Posts Tagged: farm

Farms and ranches sell direct online - Please help grow connections!

Communities support their local farms and ranches
During this COVID-19 emergency, as most agritourism operations have canceled events and on-farm activities, many are refocusing on direct sales - selling  to their local community members directly through on-line sales, CSAs, and pick-up and delivery services. UC SAREP is helping consumers purchase directly from local farms and ranches by sharing connections to local farmers all over California on our UC Agritourism Directory, www.calagtour.org.

The new webpage, COVID-19 Shelter-in-Place Direct-from-Farm Resources, includes information and links to local agricultural and community organizations connecting consumers with farms and ranches offering box deliveries, farm stands, online ordering, delivery and pickup services, organized by region.

We need you! Please help grow these connections
Resources for connecting with local farmers and ranchers in many California regions are not yet included on this website. We need your help!

If you are an organization promoting local direct sales by farmers and ranchers, or if you are an individual farmer or rancher who would like to be included on this page, please contact Penny Leff, UC SAREP agritourism coordinator, at paleff@ucdavis.edu.

Farmers' markets open as "Essential Services"
In many areas, farmers' markets remain open, with major adjustments for social distancing and sanitary protection for everyone involved. These farmers' markets are essential for farmers as well as consumers, and are a wonderful way for community members to support local farms, but some have changed hours or limited their seasons. Please check the website or Facebook page of your local farmers' market before you visit to learn of any changes.

The Ecology Center has a great tracking tool which allows users to search for farmers' markets and filter for Market Match and EBT acceptance: https://ecologycenter.org/fmfinder/

 

 

 

Congress approves Farm Bill reauthorization

The House and Senate have passed the compromise Farm Bill, sending the legislation to the president for his signature.

Capital Public Radio's Julia Mitric asked Glenda Humiston, UC vice president for agriculture and natural resources, what the Farm Bill holds for UC ANR and California.

"What's fascinating about the Farm Bill is, after all that hyper-partisan debate … it's really a lot of the same of what we already had," said Humiston, adding that it includes an increase of $25 million a year for research on specialty crops.

That's good news for California growers because nearly all of California's 400 crops are considered specialty crops in federal parlance and over 50 percent of the nation's fruits and vegetables are grown in California. Those federal grants will cover many areas, from developing climate-resilient farming practices to combating California's many invasive pests, Humiston said.

The Farm Bill removed hemp from the definition of a controlled substance, which will allow it once again be produced for agricultural purposes. This is exciting for UC Cooperative Extension researchers who are interested in helping farmers manage and grow this new crop.

Reauthorization of the Farm Bill is important to UC because it provides critical support for the nation's land-grant institutions, including agricultural research extension and infrastructure programs and nutrition education programs.

Overall, the final version of the Farm Bill represents a positive outcome for UC. In addition to specialty crop research, the bill contains strong support for organic agriculture research and also includes helpful provisions to address unnecessary regulatory burdens faced by researchers. The bill also preserves the competitive grants for citrus research.

Federal definition of 'rural' prevents California from getting adequate ag research funding

USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue held a town hall at World Ag Expo in Tulare on Feb. 13 to listen to suggestions for the upcoming Farm Bill. VP Glenda Humiston was among those present for the discussion.

Todd Fitchette of Western Farm Press wrote: “While trade, labor and regulatory issues may top the list of agricultural policy issues Perdue  faces in Washington D.C., Glenda Humiston, Vice President of the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources Division of the state's Land Grant university, stressed the importance of adequate research funding and federal definitions of rural versus urban, which she said is having detrimental impacts across California on important program funding.

“Humiston said that while UCANR has a ‘proud tradition of research in California,' the university is plagued by reduced budgets at the same time the state is plagued by a new invasive pest every several weeks. She said for the university to stay ahead of these issues and to help growers in these and many other areas, additional funding is vital.

“The United States is losing the battle over agricultural research with China, which spends more in that sector, Humiston says. She continues to trumpet the idea of greater broadband access to rural areas of the state as new agriculture will demand internet upgrades for technology like sensors and driverless spray rigs.”

In private communication, Fitchette mentioned that widespread applause broke out across the audience in response to Humiston's comments.

