Bay Area Green Tour offers a close up on local food production
Last October, I decided to take a Farm to Fork tour on a whim. The “whim” part of travel is relatively common for me, but I’m also one who likes to have everything under my own control, so signing up for a group tour was something I did quickly, before I could think too hard about it.
On the recommendation of a friend, I joined the Farm to Fork tour out to the Capay Valley last October, and within minutes of getting on the 80 East, I was happily lulled by the sway of the bus, and relieved I could just lean back and chat with my seat mates, rather than have to attend to the road. Ceding control had been a good idea.
Bay Area Green Tours’ Farm to Fork Tours capitalize upon the growing interest in local, organic and sustainably raised food. The tours are highly insightful, and ultimately social ways to explore the provenance of our food with like-minded people from across the Bay. My tourmates came in from as far as the South Bay and Marin, and as close as downtown Berkeley.
The Capay Valley Farm to Fork Tour took us out to three organic farms, the names of which we knew well from our local farmers’ markets and our CSAs – Riverdog Farm, Full Belly Farm, and Capay Organic, purveyor of Farm Fresh to You.
Through the tour, I came to better understand the methods by which an organic farmer must aggressively manage his or her land to achieve the same tasty crops a conventional farmer would through the use of chemicals and pesticides.
Thad Barsotti, manager and part owner of Capay Organic, described to us the intensive rotation cycle of his fields to keep pests at bay, and the use of fava beans and other legumes to restore nitrogen to the soil. Paul Muller at Full Belly talked about the development of farming in Capay since his and his wife’s own start over 30 years ago, and Tim Mueller of Riverdog taught us about the challenges of maintaining stable sales and employment for his crew year-round.
So I decided to take another Farm to Fork Tour this last weekend to visit three farms and ranches in Marin. Organized in conjunction with Marin Agricultural Land Trust (MALT), our tour guides and the farmers and ranchers we met – at Quetzal Farm, Red Hill Ranch, and Stemple Creek Ranch – taught us about MALT’s role in helping farmers find financial stability and developing legal protection to keep Marin green, and we discussed frankly the challenge and satisfaction of raising chickens, sheep and cows in an organic and sustainable manner.
It’s not easy, warned Keith Abele of Quetzal Farm, but it is deeply satisfying, confirmed his business partner, Kevin McEnnis, who got his start in farming via aide work in Guatemala over a decade ago.
“I’ve been lucky,” Kevin told us. “I came into farming believing in organic agriculture and really wanting to make organic agriculture happen.”
Kitty Dolcini, co-owner of Red Hill Ranch, and whose family’s farming roots in Marin go back to the 1850s, fed us egg salad sandwiches from her own roost of 400 chickens, and salad from County Line, which leases part of her land for fruit and vegetable cultivation. And Loren Poncia, a third generation co-owner of Stemple Creek Ranch, served up tasty short ribs and burgers from his own all-natural, organic herd.
Tour attendees were a mix of singles, couples, and families who had all joined the tour out of interest in sustainable organic farming and ranching methods, and who wanted to learn more about the food production behind the stands they purchase from at their farmers’ markets. Said Sally, one of my tourmates who had just moved out from Chicago, “I came on the tour to explore more of what the Bay Area has to offer – sun, great food, beautiful scenery, and fantastic farmers.”
You know I love me my iMovie, so I made a little video of the trip. Excuse the camera though, I only had my old point and shoot to film on.