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.
Chef marries farmer: Recipes you’ll love!
Beekeeping program gives inmates a second chance
Healthier ice cream? We’ve got the scoop
July/August 2023
Colors of SUMMER Dahlias to brighten your days
July/August 2023
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Features
4 From the editors 5 A la carte 31 Now from Nationwide
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‘Cactus with dreadlocks’ Water-wise dragon fruit an up-and-coming crop.
32 Good for you 39 Book reviews 40 Gardening 42 Ask a farmer 44 Take 5 46 It’s a bountiful life
12 Getting a second chance
Beekeeping program provides vocational training for female inmates.
20 California water 101
How it’s stored and moved for growing food.
22 Ice cream rethought
Former addict’s creation contributes to good health and his favorite causes.
26 Long time growing
Family’s river delta farm marks 175 years.
34 It takes two
Farmer and chef are partners in business and in life.
ON THE COVER: Santa Cruz farmer Kristine Albrecht is one of the nation’s top dahlia growers. Meet her on Page 16.
Photo: Lori Eanes
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From the editors
Keeping the bounty flowing
VOLUME 46 • ISSUE 4
Melanie Duval Chief Marketing Officer Peter Hecht Chief Editor of Publications
Barbara Arciero Managing Editor Linda DuBois
Assistant Editor Caleb Hampton, Ching Lee, Christine Souza, Cyndee Fontana-Ott,
Tawnie Graham, Kevin Hecteman, Pat Rubin Writers Lori Eanes, Fred Greaves, Richard Green, David Poller Photographers Paula Erath Nicole Pacheco Graphic Designers Brock Tessandori Business Development Manager
Welcome to summer—one of the most abundant seasons in California agriculture. On the following pages, you’ll find stories about dragon fruit, pears, dahlias and much more—just a few of California’s 400-plus commodities that comprise America’s largest and most diverse supply of food, flowers, fiber and forest products. The ability of our state’s farmers and ranchers to provide an unparalleled selection of products depends on water—and the complex water system designed to keep the bounty flowing. In this issue, we provide a snapshot of California’s elaborate network of aqueducts, canals and pipelines that transport water to the crops that help feed the world. Dragon fruit is one crop that requires less irrigation than many. Read about Kevin and Betsy Brixey, a San Diego County couple growing the cacti that produce the sweet and nutrient-packed fruit. Honeybees are another part of nature crucial to farmers. Through a correctional center vocational program, female inmates serving time for nonviolent offenses are building better futures for themselves— and our food supply—by learning to raise these important pollinators. Kristine Albrecht has run a dahlia farm along California’s Central Coast for nearly two decades. During that time, she’s become one of the nation’s top producers and hybridizers of the vibrant flowers. Then there’s George Haymaker, who found a way to enjoy his favorite comfort food by creating a more healthful version of ice cream. Read about him and the dairy farm that breeds and raises a select type of cow that produces the milk Haymaker’s company uses. Also, check out our suggestions for unusual, but delicious, ice cream toppings. Six generations have been farming in the delta area south of Sacramento since 1848 and growing pears since about 1888. They are now looking to the seventh generation to continue the family legacy. You’ll also learn about the health benefits of avocados, how a fruit stand became a multifaceted destination for visitors, the story behind a successful farmer-chef married couple, tips for making outdoor lights with candles and canning jars, and what it’s like to be a California State Fair wine judge. We hope these stories help you appreciate how blessed we are to have such incredible abundance and variety produced in our home state. Enjoy your summer.
Contact us: California Bountiful, 2600 River Plaza Drive, Sacramento, CA 95833 916-561-5552 cbmagazine@californiabountiful.com californiabountiful.com Subscribe: To subscribe to California Bountiful for yourself or as a gift, call 916-561-5552 or go to californiabountiful.com.
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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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July/August 2023
a la carte
for apples We’re first Many think of apple season as beginning in September. But in California, the first apples are starting to hit markets about
now—three to five weeks before fruit from Washington state, the nation’s top apple producer. Farmers here grow four main commercial varieties: Gala, Fuji, Granny Smith and Pink Lady, with Galas available first. So, instead of buying apples shipped in from the Pacific Northwest that were picked last season and have been stored for months, why not seek out some of California’s fresh, new crop?
It’s time for California Farm Bureau members to gather up the photographs they’ve taken throughout 2022 and 2023 that depict life on their farms and ranches and submit them for the annual photo contest. The deadline is Sept. 30. Past contest entries have featured all kinds of crops, machinery, animals, landscapes and employees at work. Cash prizes totaling $2,500 will be awarded to winners in two categories: adults and youths under age 14. Learn more at cfbf.com/ag-events/photo-contest. Photo contest returns
It’s now tomatillo time! Need to add a tangy, tart and slightly herbal bite to a dish? Reach for tomatillos. Despite its name and appearance, a tomatillo is not a little green tomato. In fact, while both are part of the nightshade family—which also includes potatoes, eggplant and peppers—the two fruits are not closely related. Grown in California in the summer and early fall, these natives of Mexico are versatile, can be eaten raw or cooked and often are used in sauces, curries and stews. They are perhaps best known for being the main ingredient in salsa verde, commonly used in Mexican cooking.
