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.
Answering the call: Farmers as firefighters
Chef-tested recipes perfect for spring
Meet Crystal! She’s the top dog
March/April 2022
Nourishing BODY & SOUL Healthy meals for patients start in this garden
Protect your next
At Nationwide®, we’re committed to protecting your future and your next—whatever that might be. To learn more, visit nationwide.com/cfbf
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March/April 2022
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Features
4 From the editors 5 A la carte 11 Book reviews 30 Now from Nationwide 39 Farm-fresh tips 40 Take 5 42 Gardening 44 Ask a farmer 46 It’s a bountiful life
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Answering the call Farmers and ranchers increasingly do double-duty as firefighters.
18 Devotion and determination
Farm dog contest entries bring winning combination.
22 Copious color
Accidental find on family property leads to thriving iris garden.
26 Nutty for walnut butter
Once tasted, creamy spread is met with surprise, enthusiasm.
31 How a strawberry gets its start Plants are born at the nursery, raised on the farm. 34 Ingredients of inspiration “Mystery seeds” arouse an early passion for food.
Answering the call: Farmers as firefighters
Chef-tested recipes perfect for spring
Meet Crystal! She’s the top dog
March/April 2022
ON THE COVER: Nonprofit serves up healthy meals and hope to people facing health challenges and their families. Story on Page 12.
Nourishing BODY & SOUL Healthy meals for patients start in this garden
Photo: Lori Eanes
californiabountiful.com 3
From the editors
Tested by
VOLUME 45 • ISSUE 2
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, Jolaine Collins, Pat Rubin Writers Applemoon Photography, Lori Eanes, Fred Greaves, Melissa Jewel
Kyle Farmer’s job of helping raise grass-fed cattle and lambs should be demanding enough of his time. But that’s no longer the case in a region where wildfire is a perilous reality. In 2017, Farmer and other volunteers inMendocino County helped set fire lines after a blaze burned through ranch lands, killing scores of cattle. Three years later, another massive inferno ravaged residential communities and the rural landscape in Sonoma and Napa wine country, and still another—the largest fire in California history— raged inMendocino as it devoured acreage fromColusa to Humboldt. With the need greater than ever, farmers and ranchers like Kyle Farmer are signing on as volunteer firefighters. They, along with those in paid positions, are taking personal risks to protect their agricultural communities and way of life. In this issue of California Bountiful, we celebrate these firefighters and—as always—the agricultural way of life as we feature its bounty from strawberries to f lowers to walnut butter. You may notice this logo a t the endofmost stories. Thatmeans the subject is amember of the California Farm Bureau, which publishes California Bountiful and works to protect the future and quality of life for all California farmers and ranchers. We hope you enjoy this issue’s California journey, learn about the state’s incomparable farm products and gain even greater appreciation for the farmers and ranchers who make it possible while putting themselves on the line to see that it endures.
Photographers Karin Bakotich Design Services Manager Jessica Cook Senior Graphic Designer Paula Erath Lorrie Jo Williams 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
Wildfire is a year-round threat throughout California. Ramiro Ruiz earned First Place in the 2020 California Farm Bureau Photo Contest for his photo of that year’s devastating River Fire in Monterey County.
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@cabountiful
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.
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March/April 2022
a la carte
All aboard! Farming in California has a rich history going back to Indigenous times. The California Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom and the Union Pacific Foundation have teamed up to engineer an interactive timeline, Tracking the History of California Agriculture. This takes students on a journey
tracing the origins of everything from the very beginnings of Golden State farming to the Gold Rush to the State Water Project to climate change. You don’t need a ticket to ride this train—just hop aboard at ca.stateaghistory.org.
Nice save
So you want to save some food? The University of California Master Food Preservers will host monthly online workshops all year, on the f irst Wednesday of each month, covering a plethora of preservation techniques. This year, you can learn about making jams and jellies, or preserving sausages and mustards. There’s also a “Tomato Mania” class coming up, covering salsas and sauces. For more information, and to sign up, go to sacmfp.ucanr.edu.
Nice save II On those depressingly rare occasions when we get rain, why not preserve some of it for use in the garden? According to the UCMaster Gardeners, for every inch of rain that falls on a rooftop area of 1,000 square feet, one can collect about 600 gallons of
rainwater. How to get that hydrological bounty to your thirsty plants? The Master Gardeners suggest routing your downspouts into grassy or landscaped areas so as to bank the water in the soil, or using cisterns or rain barrels.
Toomuchof a good thing Wanting to make the whiskey apple upside-down cake published in the January/February issue? Please use the updated version at californiabountiful.com. In the original recipe, the chef accidently gave us the restaurant quantities for the whiskey caramel sauce. So, unless you have an ultra, extreme sweet tooth, you’ll want to halve the amount of sauce.
