Farms—next to golf courses, nature trails and open fields—it could be easy to forget the property sits within Orange County’s dense metropolis, which has swallowed most of the region’s agricultural landscape through the years. Trying to eke out a living on a small family farm against increasing urban pressures and changing market dynamics has not exactly been a walk in the park for the Tanakas. Until they found their niche opening their farm to the public, third- generation farmer Glenn Tanaka said he did not want his son, Kenny, to follow in his footsteps. “When my son was growing up, times were so tough,” he said. “My wife and I had sleepless nights and wondered how we were going to pay the bills. Without the agritourism, we wouldn’t survive.” After two bad crop years in a row during the mid- to late 1980s, Tanaka said he couldn’t get an operating loan from the bank, forcing him to downsize and sell whatever assets he had. They struggled through the 1990s and early 2000s.
What kept the family business going, he said, was the farm’s roadside stand, which also provided a direct connection to the people who were buying their produce. This sparked an idea and set the stage for what would become the farm’s main source of income: agritourism. “Having conversations with customers, it was really evident that kids lost touch with where their food comes from,” Tanaka said. “My son being in preschool, I thought having his class come out to the farm would be a great experience for them. That’s kind of how it started.” Not just for kids At the time, Tanaka said he thought they were providing more of a community service than embarking on a new business venture. They charged a buck or two per student. His wife, Shirley, would show the children around the farm, after which they would pick vegetables—or during Halloween season, pumpkins. This led to more schools coming to the farm. By the late 1990s, the farm was hosting more than 100 schools. “We thought, gosh, we have a large following. There’s got to be a way to monetize this,” Glenn Tanaka said. They added farm animals and a wagon ride. They also grew more varieties of vegetables—everything from carrots and radishes to onions and green beans. To extend their agritourism season so that it’s not concentrated around the pumpkin patch in the fall, they invited schools in the spring to pick strawberries and added weekends, so entire families could visit. Because many parents also came along on the school tours, Shirley Tanaka said their hope was that the adults would come back on their own time to buy produce from the farm, thereby bringing “more customers and possibly repeat customers.” The tours allowed parents to see how the farm’s crops are grown, and they got to sample the produce. This helped them to inspire their children to eat healthy, she said, which was “our main goal.” “The parents were surprised how their children enjoyed eating the fresh fruits and vegetables, so that was really encouraging,” she said.
By 2005, as their agritourism business took off and as their son was graduating from college, Glenn Tanaka said he began to entertain the idea that “there might be something here on the farm” for his son. Today, Kenny Tanaka maintains the business side of the farm, especially the tours. Shirley Tanaka describes her son as “a big inspiration and a big idea man,” taking after her husband. The younger Tanaka acknowledged he’s not well versed in farming, which the family leaves to Jimmy Otsuka, Glenn Tanaka’s best friend. Otsuka retired from his own farm and now focuses on “doing the thing that he enjoys without worrying about the finances,” Glenn Tanaka said. Educating and entertaining Even though the farm remains small by today’s standards— at about 90 leased acres total—Glenn Tanaka said it
for a cause Walking
At Tanaka Farms, left, an employee uses a streamer to chase birds out of the strawberry field. In addition to tours and U-pick activities, the farm maintains a produce stand and gift shop, below, and offers subscription farm-box deliveries and pickup.
Tour guide Samara Herrera, above, tells visitors about the farm’s crops. At right, the Tanaka family are, from left, Glenn and his wife, Shirley, holding grandson Kenji, and Kenny and his wife, Christine, with daughter Kaylee and son Landon.
in Japan to help them rebuild and survive,” said Glenn Tanaka, a third-generation Japanese-American farmer. In addition to sampling fresh fruits and vegetables from the farm, walkers may view a repository (pictured at left) that highlights first- and second-generation Japanese-American farmers and farm history. For more information, go to walkthefarm.org.