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July/August 2023
Water-wise dragon fruit an up-and-coming crop ‘Cactus with dreadlocks’
Story by Cyndee Fontana-Ott ∞ Photos by David Poller
Kevin Brixey wasn’t blown away by his first taste of dragon fruit. “It was quite bland and ordinary,” says the Australia native turned Southern California grower who, a few years ago, was searching for a water-efficient crop to spark a passion. Though it wasn’t love at first bite, he went on to sample locally grown red and fuchsia varieties—and a passion was born. Today he and his wife, Betsy, cultivate dragon fruit or pitahaya (or pitaya), a showy climbing cactus that produces scaly fruit often known for a watermelon-like sweetness and powerhouse health benefits. The couple tends about 1,400 plants and a half-dozen or so different commercial varieties in a part of San Diego County leaning more toward boutique wineries and avocados. On Dragon Delights farm in Ramona, the Brixeys devote about 2 of 16 acres to dragon fruit. They sell most of the all-organic harvest to Whole Foods in the San Diego area and also host visitors on many weekends during the growing season. “It brings me a lot of satisfaction to see people learn something new,” says Kevin, his words lightly bathed in an Australian accent. “It was only a few years ago I had no idea what dragon fruit was—in fact, I was skeptical. And here I am now growing it.”
Betsy and Kevin Brixey grow the climbing cactus that produces dragon fruit, named for its scaly appearance. They tend about 1,400 plants and a half-dozen commercial varieties on their San Diego County farm.
When dragon fruit season rolls around, chef Jessica Slama jumps at the chance to add to it her menu at Marinade on Main in Ramona. The farm-to-table restaurant, owned and operated by Slama and her husband, Travis, relies on the bounty of local and seasonal produce. Each summer, she looks forward to having dragon fruit star in a panna cotta, for example, or brighten a special-event salad. Slama and others call it a fruit with a hidden bonus. “Dragon fruit is really high in antioxidants and has a high fiber content,” Slama says. “There are a lot of health benefits to it—and it’s delicious.” In fact, many people see the exotic-looking produce as a nutritional powerhouse. “The fruit is excellent and there are many health attributes that it possesses,” says Ramiro Lobo, a farm advisor with the University of California Cooperative Extension who conducts research into dragon fruit. The list of benefits includes vitamin C, protein, iron and other key nutrients, says Betsy Brixey, who grows the cactus with her husband, Kevin, on Dragon Delights farm. Most often, the fruit is eaten fresh and chilled. Betsy Exotic fruit packs a nutritional punch
The tip of the trend The Brixeys aren’t the only ones. Dragon fruit is an emerging crop in California, according to Ramiro Lobo, farm advisor with the University of California Cooperative Extension. He estimates Golden State acreage at about 500 with roughly a dozen growers in the San Diego area. Lobo, a researcher and authority on dragon fruit, has helped cultivate interest in the vining cactus through his shared expertise and evaluation of different varieties. “California dragon fruit is the best you can buy anywhere,” he says. Dragon fruit—more common in South and Central America, Southeast Asia and Mexico—has been a popular backyard plant for years in Southern California and especially in the Southeast Asian community, he says. Now, commercial growers are increasingly interested because it can adapt to many Southern California micro- climates, command a good price and use less water. Beneath those exotic scales, the flesh of dragon fruit can be different shades of red, pink, purple, yellow and white, for example, and is peppered with edible black seeds. Most fruit weighs in around the 1-pound mark. Texture and taste differs according to the variety, with some flavors leaning more sweet, tart or floral, for example. “There’s a dragon fruit for everyone,” Lobo says.
says cooking dragon fruit can diminish its flavor and nutritional value, so she gravitates to cold preparations such as smoothies, ice cream and sorbets, for example. One recent addition to the farm line-up is Dragon Delights Dehydrated Dragon Fruit, which offers a slightly more concentrated flavor. The dehydrated fruit is sold in 2-ounce packages— about the size of a snack bag of chips— and “has been very popular,” Betsy says. She began experimenting with dehydrated fruit as a good use for “seconds” and fruit without a market. As a bonus, she says, the new product assures that “I can eat dragon fruit all year long.”
Most dragon fruit requires hand pollination. Betsy Brixey, left, dabs pollen into an open flower using a small brush. She wears a headlamp for this process, which occurs only at night. Harvest is also done by hand, as Kevin Brixey, above, demonstrates.
One of Bartelle’s favorite varieties is the Pride of Fallbrook, which he calls “the steak of dragon fruit.” It has a hearty, meaty texture that tastes like sweet cherries. With seemingly endless varieties of dragon fruit, farmers can grapple with deciding what to grow. At Dragon Delights, the Brixeys have settled on varieties ranging from Physical Graffiti (sweet with light purple flesh) to Sugar Dragon (very sweet with reddish-purple flesh). They are experimenting with others. First love, then dragon fruit The Brixeys ventured into the business after relocating from Australia to the San Diego area in 2000. The couple originally met and fell in love while Kevin was traveling in the United States; Betsy grew up in Southern California. The couple had three children and lived for about 10 years in Australia, where Kevin’s farming roots included working with sheep and cattle. They returned to Southern California for a visit and were persuaded to stay by her father, who operated a property management business until he retired and sold it in 2015. The couple bought an abandoned avocado grove in 2000 and began bringing back some trees, cultivating Australian plants and clearing land. When fire swept through the area in 2007, they began looking for a new crop.