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March/April 2022
Farmers and ranchers increasingly do double-duty as firefighters
Story by Christine Souza • Photos by Lori Eanes
California’s fire season is starting earlier and ending later each year, and dry conditions and a heavy fuel load on the landscape have increased the number and severity of wildfires. This, plus a growing population, has created an urgent need for more firefighters. Of these volunteer and paid firefighters, many are farmers and ranchers who dedicate time to small, rural communities. Whether feeding cattle or pruning trees, these men and women are ready at a moment’s notice to grab their gear, jump into the truck and respond not only to fires, but also to auto accidents, medical emergencies, hazardous-materials calls and more. “You know, beep, beep, beep in the middle of the night and I get up and drive to the firehouse and respond to the call,” said Kyle Farmer, a full-time volunteer with the Potter Valley Fire Department in Mendocino County. There, about 30 firefighters and officer volunteers serve a local population of about 5,000. “A lot of times we have radios with us,” Farmer said. “I have a pager, too, because working as a cattle rancher, I was going to lose my radio pretty fast if I carried a radio all the time.” Farmer, who works for his wife’s family’s Magruder Ranch, which specializes in grass-fed cattle and lamb, said he joined the local f ire department as soon as he and wife Grace relocated to Potter Valley after their marriage eight years ago.
Many working in agriculture, such as Mendocino County rancher Kyle Farmer, above, dedicate time as first responders to support rural communities.
Rewards and sacrifices “It is honestly one of the most rewarding parts of my life here. I’m just constantly amazed by the guys that respond,” he said. “Farmers are extremely busy people but have a level of making their own schedule. The volunteer model requires large numbers of people but not all the time. It is really the best way to provide emergency services to rural areas.” Family time at home or work on the ranch is often interrupted by emergency calls, Farmer said, adding, “If you are married to a volunteer f iref ighter, you are a volunteer firefighter because you are the one to put the kids to bed by yourself or the one that sometimes finishes a two-person job alone.” The Ca l i fornia State Fi ref ighters Associat ion estimates there are 50,000 f iref ighters in the state, 15,000 of them volunteer s . Of 1,100 tot a l f i re departments, the majority are either entirely or mostly composed of volunteers. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects the employment of firefighters will grow 8% from 2020 to 2030 as the threat of massive fires continues. Last year a lone, 8,786 f ires burned an estimated 2,568,941 acres across California. Livelihoods at stake Potter Va l ley Fire Department volunteers were instrumental in helping extinguish destructive wildfires in 2017 and 2018, which scorched thousands of acres in Mendocino County. The 2017 Redwood Valley Complex Fire burned a 2,000-acre ranch Farmer’s family leased, killing 45 cows. “The fire was moving so fast they weren’t able to run away,” he said. While recovering from a broken back at the time, Farmer said he and others patrolled at night for the first few days to make sure the fire didn’t cross the road. The 2018 Mendocino Complex Fire burned for more than three months, destroying additional ranch land in Mendocino County as well as Lake, Colusa and Glenn counties. Farmer said the amount of fuel that builds increases the severity of the fires. “Fast-growing annual grasses that came in from other parts of the world tend to grow really fast and then die for the summer and leave an incredible amount of light, flashy fuels,” he said. “This has an absolute effect, not just on intensity of the fire and how it affects native species, but also whether or not firefighters can even touch it.”
Kyle Farmer, who volunteers with the Potter Valley Fire Department, says wildfires are becoming more severe as fuel builds.
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Photo by Mike Eliason
During an emergency, it is important that ranchers can access property to check on livestock and, if needed, move them to safety to another part of the ranch. Legislation signed into law last year authorizes counties to establish a livestock pass program, allowing ranchers to access property beyond fire lines and road closures. The legislation was sponsored by the California Cattlemen’s Association and supported by the California Farm Bureau. “There’s never really been anything for commercial producers to get in and get their livestock,” said rancher Anthony Stornetta, a Santa Barbara County Fire Department battalion chief. “With this, they come to a four-hour training session and get a card that allows them access.” Stornetta, who chairs the cattlemen’s association fire subcommittee, said the livestock pass program is also good for firefighters on scene, adding, “Many times (fire departments) need water or access to where the fire started and we don’t know where those roads are or where the water is located, so having those ranchers there is of utmost importance. “Ranchers have been on these ranches for multiple generations, so they know where fires naturally stop, how wind blows through the canyon and things that can help us,” he said. “We utilized it on the Dixie Fire and the Alisal Fire with great success.” New law gives ranchers access to land during wildfires to save livestock
Above, at left, Potter Valley Fire Department Chief Bill Pauli, a winegrape grower, instructs fellow firefighters Ira Harvey, Frost Pauli, Curtis Reichert, Hal Pauli and Kyle Farmer. Nevada County rancher and firefighter Tom Browning, left, often directs from a helicopter.
Photo by Heather McRae
Potter Valley volunteers Curtis Reichert and Ira Harvey, above, prepare equipment, while an unidentifed firefighter, left, battles a blaze.
Photo courtesy of Cal Fire
Kyle Farmer, at right with wife Grace and children Walter, 5, and June, 7, works for his wife’s family’s Magruder Ranch, which specializes in grass-fed cattle and lamb.