Since the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami in Japan, thousands of people have gathered at Tanaka Farms in Irvine every year to take a 1 1/2-mile walk around the farm to raise money for farmers locally and abroad suffering from natural disasters. This year’s Walk the Farm event is scheduled for June 18. “We raised over a million dollars and sent that to farmers
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Tanaka Farms’ strawberry production includes 6 acres planted in a semi-hydroponic system set up on troughs that use a coconut substrate instead of soil to grow the berries. Although "very costly," farmer Glenn Tanaka says the off-the-ground system allows for easier picking and the berries to be grown organically.
maintains a large staff because of agritourism. Besides the family, the farm is run by 28 full-time employees, plus 20 part-timers that expand to 100 during pumpkin season, when the farm sees 300 to 350 schools come through. During the spring, some 15,000 schoolchildren visit the farm to pick strawberries. “It’s fun seeing the kids come out, getting their hands dirty, picking produce, eating it right out of the ground,” Kenny Tanaka said. “It’s harder in the middle of the city to get that experience.” He said he still gets “a good kick” out of hearing parents tell him how their children won’t eat vegetables unless they’re from the farm or that they picked the vegetables themselves. As a longtime customer who grew up knowing the Tanakas, Remy Carl of Fountain Valley said her children—ages 5, 8 and 10—are fortunate to have been exposed to Tanaka Farms from an early age. Being able to explore the fields and “feeling as though they’re active participants” in harvesting some of the crops “instilled in them a love of fruits and vegetables,” she said. Going to the farm has become a family tradition, Carl said. Not only do they visit during strawberry, watermelon and pumpkin seasons, she said, but it’s where her children ask to go on their birthdays.
Family traditions During the first year of the pandemic, “when so many things in our lives were being flipped upside down,” she said “it was so refreshing” to be able to tell her kids that they could continue that tradition of going to Tanaka Farms. “I didn’t realize how impactful and powerful that was until after we went,” Carl said. “It was just a sense of normalcy for them during a time of such chaos.” Having visited Tanaka Farms as part of a field trip with her daughter’s kindergarten class, Melinda Lawless of Cypress said she and Mila, now in third grade, had been wanting to return. She said they “had a great time” earlier this year participating in the Chicks and Sprouts Workshop, in which her daughter picked onions and learned how chickens and plants grow. “She planted a sunflower that we brought home, and it’s been exciting for her as we watch it sprout,” Lawless said. “My daughter is on the shy and quiet side, and halfway through the event, she whispered to me, ‘I love this so much!’ That’s when I knew we had a winning event.” Lawless said she has been telling friends about the event and is “looking forward to going again for strawberry picking.”
Ching Lee clee@californiabountiful.com
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farm-fresh tips
Seasonal advice and practical solutions
Californians are curious, always scouring the internet for a new or better way to do something. But why go to Google when you can ask the experts directly? With that in mind, we reached out to California farmers and ranchers for their insight into topics you might be curious about this time of year. Have a question? Email us at cbmagazine@californiabountiful.com. What are good ways to …
… put together a salad and a drink? Will Pidduck has some quick and easy ways to enjoy the fruits of his labor, starting with avocados and oranges. “That’s two things I grow going into a salad,” he says. “Especially the Cara Cara oranges—the pink flesh oranges with the avocado and some romaine. That’s a nice salad.” Pidduck also grows lemons and puts those to use as well: “I like to use lemon juice with an evening cocktail, with some whiskey and ginger beer,” he says. “That’d be my other go-to.”
Will Pidduck, avocado and citrus farmer Finch Farms, Ventura County
… enjoy the late-spring bounty? This time of year, Tessa Henry looks forward to blueberry harvest in Napa County. It will be short and sweet—late May to Independence Day at the longest. “They go into our blueberry preserves,” Henry says. At home, she favors blueberry pancakes as well as arugula blueberry salad with feta cheese. Also being harvested are squash blossoms and the first of the cherry tomatoes and zucchini, which along with farm-fresh eggs make for a good breakfast—cheese optional. “You can just put all of that in a pan and scramble it up,” she says. “It’s hard to beat.”