‘Cactus with dreadlocks’ Dragon fruit is grown on a trellis system, with many farmers devising their own unique structure. Generally, the plant is trained and pruned to climb along and hang from a trellis—Kevin tells people it “looks like a cactus with dreadlocks.” It can take a few years before a cutting grows to yield a good size and number of fruit. A mature plant can produce fruit in around 40 days after pollination and offer multiple flushes in a growing season that can stretch from early summer to late fall. While some varieties of dragon fruit are self- pollinating, most colorful varieties require hand pollination for good fruit set, Lobo says. “Those are the things that make specialty crop farming a bit of a challenge and unique,” he says. Marlon Bartelle grows dragon fruit with his brother, Mateo, at Sun Dragon Farms in east San Diego County. He says they’ve been successful with self-pollinating varieties of dragon fruit helped along by the hard work of bees. In 2022, he says, the farm enjoyed an extended growing season—even pushing into the first few months of this year—and produced close to 2,000 pounds of fruit. That bounty was sold mainly through contacts, online and at a nearby roadside stand.
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Dragon fruit is also known as pitahaya or pitaya. The flesh, which can be various colors depending on the variety, is peppered with edible black seeds.
“Before we started to grow it, we didn’t know what dragon fruit was,” Betsy says. “We had this land waiting to figure out what we were going to do.” A conversation with agricultural folks at the San Diego County Fair first planted the seed. The Brixeys went to a University of California field day focused on dragon fruit, where their taste buds awakened to the possibilities. Now they’ve been growing the fruit for about seven years; their children and family members often help out with social media and other tasks. A hands-on approach It can be a demanding crop. The work is done organically and by hand, from pollinating and harvesting to dealing with pests and predators. (It’s Betsy’s job to pick off the snails since she’s a foot shorter than her spouse.) Hand pollination can be a chore, “but you’re ensuring a good pollination,” Kevin says. “We don’t always know that the bees are doing the full job.” Using a small handheld vacuum, he collects pollen from the cactus flowers. As they bloom at night, he—and sometimes Betsy and other family members—returns
with a headlamp and small brush to dab the stored pollen into each flower. “It’s a big job because there are some nights when we might have three or four thousand flowers,” Betsy says. At harvest time, the fruit is carefully picked, washed in a vinegar solution, graded and set upside down in a crate to dry. Within a day or two, Kevin takes the crop to market. The Brixeys opened up the farm to visitors a few years ago partly because they were throwing away too much fruit—mainly “seconds” with marks or blemishes on the skin. Many visitors thought they didn’t like dragon fruit because they had only tasted an import, Betsy says, but were converted after trying fresh samples. In addition to tastings, the farm offers occasional tours and even an opportunity to help pollinate the exotic, sweetly scented flowers. It’s a popular visitor experience. “People come and they think it’s just amazing,” Kevin says. “Sometimes you just don’t realize what a place is to other people.”
Cyndee Fontana-Ott cbmagazine@californiabountiful.com
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July/August 2023
Female inmates enrolled in the Rio Cosumnes
Correctional Facility’s Second Chance Beekeeping program learn skills to aid them in future employment. Caring for honeybees is one aspect, which includes using smokers, lower right, to help calm them during hive inspections.
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July/August 2023
Beekeeping program provides vocational training for female inmates GETTING A SECOND CHANCE
Story by Christine Souza • Photos by Fred Greaves
Female inmates serving sentences for nonviolent offenses at the Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center in Elk Grove are learning about beekeeping through a first-of-its- kind vocational program that allows them to be outdoors and gain skills for a sweeter future. Hands-on learning happens at the bee yard, a short walk from the correctional center, which houses about 2,500 inmates, including up to 200 inmates in the women’s jail. The outdoor classroom features 10 hives of honeybees. “I just figured this will be a time where I can learn to be more productive within myself. Before I came here, I wasn’t making the best choices in life,” said Denaysia Thompson, who was serving a six-month sentence for driving under the influence. “When it came to this program, this is one of those ‘half-full’ things where I’ve seen other people do it. Rather than living vicariously through them, I figured I’d get my hands dirty.” The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office launched the Second Chance Beekeeping program in 2019-20, as one of the department’s many vocational, educational and treatment programs to equip offenders with the tools for successful reentry into the community. The course, which includes some classroom learning, is in session two days a week. Program instructor Steve Hays, a retired sheriff’s deputy and hobbyist beekeeper, brings 30 years of law enforcement experience and a passion for beekeeping to empower inmates with skills that could lead to future employment. “I’m trying to give back. I talk to them on a personal level, giving different keys for success and success stories, so just talking to them about how to stay out of jail,” said
Hays, who got interested in beekeeping from a mentor, a commercial beekeeper from Galt, who introduced him to the business and sold him his first hives. First in the nation While there is a vocational beekeeping program for male inmates in California, the program at Rio Cosumnes is the first in the nation for female inmates. “We wanted to give them an equitable stake,” Hays said. Inmates accepted into the program are introduced to basic honeybee anatomy, seasonality of bees, equipment and safety, and the role of different bees in the hive. As the course progresses, they learn more advanced techniques, such as swarm capture, splitting and creating new hives, and raising queen bees. Standing next to one of her assigned beehives, Thompson said, “It’s got our ‘honey supers’ at the top, which collect a majority of the honey. The bottom two hives hold our queen and her larvae and the eggs. That’s pretty much where all the magic happens.” Popping the lid off one beehive, Thompson inspected it for any pests or disease problems. She found the hive to be healthy. “The queen is doing really, really well. She’s producing a lot (of honey) at this time. It all depends on your queen,” Thompson said, affirming that the queen sets the tone in each hive, joking, “That’s everyday life right there.” Prior to prison, she said she worked in construction as a laborer. She plans to return to the field of construction when her sentence ends, but as far as a hobby goes, “beekeeping is definitely at the top of my list.”