Fires are often stopped when they reach grazed land, Farmer said, so there is an increased focus on prescribed grazing, where ranchers are paid for animals to graze the land rather than ranchers paying others for the animals to graze. Veteran firefighters Potter Valley winegrape grower Bill Pauli is a third- generation firefighter. He serves as the chief of the local department and his three sons are fellow firefighters. Pauli is following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather. He grew up around the firehouse and recalls riding his bicycle to visit his grandfather and later his father at the firehouse. He even went on some calls with his dad. “That is what you did in a small valley,” he said. “The siren blew and off you went; everyone had to go help.” Pauli said the Potter Valley Fire Department has a number of farmer or rancher volunteers, adding the department seeks out those with an ability to adapt and not overreact in a stressful situation. There is a strong bond formed among firefighters, who must rely on each other to do their part, Pauli said. In Southern California, rancher Anthony Stornetta of Atascadero operates a cow-calf operation with his wife, Denise. They have been ranching for 25 years and raise registered Brangus and Angus cattle in San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara andMonterey counties. Stornetta is a full- time, paid battalion chief with the Santa Barbara County Fire Department. “You are not stuck in an off ice, you are out in the
f ield all the time and every day is something new,” Stornetta said of his fire-service career that spans 30 years. “There’s hardly ever the same call twice, so it makes it a little dynamic.” Stornetta oversees air and wildland efforts, including operations of helicopters such as the Firehawk, a Black Hawk helicopter converted into a firefighting aircraft that carries 1,000 gallons of water. With the aircraft, he conducts many high-risk rescues and medical calls such as “putting people down on a hoist and lowering them into the canyons.” With a background in wildland firefighting, Stornetta also oversees a battalion that uses bulldozers and hand crews to reduce the threat of wildfires, and often works with farmers and ranchers to create a break between them and urban areas “so that we have a chance to stop the fire,” he said. Nevada County rancher Tom Browning said he was introduced to the f ire service while growing up on a ranch. He submitted his application as a seasonal firefighter after graduating high school and now has 40 years of experience. “I was raised around fire as a tool to clear and maintain the ground,” said Browning, a volunteer firefighter and member of a multiagency incident-management team. “I chose a career in the fire service to support my farming habit. I found it to be a great career opportunity, while still raising a few cows in the meantime.”
Christine Souza csouza@californiabountiful.com
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March/April 2022
book reviews
TheWatermelon Tree: El Árbol De Sandías , by Sylvia G. Ulmer, is a bilingual picture book that follows twins Roger and Randy during a summer visit to their grandparents’ farm. The boys help with farmchores, go fishing with their grandpa and ask childhood questions, like why plums growon trees but watermelons don’t. Ulmer, a retired educator fromLodi, writes in poem style, with both the English and Spanish translations rhyming. Hardcover, paperback and e-book from Archway Publishing. $29.95, $19.95, $3.99. The First-Time Gardener: Growing Plants and Flowers , by Sean and Allison McManus, is an easy-to-follow beginner’s guide to gardening. It includes tips for selecting plants for the gardener’s climate and growing conditions, planting techniques and choosing fertilizer, as well as controlling weeds, diseases and pests naturally. It even explains the difference between annuals and perennials and gives time-management advice. Paperback from Cool Springs Press. $26.99.
In Persian Delicacies: Jewish Foods for Special Occasions , Angela Cohan compiles recipes inspired by her homeland and Persian Jewish heritage and influenced by her three decades of living in Southern California. She uses
fresh, organic ingredients and offers vegetarian and vegan options. Rich with the fruits, spices and herbs used in Persian cuisine, her dishes include appetizers, soups and stews, salads, drinks, rice dishes, kabobs, breads and desserts. Hardcover from Clyde Publishing. $35.
California Bountiful’s Book Reviews highlight books related to rural living and California agriculture. To suggest a book, email cbmagazine@californiabountiful.com.
californiabountiful.com 11
NOURISHING
Organization grows, prepares and delivers healthy meals to patients
Story by Jolaine Collins ∞ Photos by Lori Eanes
A healthy meal, lovingly prepared and thoughtfully presented, can nourish both the body and soul—especially for people facing serious health challenges. That’s the goal of Ceres Community Project in Sonoma County. Since 2007, the nonprofit has prepared and delivered more than 1.1 million meals designed to support the nutritional needs of primarily low-income patients dealing with illnesses such as cancer and diabetes. But beyond delivering meals, Ceres creates meaningful connections between patients and a community of people who are serving up hope and helping develop healthy food systems. A small staff and hundreds of volunteers—many of them teenagers—grow the food that supplies the organization’s kitchens with fresh, organic produce, and they also prepare and deliver meals. “Food is such a powerful vehicle for creating connection and feelings of being cared for by the community,” said Ceres founder and CEO Cathryn Couch. Ruth Bird of Petaluma, a 70-year-old former Ceres client who was dealing with the debilitating effects of COVID-19, put it simply.
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Glynna Nathan, a teen leader and board member for Ceres Community Project, has volunteered in the organization’s garden and kitchen for four years.
