“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.
Powered by FlippingBook