‘There’s promise in this’ Serving time for a drug offense, Corrie Foutz said she loves nature and visiting farmers markets. “I was always interested in agriculture,” she said. “I’m not afraid of bugs and just thought the program would be fun.” Working outside with the honeybees, Foutz said, is a mindful activity that keeps her focused on something other than life in prison. “Working with the bees, I don’t think of anything else. There’s no drama, it’s just the bees,” she said. “It is giving me hope, like maybe there can be more to life. I really, really want to complete this program and see where it takes me. I think that there’s promise in this.” By participating in the program, Foutz said, she hopes to stay sober for good. “I’m hoping through the reentry program, I’m getting some tools to make it stick because I don’t want to use anymore. I desperately want to never, ever be in this place again,” she said. Inmates learn different aspects of commercial beekeeping, which in California is a $25 million business, according to a 2021-22 crop report by the California Department of Food and Agriculture. Commercial beekeepers contract with farmers, who use bees to pollinate or set the crop, such as in almond orchards. Beekeepers also extract honey from the hive that is bottled and sold to consumers, and they raise queen bees, which are sold to fellow beekeepers to build new hives. “If they want to pursue beekeeping as an occupation, it’s almost automatic that they can get a job,” Hays said. “It’s definitely a foot in the door.” New skills and a fresh start The program, which has educated 24 inmates since it began, also discusses the trials of beekeeping that many beekeepers face, such as drought or other factors that reduce the season’s honey crop or lead to bee losses. “Because of the last three years of droughts and bees competing for flowers and food sources, it’s been difficult for us to produce a lot of wildflower honey,” Hays said. “During the last three years, we’ve produced about 80 one-pound bottles of honey. Whenever we have a large surplus, we use it in our kitchen or as a sweetener for the jail’s vocational barista program. If there is a greater surplus, we donate it to the local food bank.” Thompson, who also participates in the jail’s vocational barista program, said, “We make a honey latte, which is basically a shot of 2 ounces of espresso and then we melt it into the honey and it infuses together really well, plus a little steam and milk.” For inmates, the beekeeping program offers more than a window into the world of an intriguing insect. The course, which offers a certificate upon completion, Hays said,
Using honey produced through the jail’s Second Change Beekeeping program, right, inmate Denaysia Thompson, above,
sweetens beverages at the facility’s vocational
barista program. At far right, Thompson, Missy Peavey and Corrie Foutz join instructor Steve Hays in the bee yard.
teaches professionalism in the workplace, public speaking and tips for a successful job interview. “I try to teach them confidence. A lot of them lack basic confidence and this carries over into beekeeping because if you’re nervous, the bees can sense it and they’re going to be more upset,” Hays said. Missy Peavey, who served time for a stolen vehicle charge, was among the program’s first participants. She said she enjoyed the program because “I’m not looked at as a criminal. I’m looked at as a human and I’m still capable of learning. I’m still capable of being brought into the community and being OK. “Even though I’ve messed up and I made a wrong choice, I’m still able to have an opportunity to try to pull back out of that situation. It’s a whole new, fresh start,” said Peavey, who said she took interest in the program to reconnect with her family members, who are in the beekeeping business. “I got back into contact with my dad and now I help with the family business.”
Christine Souza csouza@californiabountiful.com
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July/August 2023
Worker
HIERARCHY OF HONEYBEES PLAYS A VITAL ROLE IN FOOD
One out of every three bites of food people consume exists because of pollinators, including honeybees. A single beehive contains a sophisticated ecosystem of as many as 80,000 insects, each with a specific job to help create and maintain the colony. “There’s a hierarchy of bees within the hive,” explained Steve Hays, instructor of the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office Second Chance Beekeeping program and a retired deputy and hobbyist beekeeper. “In each beehive, there are three types of bees: a single queen, drones and workers. A drone’s sole purpose is reproduction and the worker bees tend to the queen, which lays eggs.” The hive is dominated by the queen bee, which emits pheromones that regulate hive activity. Worker bees have many roles, Hays said, such as hive cleaning and repair, nursing brood (caring for the eggs, larvae and pupae), attending to the queen, foraging for food and water, creating and storing honey and guarding the hive. Hays said he enjoys combining his love of beekeeping with a longtime career in law enforcement: “If I can make a difference to one offender at the jail through beekeeping, that is my reward.”
Drone
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July/August 2023
Farmer grows dahlias and develops new varieties ‘A HOBBY THAT’S GONE CRAZY’
Story by Pat Rubin • Photos by Lori Eanes
Like most California farmers, Kristine Albrecht likes to walk among the rows of crops at her Santa Cruz farm. She reaches down and picks up a handful of soil to check the moisture level. She pulls a plant toward her to inspect the flowers. She also watches weather reports and worries about heavy rains, destructive winds, spring hailstorms and late frosts. But that’s where the resemblance to most other farmers ends. Albrecht isn’t growing almonds or cherries or tomatoes or corn. She’s cultivating 2,000 dahlia plants, and, from May until October, her 1/4-acre plot is a riot of color. Plants towering 5 or 6 feet tall lean into the rows. Dahlia flowers in a variety of shapes and colors reach out to be noticed. Colors range from yellow and cream and white to red, purple and pink. Some colors are bright and bold, while others are quiet and understated. Her cactus-type dahlia flowers can be a foot or more across while the pom-poms can be less than an inch each. Colorful creations For almost 18 years, Albrecht has run Santa Cruz Dahlias, an organic dahlia farm. She’s built a reputation for being one of the top dahlia growers and hybridizers in the country. With the eye of an artist and the mind of a scientist, she’s produced new color varieties for both show and the florist trade. In fact, her cultivars in soft hues of burgundy and pink and blush are in high demand with florists and wedding planners as well as home gardeners. Her new introductions often sell out in minutes. Albrecht’s work with dahlias began almost accidentally. An experienced gardener, she grew giant pumpkins with her son but dabbled with dahlias in her flower beds. Her husband, Brian, suggested they use the flowers in their bed and breakfast. “He wanted flowers in the rooms,” she explains. “We went from a few tubers to 60 to a couple thousand. We needed more room. We had a fallow piece of property at the time. It was flat and used to be a chicken farm.”