“Food is love,” Bird said. “I could see and taste the care and love that go into every step in making and delivering the meals fromCeres. From the quality to the creativity and the presentation of the food, to the wonderful person who left meals at my door and greeted me so warmly—it all was a godsend.” Supporting teens and communities “While the acts of cooking and delivering food are central to the Ceres mission, our transformational work i s deeper,” Couch sa id. “We’re bui lding st rong communities and helping people think of food in a broader way. That’s where we’ve grown over the years.” Named for the Roman goddess of agriculture, Ceres Community Project helps teens develop life skills as chefs and gardeners in an environment that encourages leadership and helps build awareness of healthy food systems. Adult volunteers, who also grow, prepare and deliver meals, serve as teen mentors. “We are moving teens into the community as they are asking themselves, ‘Who am I in this larger world?,’” Couch said. “The work we do helps young people figure out their value in the community and experience the power of doing something for someone else. That sense of belonging is incredible.” An army of volunteers—325 teens and more than 550 adults—work as gardeners and chefs. Last year alone, volunteers contributed nearly 42,000 hours and delivered more than 181,000 meals to 1,600 clients and their families. Nutrition and comfort Annie Simmons, the culinary program manager at Ceres, began as a volunteer in 2019 and now oversees three Ceres kitchens in Sebastopol, Santa Rosa and Novato. A former restaurant owner and culinary teacher, Simmons designs menus that provide patients with the nutrition they need and the comfort they crave. Menu favorites include oven-fried chicken and potatoes, stir-fried vegetables, meatballs, chowders and chili. All Ceres meals feature nutritionally dense ingredients—an important quality for helping the body heal. She described the kitchen scene when meals are packaged for delivery: “It’s striking to see the packages,
Sara McCamant manages the two Ceres gardens in Sebastopol and Santa Rosa and works with the kitchen staff to provide seasonal produce to clients.
which include cards and bouquets made by volunteers. When each client opens their bag, they’re reminded that they are being cared for,” Simmons said. Meals are prepared for patients as well as their families, who are dealing with the additional stress of caring for their loved ones. “We take away the worry about where the next meal is coming from,” Simmons said. Ingredients for plant-centered meals are sourced from two Ceres organic gardens, local farms and sometimes, backyards. Longtime product donors include Diestel Fami ly Ranch in Sonora, Gourmet Mushrooms/ Mycopia Mushrooms in Sebastopol, Clover Sonoma in Petaluma and Redwood Hill Farm in Sebastopol. Learnings from a garden SaraMcCamant, whomanages the two Ceres gardens in Sebastopol and Santa Rosa, works with the kitchen staff to provide seasonal produce for more than 300 clients and their families every week. Year-round crops include kale and beets, and in the winter, volunteers also harvest bok choy, lettuce and green garlic. “The garden program involves a diversity of volunteers ages 14 to 19 with different abilities,” McCamant said. “The gardens create a space where young volunteers
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March/April 2022
Cathryn Couch is the founder and CEO of Ceres Community Project. Above left, teen volunteers wash kale, one of the crops they’ve just harvested.
Savory soup supports immunity
This rich and savory mushroom bisque is a cool-weather favorite of clients and staff of Ceres Community Project. Mushrooms are a nutrient-dense source of vitamins B and D and contain antioxidants that support a healthy immune system. The Ceres kitchen uses a variety of mushrooms grown in Sonoma County.
CERES MUSHROOMBISQUE
Serves 4
1 lb. mushrooms (can be a mix of cremini, button, shiitake, clamshell or other variety), chopped 1/2 tsp. black pepper 1/2 tsp. poultry seasoning
1/2 tsp. dried thyme 3 tbsp. sherry or Madeira wine 1 tbsp. miso (white or yellow) 1 cup plain oat or cashew milk (see notes) 1 tbsp. minced chives, for garnish
5 cups vegetable broth 3 tbsp. olive oil 2 cups diced sweet or yellow onion 1 tsp. salt 8 oz. silken tofu
Heat broth until almost boiling. Reserve in a heat-proof container. Meanwhile, heat a heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat and add olive oil. When oil is shimmering, add onion and sauté for 2 minutes. Add 1/2 tsp. of the salt and continue sautéing over low heat until onions are golden brown. While onions are cooking, use a blender or immersion blender to blend tofu with hot broth until smooth and creamy. Reserve. Turn heat to medium-high, add mushrooms to onions and sauté, stirring occasionally. Add remaining 1/2 tsp. salt along with pepper, poultry seasoning and thyme. Continue sautéing until mushrooms begin to brown. If desired, remove a small amount of the onion-mushroommix to add back in later for texture. Add sherry and miso and stir until smooth and incorporated, scraping the bottom of the pan. Sauté until almost completely evaporated. Add tofu-broth mix and milk and bring to a simmer. Simmer on low heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally and scraping the bottom of the pan to prevent sticking. Remove pot from heat and allow to cool briefly. Blend on high power until soup is smooth and creamy. Adjust seasonings and serve garnished with minced chives and optional reserved mushrooms. Notes: Whole milk or half-and-half can be used in place of plant-based milk. Nut milk can be made by combining 3 tbsp. nut butter (or 1 cup cashews soaked for at least 6 hours or overnight) with 1 1/2 to 2 cups water and blending.
