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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July/August 2023
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