Kristine Albrecht, left, works at her 1/4-acre Santa Cruz farm among her dahlias, which come in an assortment of colors, sizes and shapes.
From gardener to farmer In 2006, she tackled the daunting task of turning the weed- covered lot into a flower farm. “We pulled out piles of weeds and shrubs and blackberry vines,” she says. Years ago, the former owners used the property as a private dump. “So, we still find the occasional shoe.” Healthy soil equals healthy plant, so Albrecht added plenty of organic matter. In addition, she joined the local dahlia society—even served as its president for a while—and learned from the experts about growing dahlias. She produced such an abundance of flowers she turned to local florists to see if they were interested in buying the extras. They were happy to have the flowers for bouquets, she explains, but told her they wished dahlias came in soft, muted shades of mocha, cream, pink, burgundy and blush. The challenge was a big one since dahlias typically come in cheerful, bright colors. There are plenty of highlighter yellows and bright reds, she says. Meeting the challenge Albrecht’s standards were high: She wanted to breed new colors for the floral industry but also wanted the plants to adhere to the rules of the American Dahlia Society. ADS requires that flowers last well in a vase or in a bouquet, and plants need to produce plenty of healthy flowers and tubers. It’s a long process, and not always successful. “Sometimes you get what you want quickly; other times it takes years and more crosses, and sometimes you fail,” she says. “But I learned I have a good eye for what parent plants make good crosses. And I like to jump in 100% whenever I do something.” Her efforts paid off, and her dahlias attracted the attention and praise of dahlia experts and judges across the country. She developed the award-winning KA’s Papa John, a creamy white dahlia up to 8 inches across and named for her late father, who taught her about gardening. It’s one of her favorites and great for decorating arches at weddings. “The petals look like they’re waving in the wind,” she says. Her creations KA’s Cloud and KA’s Khaleesi also won awards. She won again for the largest dahlia ever shown in the U.S. in 2012, 2016 and 2019. She credits her family and friends for her successes, especially Jan Palia and Iris Wallace for their help with the farm. “Jan works her magic with bouquets and Iris keeps things organized,” Albrecht says. She adds that both grow beautiful dahlias as well. Almost year-round process While she gets a short break from farm chores in the middle of winter, her new year starts at the end of the previous autumn when she digs all the tubers out of the ground, labels them carefully and puts them in a climate-controlled shed that keeps
Plant hybridization is combining the pollen from two different plants and creating a new plant that is a cross between the two. Perhaps the hybridizer wants to create a new color. Hybrids cannot be propagated from the seed they produce because it will produce seedlings that vary widely. A new dahlia hybrid can be propagated from the many tubers it creates. To create a hybrid dahlia, Santa Cruz farmer Kristine Albrecht uses a paintbrush to collect the pollen from one dahlia flower, perhaps a cactus-type dahlia, and transfers it to the flower of another dahlia flower, perhaps a pom-pom-type flower. She repeats the process several times to ensure good pollination. She then takes an organza bag and covers the flower so the bees cannot get in with pollen they collect from other flowers throughout the garden. She lets the flower mature and produce seed, and collects the seed when it is ripe. The following spring, she plants the seeds. As the plants grow and bloom, she evaluates them and decides if any are worth keeping. WHAT IS HYBRIdIZATION?
Kristine Albrecht of Santa Cruz Dahlias grows different varieties of dahlias and cultivates new varieties. Below, after transferring pollen from one type of dahlia to another to create a hybrid, she covers the plant with a bag to keep bees from pollinating it. At right, she and her sister-in-law Janet Egger explore her field, bursting with color.
them at 43 degrees until it’s time to plant again. She also harvests seeds from crosses she’s made. To get a jump on the season, Albrecht starts taking cuttings as early as December. She has a cutting bed set up in the living room with lights on up to 14 hours a day. “It’s a way to trick the cuttings and seedlings into thinking it’s spring so I get a head start on the season. The cuttings need to stay moist until they develop roots. After a couple of weeks, you have a little plant that is a clone of the tuber,” she says. “I love starting seeds and doing the cuttings because it feels like you’re gardening even though it’s too cold to be outside.” By planting time, typically mid-April, Albrecht is ready to put about 1,000 tubers and about 1,000 seedlings into the ground. The tubers are a mix of potential parent plants for future crosses and varieties she’s evaluating for possible introduction into the trade. As the seedlings bloom, she will decide whether to keep them or toss them. She estimates she destroys 95% to 98% of the seedlings.
“It’s a hobby that’s gone crazy, but I really enjoy it,” she says. “I love to grow things and even though I know what I’m doing, I’m still amazed I get all these dahlias to grow for me.” To share her expertise with others, Albrecht has created more than 150 educational videos on YouTube and has also written a book (see Book Reviews, Page 39). She plans to devote more time in the future to hybridizing efforts. “That’s where my heart is,” she says. Her goal is to develop a dahlia in a soft mocha/brown color. Anyone who knows her is confident she will succeed.