The Ceres culinary program is managed by chef Annie Simmons, above. At far left, volunteers help get nutritious meals ready for delivery to clients and their families.
can see how theymake a difference. They feel empowered by knowing that harvesting 80 cups of carrots means that 80 families are getting nutritional food. It’s one reason why they stay with the program for as long as they do,” she said. “We ask for a three-month commitment, but several volunteers have worked here for years.” Teen volunteers learn about soil health, food systems and nutrition. Some help lead community workshops, while others go on to pursue policy work. One of those with an eye on influencing public policy is Glynna Nathan, an 18-year-old teen leader and board member at Ceres who has volunteered in the Sebastopol garden since the summer of her freshman year. Now a high school senior, Nathan has logged nearly 500 volunteer hours in both the Ceres kitchen and garden. “Initially, I wanted to learn how to cook and garden in a constructive environment and put my time into the communit y,” sa id Nathan, who lea rned about community advocacy in the process. Looking forward to college, Nathan said she hopes to study public policy and advocate for healthy meals being covered as a medical benefit for those who are ill.
Partners for healthy communities CEO Couch has helped lead that policy effort on local, state and federal levels. She and her team have trained and supported organizations in California and across the country to replicate the Ceres model. “Food needs to be integrated into how we think of health care. Patients fare better and health care costs are lower when hea lthy food is tai lored to meet the nutritional needs of patients,” she said. Looking back, Couch said that what began as an individual gesture—teaching the daughter of a friend to cook—has evolved into a community focused on making a difference for future generations. “It’s been a great journey,” she said. “I’ve learned so much about youth development and health care policies, and I work with such amazing people. “Ceres has been incredibly blessed,” Couch said. “The support fromour community of donors, volunteers and partners has allowed us to do this work.”
Jolaine Collins cbmagazine@californiabountiful.com
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March/April 2022
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Dog Crystal herds a stubborn cow at the Boersma family’s dairy in San Jacinto, above. At right, she eagerly awaits instructions. Below, running the family dairy are the Boersmas—Lauren, Dena, Eric, Hayden and Hannah. In the foreground are their loyal border collies Crystal, left, and Smokey. Not pictured are son Riley and his wife, Cassandra.
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Devotion and
Farm dog contest entries bring winning combination
Story by Linda DuBois ∞ Photos by Melissa Jewel
They’re diligent laborers who help with the arduous workload around farms and ranches. They’re faithful companions who bring joy, and often fun, to farm life. And for some farmers and ranchers these past couple of years, they’ve been something even more: a bright light during a dark time. Such are the tail-wagging winners of the California FarmBureau’s second annual FarmDog Contest. Open to Fa rm Bureau member s , wit h suppor t f rom Nationwide, the contest asked entrants to submit photos and a brief story about their dog. The Grand Prize winner earned $1,000, with First Place receiving $500, Second Place $250 and Third Place $100. The following is the story of the Grand Prize winner: a cow-herding border collie named Crystal. Top dog It was over a year into the pandemic and the Boersma family was drained physically and emotionally. Faced with a staf f ing shortage, Eric and Dena Boersma and their four young-adult children were working long hours, seven days a week at their 1,200- cow dairy in Riverside County’s San Jacinto. “Everyone in the family was exhausted and we just couldn’t keep up,” Dena Boersma said. Herding the cows was especially challenging. With each cow wanting to go in a separate direction, it often took two to three people to move them, she said. “Sometimes there weren’t two people to even do it because we had to be doing other things. So, one person would be trying tomove them, and it was just frustrating and exhausting.” But that was BC—before Crystal. It was son Hayden who came up with the suggestion that changed everything: “What if we had a dog to help us?” While the family had had dogs, cats and other pets,
they had never before had a working dog. But it sounded like a plausible solution. New beginning Af ter much searching, in mid-July, the fami ly adopted 3-year-old border col l ie Crysta l from a California man who trains dogs to herd. She’s been everything the family needed and more. “Whenever she sees a cow, her ears perk up and she gets all excited, ready to go to work,” said Eric Boersma. “Crystal is always by our side when we are in the corrals or pastures, looking intently for her next assignment.” She’s bonded with the whole family—which also includes son Riley and wife Cassandra and daughters Hannah and Lauren—but works especially well with Hayden. He’s invested the most time in learning to work effectively with her, including mastering all the hand signals and commands Crystal already knew. “I had to learn a lot and continue with her training,” he said. For example, “a herding dog’s tendency is just to bring the animals to you, so you also have to teach them to drive them away from you. That takes more practice.” Crystal also needed a little help with her confidence. While she came to the family prof icient at herding smaller animals (she learned with sheep), she was a little afraid of the cows. “Going to cattle is a bit different because they’re a lot bigger and can be more stubborn,” Hayden said. “So, Crystal got a little intimidated once in a while, especially if it was a group of cows and they didn’t really want to go anywhere.” Here’s where Smokey came in. Since getting Crystal, the family has adopted a “retired” cow-herding border collie that needed a home to live out her senior years. While she’s primarily a pet rather than a working dog, Smokey has shown Crystal how to be more assertive with obstinate cows.
2021
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First Place
“Retired” cow-herding border collie Smokey, left, helps Crystal learn how to be more assertive with obstinate cows.