“If a county has one town that has 50,000 population in it, the entire county is labeled metropolitan for purposes of allocating funding,” Humiston said, wrote Chelsea Shannon of the Hanford Sentinel.

Matthew Sarr of the Porterville Recorder also covered the event.

Sonny Perdue hears from California growers at World Ag Expo (Western Farm Press)

Sec. Sonny Perdue visits World Ag Expo (Hanford Sentinel)

World Ag Expo: Secretary Perdue takes pulse of agriculture community (Porterville Recorder)

Still Dirty at Thirty! Hoes Down Harvest Festival at Full Belly Farm

The Hoes Down Harvest Festival invites all to play on October 7, 2017

About thirty years ago, young organic farmers Dru Rivers of Full Belly Farm and Annie Main of Good Humus Produce were having trouble selling their dried-flower wreaths at small shops and art shows around Davis, so they had a little brain-wave. They decided to bring people out to the farm to see where the flowers were grown. To their surprise, two or three hundred people showed up for an afternoon at Full Belly Farm in the Capay Valley, a couple of hours northeast of the San Francisco Bay Area.

Dru gave a spinning demonstration and introduced the visitors to a few sheep. Annie, Dru and two other women in the wreath-making group gave a wreath-making demo and led a tour of the farm. Dru remembers, “ It might have been a potluck; we didn't sell any food. There was some sort of music, probably bluegrass. People walked down to the creek. The trail was all overgrown then; there wasn't a path. It was a miracle that people came, even some people we didn't know! We probably sold about five wreaths that day.” That was the first Hoes Down Harvest Festival and the start of a tradition enjoyed by thousands of Northern Californians.

A few months later, at the annual EcoFarm Conference of California organic farmers, an announcement on the bulletin board invited everyone to the second annual Hoes Down Harvest Festival, a fundraiser for the EcoFarm Conference, tickets $5 a person. There was no going back.

The annual festival grew by a hundred or more people every year. Dru Rivers was the primary Hoes Down coordinator for many years. Full Belly Farm partner Judith Redmond coordinated the volunteers. Annie Main was the brains behind the children's area full of farm crafts, ice-cream making, a huge hay fort, story telling and games. Other Capay Valley farmers and community members joined in the effort every year as organizing volunteers. Hundreds, and then thousands, of San Francisco Bay Area and Sacramento farmers' market shoppers and Capay Valley farms' CSA members made the annual drive to enjoy the festival and visit the source of their vegetables.

In the early years, creativity thrived on a shoestring budget. Dru recalls, “for three or four years we used to to put up long irrigation pipes and string a huge nylon tarp that had come from Christo's ‘Running Fence' project to make a big tent.” These days, a crew sets up large festival tents and awnings for the event.

After running entirely on volunteer energy for more than fifteen years, the organizers hired a former Full Belly Farm intern, Gwenael Engelskirchen, as part-time Hoes Down coordinator in 2002. Gwenael, who now works with the UC Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program, says she started in late spring. The monthly organizing meetings at Full Belly Farm usually were ten or twenty people – each taking responsibility for an area; music, crafts vendors, kids area, food, even a committee on how to make the festival environmentally friendly. For many years, before biodegradable plates and utensils, Hoes Down organizers borrowed hundreds of dishes from Davis's Whole Earth Festival, which were washed by several shifts of volunteers all day and into the night.

The Hoes Down Harvest Festival has always been a community effort, drawing on the volunteer energy of Capay Valley farmers and community members for months of planning and on donations from food to equipment to art and wine for the silent auction. Gwenael remembers a big roll of poster paper taped to the wall of the barn about ten days before the festival, listing all the donations from farms, businesses and vendors, and the names of who would drive where to pick up what in time for the festival.

After months of organizing effort, another 400 volunteers show up for the festival to be part of what has become well-managed organized chaos. Gwenael says, “From a farming point of view, you watch the total transformation of a working farm to an event facility and back in a weekend. On Friday the volunteers arrive and set everything up – the tents, the tables, the stages and everything else. On Saturday, thousands of people arrive for the festival and many stay for Sunday tours and classes. On Sunday afternoon, the clean-up crew takes it all down. On Monday, Full Belly is back to work as a working farm.”