Pat Rubin cbmagazine@californiabountiful.com
MORE ONLINE Kristine Albrecht does not sell dahlias at her farm, nor does she have visitors. Read the online version of this story at californiabountiful.com to find out where to buy her dahlias.
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How it’s stored and moved for growing food Story by Ching Lee California would not be one of the world’s leading agricultural producers without its complex water system. Thanks to the Golden State’s dry Mediterranean climate, farmers here enjoy an almost year-round growing season, allowing them to grow more than 400 crops. Farmers owe much of this productivity to their ability to control when and how much water is applied to their crops. In addition to using water pumped from the ground, California farms irrigate, on average, more than 9 million acres of cropland with water from rivers, lakes and reservoirs, according to the California Department of Water Resources. During the rainy season, the state captures and saves some precipitation in reservoirs, or man-made lakes. Rain is also stored in the form of snowpack. As it melts, the runoff enters California streams and rivers, supplying water during the summer months.
SNOWPACK in the Sierra Nevada mountains acts as a natural reservoir
DAMS create man-made lakes, or reservoirs
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This surface water is transported through a sophisticated system of aqueducts, canals and pipelines. Three major engineering feats allow the precious resource to move to California farms and cities: Central Valley Project This is a network of 20 dams and reservoirs, 500 miles of canals, conduits and tunnels, and hydroelectric power plants and other facilities. Built in the 1930s, the federal CVP transports water from Lake Shasta near Redding in Northern California through the Central Valley, delivering enough supply for a third of the state’s farmland and close to 1 million households each year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which owns and operates the project. State Water Project Constructed in the 1960s and 1970s, this collection of 34 reservoirs, five hydroelectric facilities and more than 700 miles of canals and pipelines extends about two-thirds the length of the state. It includes the California Aqueduct, the nation’s largest state-built water distribution system. The facility supplies water to 750,000 acres of farmland and 27 million Californians, according to DWR, which operates the system. The project has been credited with helping to fuel the state’s population boom and economic prosperity. Colorado River Aqueduct Completed in 1941 by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, this 242-mile system of canals, tunnels and siphons carries millions of gallons of water a day from the Colorado River across the desert to Southern California. Farms in Imperial and Riverside counties, which grow most of the nation’s winter vegetables, rely on water from the Colorado River. The 1,450-mile-long river supplies 4.4 million acre-feet of water to the state each year.
Ching Lee clee@californiabountiful.com
LEARN MORE The California Bountiful Foundation, the science and research arm for the California Farm Bureau, has analyzed agricultural water use. See it here: bit.ly/agwateruse.
GROUNDWATER comes from aquifers beneath the earth’s surface
Ice Cream rethought
Former addict’s creation contributes to good health and his favorite causes
Story by Linda DuBois • Ice cream photos by Fred Greaves Farm photos courtesy of Hollandia Dairy
Meghan Hanson of El Dorado Hills, a professional nutrition and weight-loss coach, is careful about what she and her family eat. So, when they want dessert or just have a hankering for something sweet, she tries to choose treats that aren’t loaded with added sugar. During the summertime, her favorite go-to is ReThink Ice Cream. She likes that it has less than half the sugar of most ice cream brands as well as added collagen, fiber and protein. She keeps a carton in the freezer most of the time. “It honestly tastes like a traditional ice cream. You wouldn’t think it’s a healthier food item,” she says. “I have 6-year-old triplets and they love it. It’s nice to have something that they enjoy and that I feel good giving to them.” Hanson likes several of the brand’s seven flavors (cardamom pistachio, coffee hazelnut, black cherry vanilla, chocolate majesty, lemon poppy seed, mint with chocolate flakes and vanilla supreme) but has a clear favorite. “I buy the coffee hazelnut on repeat,” she says. Pursuit of health When former restaurant operator George Haymaker founded ReThink Ice Cream in Napa in 2018, he was on his own journey toward health. He was sober following years of battling alcohol and pain-pill addiction but craved the sugar he once found in alcohol. So, he had turned to ice cream—a lot of it. “I soon realized that I was just transferring addictions from one thing to the next and I was feeling and showing the effects of all the sugar and calories,” he says. “I knew that to find total health of mind, body and spirit, I needed to eat better.” Yet, he wasn’t ready to give up the comfort and pleasure he derived from a delicious bowl of ice cream. Instead, he searched store shelves for a lower-calorie version, only
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George Haymaker, left, founded ReThink Ice Cream to create a more healthful, but just as decadent, version of his favorite indulgence. It comes in seven flavors.
ReThink Ice Cream sources its milk from Hollandia Dairy, which is owned and
operated by the de Jong family,
including Ian and his father Peter, below.
Holsteins are milked at Hollandia’s San Jacinto dairy, above. At right, the cows enjoy certain comforts, including shade and fans on hot days.