Family member and inspiration Crystal seems to love her work, but at the end of the day, she enjoys relaxing in the house just as much. Dena Boersma notes that Crystal wasn’t really part of a family before coming to them. “She was raised just in training and so she lived in a kennel outside,” she said. “When she comes home, she wants to cuddle up on the sofa and she just wants to be with you. And she doesn’t discriminate…. She loves everyone.” Crystal has brought happiness to a year that not only included the hardships on the dairy, Boersma said, but also the death of her father and a beloved pet dog. “I think she’s taught us some good lessons,” she said. “She’s a little on the small side for a border collie, and she’s a little scared sometimes because the cows are huge, but it doesn’t make her quit. She goes after it. And if she doesn’t get it right the first time, she goes after it again. And when you watch, you’re like, ‘OK, yeah, we can’t completely control our circumstances, but we don’t give up. We just keep going. And we keep trying.’ “She’s so happy and grateful to have food and a warm, safe place to sleep and a family. And I think, you know, we have those same things. We have the ability to work, and we feel like it’s a privilege to be in an essential industry where we provide healthy, nutritious food for people and their families. We have plenty of food ourselves. We have a nice safe, warm, dry place to live. We have a good family. She reminds us to count our blessings and be grateful for what we have and not focus on just the negative or the hard part.” Eric Boersma agrees. “In one of the most difficult years we have ever experienced on our farm,” he said, “Crystal has helped us not only to endure, but also to rediscover the joy that farm life brings.”
Hugo is a good ranch watchdog, but is gentle with the grandchildren, including Kayla Bohan.
Hugo, Great Pyrenees mix Shirley Bohan, Butte County
The Bohan family’s dog Hugo is a 2-year-old Great Pyrenees mix that protects their Polled Hereford cattle from potential predators on their home ranch in Durham and summer pastureland in Lassen National Forest. “After reading about Great Pyrenees, in Ag Alert , being guardian dogs for sheep and cattle, we decided to give it a try,” said Shirley Bohan, who runs the ranch with husband Tim, sons Travis and Evan and daughter-in-law Erin. “Our summer pasture unfortunately was completely burned over by the Dixie Fire, but still abounds with bears and mountain lions,” she said. “Hugo is great at alerting us to possible predators with his large, deep bark. In most cases, those predators choose to retreat rather than bother us.” When not working, Hugo enjoys going for walks with the family every evening when they feed the horses and calves and accompanies them when they are out on the horses checking cattle, riding fence lines or looking for tracks.
Linda DuBois ldubois@californiabountiful.com
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California Farm Bureau’s second annual Farm Dog Contest generated 44 entries from members throughout the state, highlighting a variety of breeds and roles. Here are the stories of the three runners-up. protection, loyalty and companionship
Second Place
Third Place
Scout enjoys riding around the farm on the quad—or any vehicle—with Gary Caviglia.
Harper has been Vanessa Ramirez’s helper and loyal companion at three different ranch jobs.
Harper, Australian shepherd mix Vanessa Ramirez, Monterey County
Scout, German shepherd Gary Caviglia, Tulare County
Scout was found abandoned alongside a roadway as a puppy—and moved from city life to a citrus farm near Visalia in May of 2020. “In one day, she adopted the Caviglia family (Gary, Leslie, Claire and Carly) and the grand life of being a farm dog,” Gary Caviglia said. “Little did we know that she would want to ride in anything that we drove, including the trail motorcycle, quad, brush shredder, skip loader, sprayer, weed oiler, forklift, topper and hedger.” On a typical day, before sunrise as Caviglia starts his day, Scout runs up the hill to clear the area of any lingering dogs or coyotes to make sure it is safe. Once in the vehicles, she continues to be on the lookout for anything that appears dangerous or that might chew the irrigation lines. “We don’t think the jackrabbits are too bothersome, but Scout sends them on their way,” Caviglia said.
Vanessa Ramirez and her 4-year-old Australian shepherd mix have worked together on three ranches and moved multiple times. “As a puppy, Harper worked on the ranches with me every day. She was so well behaved and very attentive. She thrives working alongside animals,” Ramirez said. Their first job was on a water buffalo ranch, followed by a goat and sheep farmstead creamery. A natural herder, Harper helped move the animals in and out of the milking parlors. Now Ramirez works on a goat and sheep operation where Harper can’t go every day. “I cherish the days she does get to come out and work with me,” Ramirez said. “She is so great about walking behind the tractor as I feed, and she walks around the barn like she owns it! “We currently live on a cattle ranch. We hike the ranch every night, and it is essential to have her with me in case we run into a mountain lion.”
californiabountiful.com 21
Copious color Accidental find on family property leads to thriving iris garden
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Mary Ann Horton, center, runs the Horton Iris Garden with help from her whole family, including her daughter, Lori Kambe, and her husband, Ed. Her two sons and their wives also pitch in.