Tessa Henry, manager Clif Family Farm, St. Helena
… attract pollinators to the yard? Bees and other pollinators are a gardener’s friend, but they need a reason to show up. “My advice would be to plant native pollinator species that are the proper local eco type,” says Cannon Michael, who grows a wide range of crops in Merced County. “We do this on the farm with great results.” The ideal is a diverse mix of plants that keep your habitat going all season, as some plants won’t produce food without pollination. Three good ones: common yarrow, California poppies and milkweed—that last one being crucial for monarch butterflies.
Cannon Michael, president Bowles Farming Co., Los Banos
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Story by Cyndee Fontana-Ott Restaurant photos by Tomas Ovalle Farm photos by Geoff Thurner, courtesy of Fresno State
Chef Jimmy Pardini wasn’t counting on Fresno State sweet corn as he prepared to open his first Fresno restaurant in the summer of 2015. The menu for The Annex Kitchen was pretty much set before the campus farm produced its first crop of sweet corn. Even so, Pardini snagged a few ears and began experimenting in the kitchen. The resulting filled pasta—a luscious agnolotti leveraging every kernel of sweet corn goodness—grabbed a spot on the menu and today remains the most popular seasonal dish at the Italian-inspired restaurant. One reason is Pardini’s culinary chops, but the other is a sweet corn that’s been a force of nature for decades. “I think it’s the flavor, quality and texture—and the fact that it’s so close,” Pardini said. “The fresher the corn is, the better it tastes. And we get the corn from 15 minutes down the street.” Fresno State gets an earful of praise for its popular sweet corn
Chef Jimmy Pardini of The Annex Kitchen in Fresno shows off his signature pasta dish featuring Fresno State sweet corn. The seasonal corn agnolotti is a hit with locals and gained even wider acclaim through accolades on the Food Network.
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A seasonal favorite So, count him among the Central Valley folks who love Fresno State’s sweet corn. They emerge around Memorial Day every year, standing in DMV-like lines at the campus Rue and Gwen Gibson Farm Market to shop the first harvest of the season. “For us, it’s the kickoff of summer—especially for the market,” said farm manager Mark Salwasser. The taste and quality of Fresno State’s sweet corn “is right at the top, in my opinion.” There’s really no mystery other than “it’s picked at the optimum time and it’s cared for with the care and love of our students,” he said. That includes the watchful eyes like those of Guillermo Cantu, a plant science major and student assistant for corn and other vegetables in 2021. “There is such a high expectation for good-quality corn, so we make sure to pay extra attention to it,” he said. “We do a really good job taking care of it. We put a lot of effort into making sure it’s growing the right way.” The Central Valley is a prime growing location for sweet corn. The crop is one of many in which California leads the nation in production, according to the California Agricultural Statistics Review 2019-2020.
Customers line up daily to snag fresh Fresno State sweet corn at the campus Rue and Gwen Gibson Farm Market, above and below. Guillermo Cantu, bottom, helped supervise harvest crews last year.