Dru Rivers and Annie Main have passed leadership of organizing the Hoes Down Harvest Festival to the next generation. Dru's daughter, Hallie Muller Ochoa, took over as Festival Coordinator six or seven years ago, and has now handed the job over to Claire Main, Annie Main's daughter. A young neighbor farmer, Annie Hehner, is now in charge of the popular children's area.

All of the proceeds from the Hoes Down Harvest Festival go to non-profit organizations that support sustainable agriculture and rural living. Over its thirty year history, the festival has raised about a million dollars. The 2016 Hoes Down Festival raised about $90,000. None of the money raised has gone to Full Belly Farm; it has all been donated to organic farming and local agricultural organizations. Beneficiaries include the Ecological Farming Association, Community Alliance with Family Farms, agricultural scholarships for local high school students, the local 4H club, Future Farmers of America, and other local organizations.

On October 7, 2017, Full Belly Farm is expecting five or six thousand visitors to celebrate “Still Dirty at Thirty!” – the 30^th annual Hoes Down Harvest Festival. Everyone will enjoy music and good food and a circus. Some will do si do in the afternoon contra dance. Some will play in the river and shop for arts and crafts. Some will watch sheep be shorn and then card and spin some wool into yarn or carve pumpkins or paint gourds, or pet baby goats or churn ice cream. Some will go on farm tours and join workshops on creating herbal remedies or growing the earliest tomatoes. Many will dance into the evening, camp overnight in the walnut orchard, and get up Sunday morning to a hearty farm breakfast and more tours and workshops.

You are invited to bring friends and family to join the fun!
Full Belly Farm, 16090 County Road 43, Guinda CA 95637?

MAIN FESTIVAL: ?Saturday, October 7, 2017?11am - 11 pm?

BUY YOUR TICKETS HERE!??

Admission Prices?
Adults: $25 online, $30 at the gate?
Children (2-12): $5 - ?Under 2: Free?
Saturday Night Camping: $30 per car - no reservations are needed!

Visit California Farms and Ranches - learn more at www.calagtour.org

UC Cooperative Extension invites community to California Regional Agritourism Summits

The University of California Small Farm Program and UC Cooperative Extension advisors in four California regions are working with local partners to organize Regional Agritourism Summits for everyone involved in California agritourism. The Summits will be occasions for farmers, ranchers, county planners, the tourism community and others involved to share, learn, and plan together.

Regional Agritourism Summits 2017

Agritourism operators, tourism professionals, county, city and state staff and officials, community organizations, agricultural organizations, tour organizers and all others who are connected to California agritourism are invited to join the conversations. Presentations and discussion topics will include county regulations; marketing plans; social media and event organizing training sessions; itinerary development; liability; financing ideas for agritourism development; and more.

Each summit was planned by a local team to best reflect the needs of the region, so each will be unique. Each summit will be a participatory, all-day session with lunch provided.

Participants are invited to bring marketing and organizational information to display and share.

To register and learn more, please visit http://ucanr.edu/summits2017. A registration fee of $25 is requested, payable online or by check.

• Yolo/Sacramento/Solano Agritourism Summit: Monday, February 13, 2017
  UC ANR Building, 2801 Second Street, Davis CA 95618
  
• Sonoma/Marin Agritourism Summit: Thursday, February 16, 2017
  Petaluma Community Center, Lucchesi Park, 320 N. McDowell Blvd, Petaluma CA 95954
  
• Stanislaus/San Joaquin/Merced Agritourism Summit: Thursday, March 23, 2017
  Stanislaus County Agricultural Center, 3800 Cornucopia Way, Modesto, CA 95358
  
• Riverside/San Bernardino/San Diego Agritourism Summit: Wed., March 29, 2017
  La Sierra University, 4500 Riverwalk Pkwy, Riverside, CA 92505

UC Small Farm Program Agritourism Resources
The UC Small Farm Program has been working for more than 15 years with UC Cooperative Extension advisors and others to develop resources and connections for California agritourism operators. The UC agritourism website hosts useful factsheets and research.  The online agritourism directory and events calendarhelps visitors find farms and ranches to visit. And, the monthly California Agritourism newsletter shares news and resources for the agritourism community.

Funding for this project was provided in part by the USDA Farmers' Market Promotion Program.

More Information: Penny Leff, UCCE Agritourism Coordinator, paleff@ucdavis.edu, 530-752-7779.

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