Story by Pat Rubin • Photos by Fred Greaves
It’s a short drive from Interstate 80 to the Horton Iris Garden near the small Placer County town of Loomis. Once you exit the freeway, though, the scenery changes quickly and includes more horses than houses. Visitors enter the garden via a country driveway that snakes aroundmassive rock outcroppings and past an old farmhouse before spilling out onto large swaths of lawn framing beds of irises. Between them, they house nearly 1,500 varieties of bearded iris (also called German iris), all reaching their peak of bloom during April and May. The names are fun to read: Crackling Caldera, Foggy Morning, Laced Handkerchief, Riverboat Gambler, Waltz Across Texas. The beds are organized in rows and the irises are clearly labeled. The drill is simple: Order your favorite irises from a Horton family member and then return in August to pick up the rhizomes, which are harvested in July when the plants are dormant. For those who need instant gratification, a small selection of potted irises is available for sale. Jill Morris of Placerville, who has been coming to the garden for about 15 years, brought three friends with her last spring. “My friends had never been and I thought it would be a good day trip,” she said. Her cousin, StaceyVreeken, also fromPlacerville, bought amixof old-fashionedandnewvarieties of irises. “The familymembers were all there to help and tell us about their history,” she said. Property’s past Mary Ann Horton, a retired community college math teacher, and her husband, Ed, opened Horton Iris Garden in 1999. It is open in April and May during bloom and then in mid-August through October for order pickup and bareroot rhizomes purchases. In October, the focus shifts to the cut-your-own pumpkin patch, run by Mary Ann’s son Doug. New additions this year are a Harvest Market with vendors, a cut-your-own flower garden, and digging, dividing and planting demonstrations. The whole Horton family is involved. Ed starts each morning checking the irrigation valves and making sure screens on the water lines are clean. Mary Ann’s daughter, Lori Kambe, handles social media, son Doug concentrates on maintenance, while his wife, Jennifer, and Mary Ann’s youngest son and wife provide extra help on busy weekends.
Caring The property, which is the inspiration for the garden, has been in Ed’s family since 1857 when his great-grandfather paid Placer County $10 to allow him to settle there and later applied for homestead status for the 240 acres. He raised cattle and mined for gold. In the early 1900s, the family planted fruit orchards and built a shed where they packed grapes, pears, plums and peaches. The land and the farmhouse sat abandoned for many years until Ed began renovating the house in the 1980s. In 1990, he and Mary Annmarried and began the formidable task of clearing the overgrown blackberries and weeds.
Irises are tough, resilient plants that don’t ask for much more than plenty of sun. Seven hours a day minimum keeps them happy and blooming. The rhizomes like to rest slightly in the ground with their tops exposed to the sun. When planting, dig out the soil just a tad, lay the rhizome in the depression and press the soil firmly around the sides of the rhizomes. Give them some water. Keep the plants damp but not soggy until they are established. Once the winter rains begin, stop watering and let Mother Nature do the job. Rule of thumb, Mary Ann Horton says, is it’s always better to underwater than to overwater. Fertilize twice a year (she recommends Valentine’s Day and in the fall) with a balanced fertilizer: 10-10-10 or 15-15-15.
“When I moved in, the Johnson grass along the sides of the driveway was so high it got caught on the mirrors of my car,” Mary Ann recalled. “Ed bought me a riding lawnmower. The grass was higher than the lawnmower.” Life-changing discovery During the cleaning-up process,Mary Ann discovered clumps of old-fashioned irises, as well as beautiful rock outcroppings among the weeds. She created flower beds around the rocks and soon began collecting new and old iris varieties. She visited old farmhouses in the area to look for irises and collected many varieties that would otherwise be lost to cultivation. Some she was able to identify, while the names of others are lost forever. She kept planting and buying irises. Ed jokes that his “Grandma Pearl carried away as many rocks and boulders as she could, but Mary Ann has carried them back, plus more.” Mary Ann knew little about irises when she started and certainly had no inkling that finding those irises in the weeds would change her life. “My mother had a long row of irises planted when I was growing up,” she said. “We didn’t know the names of any of them, but I remember how beautiful they were in bloom.” The garden grew and grew, and it wasn’t long beforeMary Ann opened the garden to friends and visitors. Along the way, she became a certified iris judge and now trains others to judge irises. The rest, she says, is history.
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Irises come in many beautiful colors, top photos. Above, a visitor chats with Horton Iris Garden founder Mary Ann Horton. At right, Nancy Crocker, Stacey Vreeken, Jenny Duffy and Jill Morris enjoy exploring the garden on a sunny day.
Sharing the beauty The family doesn’t keep track of how many visitors come through each year, but Mary Ann says the parking lot, which can hold about 120 cars, is full, with cars coming and going many weekends, especially around Mother’s Day. “A lot of people come to see the irises but not necessarily to buy,” she said. Nevertheless, sales were up about 50 percent last season, which she attributed to enhancedmarketing efforts and more people seeking outdoor activities during the pandemic. Horton Iris Garden is one of a handful of iris gardens still open inCalifornia. More have failed than succeeded. Mary Ann attributes her success to customer service and to being organized. “An iris farm is not something you do to make a lot of money,” she said. “It’s hard work but it’s fun. We are very organized, organized chaos I call it, but organized.” Many visitors ask which iris is her favorite. While there are a few irises she especially loves, she says she can’t pick just one. “My favorite is usually the one I’m looking at as we walk through the garden,” she said. “Ask me again as we walk a little farther and I’ ll have another favorite. I used to tell people I could f ind a new favorite every 10 feet, but now I say I can only walk about 4 feet before finding another favorite.”
Saving Farms Saving Profits Saving Futures
CHAPTER 12
Imagine a Better Future | Restore Your Farming Legacy Eliminate debt. Stop foreclosure. Stop repossessions. Cancel bad vendor and packing house contracts. Sell farmland with little to no capital gains tax.