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®
University tradition At Fresno State, the sweet corn legend dates back to the 1980s, when a professor first asked students to plant a few acres. Sales began shortly after that. Today, sweet corn—both yellow and white—is one of the best-known crops grown on the campus formally known as California State University, Fresno. The University Agricultural Laboratory—the farm— occupies roughly 1,000 acres on the otherwise urban campus and produces everything from wine and table grapes to beef and almonds. This outdoor classroom offers hands-on learning opportunities and jobs for students. The Gibson Farm Market is the hub for selling the fruit of that land, and last year sold more than 500,000 ears of sweet corn—on par with prior seasons. The sweet corn cycle begins in January when the first seeds are planted. The crop is grown on roughly 70 acres, and the waves of harvest generally start around Memorial Day and end around Labor Day. According to Salwasser, there’s nothing special about the two sweet corn varieties—the yellow is Vision, the white is No. 3274—planted at Fresno State. Both are commonly available. “There’s hundreds and hundreds of varieties of sweet corn out there,” he said. “There’s a lot of good ones, but those are the ones that we feel grow the best in our soil.” The right soil and care With an average growth cycle of about 80 days— depending on the weather—the sweet corn is carefully nurtured from seed to harvest by students like Cantu. That means planting at the best time and depth, delivering the right balance of water and nutrients, and watching for pests like corn ear worms and spider mites along with stresses like summer heat. Choosing the right time to harvest is another critical part of the equation. Salwasser calls it “more art than science” that considers factors such as the girth of an ear—signaling that the kernels are full of water and sugar—and sampling in the field. “There’s a small window of time when the sugar’s the highest and the sugars aren’t turning to starch,” he said. “Picking it at the optimum time is probably the biggest thing.” Freshly picked ears are delivered to cold storage on campus, held there briefly and then sent to the farm
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CHAPTER 12
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Jose Ortiz, left, moves bins of freshly harvested Fresno State sweet corn. Chef Jimmy Pardini uses up to 300 ears of the university’s corn each week for his seasonal corn agnolotti, above.
market for sale. White corn is often the first harvest. Cantu, who grew up in the small city of Kerman west of Fresno, last season helped supervise crews that pass through the rows to collect ears in picking bags. Each field may be picked multiple times over several days as workers focus on harvesting just the right ears. Cantu has been around agriculture his entire life; his father is a labor contractor. He worked two years as a student assistant for sweet corn, although he didn’t know much about the heralded crop and its faithful fans until he got to campus. “It was definitely something I learned,” said Cantu, who prefers the yellow variety for its sweetness. “Seeing the lines and everything that first day we started selling it was pretty incredible.” ‘The corn is special’ Pardini, of The Annex Kitchen, says the restaurant may go through 200 to 300 ears a week to prepare its signature sweet corn agnolotti. The pasta quickly became a local favorite—then chef and food critic Simon Majumdar extended its fame by naming the
agnolotti his top dish of 2016. That was shared on Instagram and an episode of the Food Network’s “The Best Thing I Ever Ate.” Pardini describes the agnolotti as “something that’s unique. I think when people eat it for the first time, they are surprised at what they are tasting.” He guards the recipe, but the ingredients include homemade pasta, a blend of pureed sweet corn and mascarpone cheese, a few chili flakes, a butter sauce and a finish of chives. Pardini isn’t done creating new dishes with Fresno State sweet corn. His second restaurant, Annesso Pizzeria, opened last summer—and he’s considering some options for the upcoming season. Maybe a sweet corn pizza? “It’s still in the developmental stages,” Pardini said. “But the corn is special. The community really gets excited for that corn and as a chef, I get excited to find a way to apply it and share my own interpretation.”
Cyndee Fontana-Ott cbmagazine@californiabountiful.com
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HOSPITALITY HOMEGROWN
Family extends warm welcome to guests at historic farm stay inn
Story by Christine Souza • Photos by Paige Green
Visitors to picturesque Beltane Ranch in Glen Ellen can relax under majestic oak trees with a glass of wine originating from a nearby vineyard, enjoy a chef-prepared picnic of farm- grown produce or hop into a 4x4 for a tour with views including chickens foraging in the orchards. Such is the 130-year legacy of hospitality being extended to guests at the historic Sonoma County ranch. “My family has been on this property since 1936,” said Lauren Benward, whose children represent her family’s sixth generation on the land. “We have this beautiful main house that was built as hospitality accommodations back in 1892. So, taking care of people and hosting people in a farm and ranch setting is natural for the property, and it’s how we’ve grown up.” Mary Ellen Pleasant, the daughter of slaves who rose to financial and political power as an entrepreneur and abolitionist, was one of the ranch’s first owners and constructed the New Orleans-style house that now serves as the farm stay’s inn. In the 1960s, Benward’s grandmother restored Pleasant’s house one room at a time, furnishing guest rooms with historically significant furniture—including a dressing table from Pleasant’s own collection. “I worked with my grandmother, worked with my mom— and it’s the people that come and stay and want these experi- ences that keep us going,” Benward said.