to be disappointed. “A lot of them were airy, chalky or icy. They just didn’t have the creamy mouthfeel or satisfaction of traditional ice cream,” he says. “So, I set about making my own.” Getting the formula right “was kind of a long, involved process,” Haymaker says. “Originally, it took about six months, but, frankly, I’ve been tweaking it ever since. … I’ve worked with four or five food scientists now.” Besides getting the taste and consistency right, he also wanted to make sure his creation could be enjoyed by as many people as possible, including those with intolerances to gluten or dairy. So, he avoided any gluten-containing flavorings, colorings or thickeners sometimes found in other ice cream brands. And, while he himself has no trouble digesting milk, he knew millions of other Americans suffer from cramping, gas and other digestive upsets from consuming dairy products. “This is either because of the lactose (milk sugar) or the A1 protein found in most cow milk,” Haymaker says. “So, I wanted to solve both of those problems by taking out the lactose and using exclusively milk with A2 protein,” the casein protein found in human breast milk, as well as in goat and sheep milk, but in only some cows’ milk. A perfect partnership His search for cows that could source A2-protein milk led him to Hollandia Dairy. Headquartered in San Marcos where it runs a processing plant, the company owns a dairy farm
with 2,700 A2-protein Holsteins in San Jacinto. The business was founded by Arie de Jong, a dairyman from Holland, after settling with his family in Southern California in 1949. It remains family owned. The descendants also own several other dairies throughout California, with a total of about 60,000 cows. When Haymaker discovered Hollandia, he was immediately impressed. “They have a certification for the humane treatment of animals. They have heating and cooling huts to keep the cows comfortable and special food with recipes for each cow depending on its stage of life,” Haymaker says. “They vacuum up all the manure, so the gasses won’t degrade the ozone and then they put it underground in a digester and it recycles it, removing the methane, making it into a non-harmful fuel to drive their trucks and tractors around. Then they use the solids from the manure as fertilizer for the crops that they grow for their cow food,” he continues. “Plus, they have their own water well and they recycle their water, so they get multiple uses out of it.” Hollandia CEO Patrick Schallberger says that sustainability is a high priority for the company. “Here at the milk plant, we have 25 vehicles that run off near- zero-emission natural gas that are replacing diesel-burning trucks, and we’re trying to put even more digesters on the dairies,” he says. Hollandia also uses large solar-power systems at the plant and several dairies.
He explains how the A2 herd has been slowly built up at the San Jacinto dairy farm over about the past five years to serve smaller, niche businesses, such as ReThink Ice Cream. “We raise our own heifers,” Schallberger says. “Typically, about 30% of Holsteins are naturally A2. So, we test them to see which ones have the A2 genes and then send those to that dairy. If you breed them with an A2 bull, then they’ll have A2 calves. So, over time, we can have the whole herd A2 through breeding.” Haymaker was Hollandia’s first customer for the A2 milk, Schallberger says. “We feel like we have a partnership with him. We definitely want to support him. I think his product is well thought out and he’s really got a lot of passion for what he’s doing. He also has a quality ice cream. He’s done a good job.” From the dairy to the customer After leaving Hollandia, the milk goes to Thrifty Ice Cream in El Monte, which makes and packages the ice cream for ReThink. It’s sold at specialty markets, some large grocery chains throughout the state and on the ReThink website. As Haymaker builds the company, he’s focusing on expanding a founding goal: generating resources to support causes he cares most about, especially those serving people with addiction issues. Now of El Dorado Hills, Haymaker has organized several ice-cream fundraisers for mental health causes, wildlife foundations and local schools. “What I would find most rewarding is being able to reach the point where I’m satisfying my mission, which is to help
others,” he says. “That’s really what I’m in this for.” To help reach a broader customer base, he’s expanded his marketing strategy. “We’re still focused on the fact that it’s a healthier product, but our new logo states that it’s a ‘kinder ice cream’—kinder to the tummy, the cow, the environment and the community.” That mission resonates especially well with young adults. “One of the main pivots is we are now targeting university students,” Haymaker says. “They’re really supportive of what our brand stands for.” The ice cream is now on about 20 university campuses. He and his marketing manager get help from a marketing intern on each campus. “They’re involved with everything from sampling at markets, sororities or residential dorms to creating social media on campus with cool videos, to dropping flyers underneath dorm doors,” Haymaker says. Meanwhile, Haymaker himself remains one of the ice cream’s biggest fans. He eats about a carton a day, rotating among the flavors, with no clear favorite. “You know, I’m not going to lie and say that I don’t have a sweet tooth,” he says with a chuckle. “I go through stretches where I’m eating other sweets that are not as healthy for me, but I always try to come back to ReThink and have that be my staple.”
Linda DuBois ldubois@californiabountiful.com
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Long time growing
Family’s river delta farm marks 175 years
Story by Kevin Hecteman ∞ Photos by Fred Greaves
1848 was quite the year in California history. James Marshall found gold near a sawmill in Coloma, setting off the Gold Rush. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which ended the Mexican- American War, transferred Alta California from Mexico to the U.S. And along the Sacramento River, south of the town that became the state capital six years later, the Peck and Bates families settled down to farm the rich, fertile soil. “They came out here for the Gold Rush,” says Mike Neuharth, the sixth generation to farm at Steamboat Acres, “and were like, ‘Well, guess what? There’s no gold out here, but we’re farmers where we’ve been from historically. Let’s just keep that going.’” The delta was a very different place 175 years ago. “When they first got here, there was nothing here,” Neuharth says. As to what the Pecks and their neighbors raised in the soil, “everyone was growing asparagus and sugar beets, and did that for a long, long time.” Along the way, one of the generations made a decision that’s still bearing fruit—literally and figuratively—for Neuharth today.
Mike Neuharth, left, holds a crate bearing the name of his step-great-grandfather, who once had more than 400 acres of pear trees on the land that Mike and his father now farm. Above left, Mike and Tara Neuharth walk through Steamboat Acres with their children Raylan, River and Reed.