Pat Rubin cbmagazine@californiabountiful.com
Free Consultation | 760.884.4444 | www.JDL.law
Nutty walnut butter for
Once tasted, creamy spread is met with surprise, enthusiasm
Story by Linda DuBois • Photos by Fred Greaves
Every single morning, 6-year-old Cade Etchepare wants the same thing for breakfast: a bagel with walnut butter. He changes his routine only by rotating among the butter’s three f lavor options: original, maple and salted caramel. His twin sister, Lena, prefers more variety. She likes walnut butter with bagels, too, but also with oatmeal, yogurt, fruit—and just about anything else that’s edible. The kids always have plenty on hand because their dad, Leon, not only sells walnut butter, he makes it and grows the walnuts, too.
Adding value A fourth-generation farmer in Maxwell who also grows almonds, Leon Etchepare started the Wellnut Farms walnut butter company in 2014 with friend and fellow walnut farmer Kevin Amator, who runs a hulling and shelling operation. When the pair noticed tree-nut prices were falling, they decided to pursue selling a product made with the nuts to stabilize some income, Etchepare explained. At f irst, they considered almond butter, but the California Walnut Board, which had begun to develop
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“We find that most people have never heard of walnut butter.”
— JOANNA MALSON Wellnut Farms
The Etchepare family owns a 5,000-acre orchard in Colusa County, with about 60% walnuts. At left, Leon Etchepare enjoys eating Wellnut Farms walnut butter, as do his children: daughter Lena and, above, son Cade.
walnut butter recipes, changed their minds. “Kevin and I were like, ‘Hey, why not? …There’s not really a mainstream walnut butter on the market.’” They started with the basic Walnut Board recipes, and after a big investment of time and money, the pair came up with the perfect blend of ingredients to make the butters suitable for retail sale. “It took about a year and a half of formulations and trials and studies to figure out how to get walnuts shelf stable,” Etchepare said. And because each nut has unique amounts of oil and moisture, it took another few years to get each batch’s texture consistent. Their resulting formula includes a touch of palm oil to keep the butters smooth, shelf stable and consistent, as well as sea salt, natural f lavors and just enough cane sugar (2 to 3 grams per serving) to cut any bitter bite. Making the butter Because Etchepare’s family farm grows 12 million
pounds of walnuts each year, only a fraction of them are made into butters. After harvest, these nuts are hulled, washed and dried onsite, and then go to an offsite sheller before being returned, where a small staff roasts and grinds them, mixes in the other ingredients and then jars and labels the butters. Initially an outside company made the butters. But in July of 2019, Etchepare launched his own co-packer, Nutopia Foods, which makes the butters as needed in small batches to ensure freshness. To warrant the investment, keep his staff busy and help sma l l businesses, Nutopia a lso makes other companies’ nut butters with pistachios, pecans, hazelnuts, almonds and cashews. “In a utopic world, we all get along and help out each other and treat each other well,” Etchepare said, in explaining his business philosophy and the origin of the Nutopia name.
“We really try to concentrate on soil health so that the plant is as healthy as possible to fight off any diseases and pests,” Etchepare said. “We are almost 100% solar for all our electrical usage. We use natural gas or propane, if not electricity, to power most of our irrigation pumps. We use mating disruption to combat insects, helping us reduce our pesticide usage by over half. We ensure we use the right amount of water, through sensors in the ground and micro sprinklers and drip on everything— nothing’s f lood irrigated. We take tissue samples from the trees every month so we know the right amount of fertilizer.” While farming is hard work and can be stressful, Etchepare says growing food is in his blood—and he loves it. “Every day’s a new challenge. Every year is a different year, which makes it fun and interesting,” he said. “You’re also creating food and people enjoy food a lot. We obviously need food to live, but food is also something that brings us all together. We can have meals together and we can share recipes and it brings a lot of joy to people.” Great for health nuts He also knows he’s growing a nutritious food. Walnuts are rich in protein, fiber and magnesium, and
Growing the walnuts Running Wellnut Farms and Nutopia Foods would keep Etchepare busy enough, but neither is his primary occupation. Etchepare’s great-grandfather, an immigrant from France, was an indentured servant to a sheep rancher and later started his own herd of sheep with his brothers. The ensuing generations continued farming, eventually shifting to rice and row crops. In the mid-1990s, the family started planting walnuts and almonds. Now, the combined orchard is 5,000 acres, with about 60% walnuts. Called Emerald Farms, the farming operation is now owned by Etchepare, his dad and his aunt. They decided this past fall to stop growing row crops, in part because many employees quit during the pandemic and they needed the remaining workers for the orchard. “I’ve gone more away from doing the daily tasks on the farm to more management since I’m now in charge of a large farming operation, a co-packing facility and a retail brand,” Etchepare said. “But at least one day a week, if not more, I try to get out and walk the orchards.” Etchepare says taking a sustainable approach to farming helps offset challenges for farmers, who face rising costs, pests, crop diseases, fires, smoke, regulations, drought andwater restrictions.
Walnuts are rich in protein, fiber and magnesium, and may help control appetite and contribute to gut health. But they are especially acclaimed for their healthful fatty acids.
Joanna Malson, Wellnut Farms’ director of sales and marketing, works with farmer Leon Etchepare, who co-owns the walnut butter retail brand with his business partner Kevin Amator, not pictured.
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