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Beltane Ranch guests Kayla Hinrichs, left, and Michaela Lusteg relax and enjoy the vineyard view with estate wine grown on the property. The family-owned, working farm is a 105-acre agricultural preserve.
Guests from around the world are drawn to the family-run ranch, which is a 105-acre agricultural preserve and working farm of estate vineyards, olive orchards, gardens and fruit trees. It is also home to sheep, burros, chickens and guardian dogs. “We live really kind of hectic and connected lives and sometimes silencing that and just enjoying some open space or connecting with animals and plants really feels right,” Benward said. A slice of rural life Beltane Ranch is one of hundreds of sites throughout California where farm and ranch owners welcome guests seeking an opportunity to experience a slice of rural life. Agritourism, as it’s called, encompasses a range of activities from horseback riding, pumpkin patches and wine trails to corn mazes, U-pick orchards and farm stays such as Beltane Ranch. A repeat visitor, Morgan Dewey said she and her family stay there frequently after having identified it as a perfect venue for her wedding in 2010. “The family is so lovely and warm and they clearly are passionate about the history of the place and preserving it and making it sustainable,” the San Francisco resident said. “I appreciate their warmth and hospitality. It is just one of our favorite places in the world.” A member of Beltane Ranch’s wine club, Dewey said she returns to the ranch for special events, to celebrate anniversaries or to dine and drink a great glass of wine. “The property is incredible. I just don’t know of any- thing else like it in the area,” Dewey said, adding that the hosts consider the needs of all guests—including the youngest. “They’re really sweet with the kids,” she said. “They have a junior rancher map that shows where to walk around the property: Here’s where the sheep are and here’s where the carrots are that you can feed to the horses.” Behind the scenes “Presenting an experience to people that wows the guests” is one of the family’s goals, according to Lauren Benward’s brother, Alex. He oversees the general farming operations at Beltane Ranch, while his partner, Kelly Koeberer, manages livestock and horticulture. “Sharing what we do and seeing it click is just amazing,” he said. “To see people learn and get excited and be like, ‘I didn’t know this is how asparagus grows’ is great.” Koeberer pointed out that guests can simply relax at the ranch or pursue a more immersive experience. “They can walk through the vineyard and visit the sheep. Or they might pick raspberries or jump in and
Beltane Ranch’s historic estate inn, right, was built in 1892 and purchased by the current owners’ family in 1936. Guest rooms and common areas showcase photos, heirlooms and furnishings, above, that tell the story of the property’s caretakers. Today, Alexa Wood and her children, Lauren and Alex Benward, own the Sonoma County ranch.
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Kelly Koeberer, Beltane Ranch manager of livestock and horticulture, said guests at the Sonoma County farm stay are interested in learning about the ranch’s regenerative farming practices. Although the definition is evolving, regenerative farming typically refers to a holistic farming approach that includes livestock grazing for weed control and a source of nutrients, cover crops to attract beneficial insects, and no chemical use. “Guests learn that this is a really incredible, unique way to farm for the wine that they’re drinking,” Koeberer said. “Guests go into the vineyard and learn about what the sheep do and of course it’s the adorable factor, but look at the grasses and vines, how they’re thriving.” Grazing sheep are rotated for weed control in the vineyard and to create defensible space to help prevent wildfires. Chickens peck the ground under the olive trees, digging down to bare ground, while also providing the trees with nutrients. “Sheep bring nitrogen, which is really important for the soil and especially important to the grapes,” Koeberer said. “Sheep are really gentle, but they’re also cultivating with their little hooves. They get the grasses down to the most perfect (length). It looks like you took a lawn mower to it.” She expresses gratitude for the opportunity to help guests understand the value of regenerative farming. “It just makes me smile every day, knowing that we’re stewarding this land beautifully and sharing it and hopefully inspiring people,” Koeberer said. REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE What it is and why it matters
Partners Kelly Koeberer and Alex Benward, above, employ regenerative farming practices at Beltane Ranch, including livestock for weed control and as a source of nutrients, left and above right. Below, Koeberer gives guests a tour of the property.