“I don’t remember who decided it would be a good idea to plant pear trees, but they did,” Neuharth says. “Our pear orchards have been what’s been carrying our business. They’re what’s providing our bread and butter.” Keeping them through farming’s ups and downs, he adds, “was the smart decision.” Also paying off is a decision his father, Tim, made about 20 years ago: converting the farm to organic production. “Getting that fresh market value out of the crop rather than the cannery crop, has been quintessential in keeping our heads above water,” Neuharth says. Long time growing Some of those pear trees have seen a day or two. Among Neuharth’s pear trees are some that were planted in about 1888. Yes, 1888. As in 135 years ago. “Lots of water, good pruning and just really paying attention, keeping after it all the time, keeping your pest problems down,” is how Neuharth describes the work needed to keep these arboreal centenarians in production. And here’s the kicker: He may retire before the trees do. A while back, he says, he asked a neighbor about a pear tree’s life expectancy and was told about 160 years.
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“The joke among pear farmers is, you don’t plant pear trees for you—you plant pear trees for your kids,” Neuharth says. As with the family itself, the next generation of trees is already growing. Neuharth says the 135-year-old trees are spaced about 20 feet apart, and he’s planted newer trees among the elders. “When those really old trees die,” Neuharth says, “at least there’s a tree there that’s taking up some of that slack.” Center of the pear universe Steamboat Acres sits on 300 acres near Steamboat Slough, just down and across the river from the delta towns of Courtland and Paintersville, the latter of which no longer exists. Courtland is at the heart of Sacramento River delta pear country. The county produced just more than 5,000 acres of pears in 2021, according to the Sacramento County crop report. The oblong fruit is celebrated annually with the Pear Fair, which has taken place in Courtland the last Sunday of July since 1972 (although the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated a two-year hiatus). The fair features, among other things, a breakfast with pear mimosas, pear pie- eating contests, live music, historical exhibits and, of
course, pears for sale. Neuharth says he’s been taking a break from the fair in recent times but is thinking of getting back into it. “People come from all over for the
fair,” he says. “People are really, really happy and excited to know that there’s a certified (organic) grower out here doing it that way.” So excited that he goes home with laryngitis. “(I) pretty much don’t have a voice after the Pear Fair because I’ve educated so many people about how long it takes to grow pears and where they come from, and where they originated, and what we’re doing,” Neuharth says. The fair coincides with the harvest of Bartlett pears, the variety most prevalent at Steamboat Acres. Neuharth says harvest generally begins the second or third week of July and runs two to three weeks. To ensure they reach market in ideal condition, Neuharth picks pears while they’re still green. “Everybody thinks you pick them yellow,” Neuharth says, which is a bad idea because they’ll go bad before they get to the store. “Over the course of time, going from our farm to the packinghouse and then from the packinghouse to the cold storages, and then from the cold storages to the stores, they start to ripen a little bit over time.”
Steamboat Acres gets its name from Steamboat Slough, which empties into the Sacramento River near Courtland. Mike and Tim Neuharth, right, are the fifth and sixth generations to farm this land. Above left, Mike’s daughter, River, reaches for a pear.
River and Raylan Neuharth run through the family orchard.
Heritage through the years
Growing a legacy Steamboat Acres’ longevity has not gone unnoticed. In July 2022, at the California State Fair, the California Agricultural Heritage Club recognized Steamboat Acres among the farms and county Farm Bureaus that have been in operation for a century or longer. The California Farm Bureau is a sponsor of the club; Neuharth is on the board of directors of the Sacramento County Farm Bureau. Pears aren’t Neuharth’s only game. He also grew wheat, safflower and alfalfa, along with cherries. His farm once ran a pumpkin patch and grew organic vegetables. Even while looking to the future, Neuharth is mindful of those who came before and, to borrow a sports saying, left it all on the field. “They put their blood, sweat and tears into our farm here and these pears, and everything else we’ve done here,” Neuharth says. “There’s a huge, huge sense of responsibility.” He looks to his children—son Raylan, 6, and his 4-year-old twins (she’s River, he’s Reed)—as being the up-and-coming seventh generation. “I think it’s important that we continue to maintain what we have here—not only just for us, me personally, and the previous generations, but for the next generation,” Neuharth says. With that, he adds, comes the responsibility of teaching his successors everything they need to know to uphold what Neuharth calls “our family heritage.” “I couldn’t be prouder,” he says. “It’s a huge sense of pride, and there’s humility in that, too. We’re really blessed with what we have here. It’s just myself and my dad and my wife. We’re just trying to be good stewards of our lands and trying to continue this on and feed the world.”
Recognizing the Pecks/Neuharths and other long-running farming families is the mission of the California Agricultural Heritage Club, part of the California State Fair. The club was founded in 1948, the centennial of the beginning of the Gold Rush. Farming families are recognized for their decades of service to agriculture at 100, 125, 150 and 175 years. (Steamboat Acres hits the 175-year mark this year.) A breakfast honoring the year’s inductees is held each summer as part of the California State Fair at Cal Expo in Sacramento. At the 2022 breakfast, Judy Culbertson, chair of the club and executive director of the California Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom, noted, “As we move forward and fewer farms and ranches have family continuing on, it’s even more important that we recognize and instill the importance of people, the farms and ranches, and ag businesses in operation.” The California Agricultural Heritage Club is sponsored in part by the California Farm Bureau and the Friends of the California State Fair. County Farm Bureaus have been honored for their longevity: The Merced and Solano County Farm Bureaus received the 100-year honor in 2022.
Kevin Hecteman cbmagazine@californiabountiful.com
MORE ONLINE Mike Neuharth’s legacy in the soil runs deep. Go to californiabountiful.com to trace the six generations who have farmed at Steamboat Acres.
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