Lauren Benward, far left, returns from the vintage
trailer chicken coop with sons Carlos and Drake Krause after gathering eggs. Animals are an important part of the working ranch and include longhorn cattle, above, and dogs, shown at left with Kelly Koeberer.
help,” she said. Some visitors prefer to get hands-on, but “others just want to see it, be near it and walk the space. It certainly is rewarding for whatever experience people are looking for, even if it’s just watching the chickens.” During ranch tours, Koeberer explains the ranch’s regenerative farming practices, which involve using livestock to naturally control weeds and pests and to provide nutrients that enrich the soil and promote biodiversity. “It’s a whole cycle,” she said. “It’s being in harmony with nature but producing and making a living farming.” Toasts and tastes Enjoying a glass of the family’s estate wines while walking the vineyard and talking to the family about viticulture is a popular activity for adult guests. After generations of growing grapes for Napa and Sonoma vintners, the family began shipping Beltane Ranch estate wines from its heritage estate vineyard in 2009. The next year, it released its first private-label estate wine, a 2009 sauvignon blanc. The family has since added four more labels: another sauvignon blanc, two rosés and a zinfandel. Beltane Ranch hosts wine tastings and occasional four-course dinners with wine pairings, and also offers picnics for visitors. Nearly everything on the menu, including bread and desserts, is made from scratch.
“We make our own vinegar, press our own olive oil. We even have bees on the property for our own honey,” said Beltane Ranch Estate Chef Kimberley Cosway. At times when fruits and vegetables are plentiful, guests can take produce home and Cosway makes preserves and jams. “Through the summer and fall, we try to preserve as much as possible … which allows us to continue to serve some ranch-grown items through the winter,” the chef said. Nothing is wasted. Whatever is not served to guests is fed to livestock or converted to compost. During visits, guests learn about these and other realities of farm life, including overcoming challenges such as pandemic-related closures and the 2017 Nuns Fire. “The property was in the path of the Nuns Fire, fueled by 80-mph winds that ultimately only burned small out- buildings on the ranch, but spared the main house, thanks to help from neighbors,” Alex Benward said. “Rebuilding the property into a functioning business took some time.” After taking care of guests and running the farm and vineyard, the family earns some time to relax. “During the day, we’re just thinking about chores and what needs to be done but when we get to sit down around the fire pit and enjoy the sunset, have a glass of wine, it’s refreshing,” he said. “It’s pretty nice.”
Christine Souza csouza@californiabountiful.com
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Farmer passionate about sharing grandfather’s heritage berries a legacy Growing
Story by Linda DuBois • Photos by Fred Greaves
This spring, about 5,000 people are expected to descend upon Boysen Berry Farm in Orland to pick plump, sweet boysenberries. Hannah Nelson of Chico expects to be among them. “We love going berry picking as a family and we really like it there,” she said. Last spring, her second time at the farm, she went with her mother and her four nephews, ages 4 to 14. “I just love being outside with the family, getting the kids away from electronic devices and just being able to talk and enjoy each other—and they all loved eating the boysenberries as we picked them.” The family ate the berries fresh, froze them for smoothies and made jam. Nelson said she appreciates the unique flavor of the farm’s boysenberries, which she describes as “kind of like a blackberry, but sweeter.” But these berries that Nelson and other U-pick visitors take home are more than tasty—they represent a family’s heritage and an important part of agricultural history. Remembering Rudy To Jeanette Boysen Fitzgerald, her farm’s U-pick program is part of her mission to share the legacy of her grandfather, Rudolph Boysen, who developed the boysenberry in 1923 by crossing a loganberry and marionberry.
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“ We love going berry picking as a family and we really like it there.”
— HANNAH NELSON Boysen Berry Farm guest
Visitors to Boysen Berry Farm in Glenn County pick boysenberries that descended from the original vines boysenberry developer Rudolph Boysen planted nearly 100 years ago.
Now trademarked Rudy’s Original Boysenberries, Boysen Berry Farm’s berries are not the typical commercially available boysenberries. They come from the original vines her grand- father planted nearly 100 years ago along a creek bed on a Napa prune orchard he managed. Boysen Fitzgerald and her husband, Tom Fitzgerald, grow 2,400 of these heritage vines on their 10-acre plot, half of which they lease to alfalfa growers. Just a few years ago, the longtime special education teacher and her husband were living in Las Vegas and could have never predicted their current life. The story began in June 2016 when Boysen Fitzgerald got a phone call. It was from Chris Jepsen, a historian for the Orange County Archives, who was co-writing an article with Anaheim historian Steve Faessel about her grandfather and the history of the boysenberry. The pair were hoping to get family stories and information from her—but it’s what she learned from them that set in motion a chain of events that led the couple to retire, uproot from Las Vegas and become farmers in California. She didn’t know much about her grandfather’s history, in part because he had suffered a terrible fall that led to health problems and he died young, before she was born. She knew he had developed the boysenberry in Napa and had moved to Orange County, where he became the Anaheim City Parks superintendent. She also knew he had provided some vines to Walter Knott, founder of Knott’s Berry Farm, who made the berry famous. But she didn’t know her great-uncle had dug up one of her grandfather’s original vines and planted it at his home. “I had photos of my grandmother eating from that backyard vine, but I didn’t know the significance of that,” Boysen Fitzgerald said. “And I didn’t know it had been kept in the family.” Following a lead from a 1958 Napa Valley Register article, Jepsen had tracked down Alice Masek of Castro Valley, a Boysen family member growing an original vine (a fact later confirmed by DNA testing). Boysen Fitzgerald contacted Masek, who gave her some vine cuttings. Boysen Fitzgerald credits her husband for encouraging her to pursue growing the vines on a large scale. “Tom said, ‘You know, Nettie, this is your heritage. You need to embrace this.’” Her destiny was confirmed when an old friend offered Boysen Fitzgerald growing space in her San Diego County vineyard, free of charge.
Launching a business She started with 24 vines, naming each after a family member or friend, and repeatedly made the five-hour drive from Las Vegas to care for the patch. By November 2017, the couple had propagated more than 950 starts and needed a larger space. Their search eventually landed them on their Orland plot, christened on Feb. 16, 2018. The couple took turns making the 10-hour drive from Las Vegas while waiting for their home to sell. The following October, they moved into a fifth-wheel RV on the farm, with plans to build a home as soon as they “have time.” The house may have to wait a while. They’ve also started a boysenberry product line of jam, sauce and syrup. The two make all the products themselves in a commercial kitchen in Chico during the evenings after Boysen Fitzgerald gets home from her job as a teacher’s aide. Next up is expanding their nursery business so heritage vines can proliferate. Eventually, they plan to double their growing space by planting on the 5 acres they are now leasing out. Come and get ’em The public can buy some vine starts as well as Rudy’s Original jam and syrup at this year’s U-pick, a program they started in 2019. It is expected to run daily from May 14 until early June. Admission is free and berries are $6 a pound. Visitors will be greeted with tips on picking the perfect berry and a bucket lined with a bag to take the berries home in. They will find berries with an intense, complex flavor that
“I was, of course, very excited about having a chance to grow these vines,” Boysen Fitzgerald said.
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