Full Belly Farm, established in 1985, is a highly diversified 350-acre certified organic farm

located in the Capay Valley. We grow vegetables, fruits and flowers and sell them at farmers

markets, to restaurants and stores and to wholesale distributors.

We have a permanent, full-time, year-round position open for a Sales Specialist. This job

involves coordinating sales of Full Belly products to dozens of different accounts on a daily

basis.

For more information about this position, please contact judith@fullbellyfarm.com

I am wondering if anyone has worked with either of these companies in the SF Bay Area. I am in Yolo County.

The GoodEggs folk are so nice, but driving my product into SF seems a bit much.

GrubMarket says that they pick up? Is this really true? Does anyone have experience with them? Does the customer pay them or pay the farmer directly?

Any info would be appreciated.

Read on as we recap highlights of the discussion, including ideas on perennial vs. annual crops, heat tolerance in crop varieties and better ways to manage water resources.

As always, if you have great ideas to share on climate change and agriculture, post a question or comment to the Conversations. We love to hear from you!

Hi Nice People - I hope you are all enjoying a great Memorial Day weekend.

I need to buy a produce scale for accurately (and legally!) weighing produce for sale. I am looking for something that can weigh anywhere from a few ounces up to 20-30 pounds. Does anyone have a scale they love and recommend? There are so many choices and varieties out there it's a bit overwhelming, so I thought I would just ask for a recommendation

Many thanks - Nadine Schaeffer

Small family-owned organic farm being developed in the Capay Valley (7 acres olive orchard, small apricot orchard, experimental wine grapes, hedgerows, native meadows and a stock plant garden for propagation) is looking for help managing the farm. Part of the 70-acre property is fallow and the farm manager will be able to utilize this land for themselves. It is a bit of a jack-of-all-trades job description and a sustainable agriculture background is closest to hitting the average of all duties. It is a full time permanent job for one and perhaps best as a full time job split/shared by two.

The job involves planting, orchard care, harvest and harvest management, product sales and delivery, record keeping, ground squirrel/gopher control, materials/parts ordering and purchasing, irrigation installation/maintenance/repairs, edible garden maintenance, light carpentry; and general repairs. Compensation includes

Small family-owned organic farm being developed in the Capay Valley (7 acres olive orchard, small apricot orchard, experimental wine grapes, hedgerows, native meadows and a stock plant garden for propagation) is looking for help managing the farm. Part of the 70-acre property is fallow and the farm manager will be able to utilize this land for themselves. It is a bit of a jack-of-all-trades job description and a sustainable agriculture background is closest to hitting the average of all duties. It is a full time permanent job for one and perhaps best as a full time job split/shared by two.

The job involves planting, orchard care, harvest and harvest management, product sales and delivery, record keeping, ground squirrel/gopher control, materials/parts ordering and purchasing, irrigation installation/maintenance/repairs, edible garden maintenance, light carpentry; and general repairs. Compensation includes a salary (amount commensurate with experience), health insurance, and high quality land for use.

For additional information, contact Ron Lutsko, Jr, Ron@lutskoassociates.com

Locally Grown? Facts vs. Fantasy. There's always lots of positive energy on FarmsReach but it is important for farmers and farmers-to-be to stay aware of exactly how difficult it is to make a living in this profession. Local food is still a big buzzword, but here are a few points of information about the trends that are really affecting agriculture in the state of California (I have sources for all if you would like to read more):

-- According to the USDA, vegetable consumption in the U.S. fell in 2012. This is part of a longer term trend.

-- Total production acreage of fresh produce in CA fell last year, as did acreage of most specific fresh produce crops. The exceptions included strawberries and melons.

-- Produce wholesalers and retailers pay lip service to "locally grown". However, when the price spread becomes significant, their commitment disappears. CA asparagus growers stopped harvesting this

Locally Grown? Facts vs. Fantasy. There's always lots of positive energy on FarmsReach but it is important for farmers and farmers-to-be to stay aware of exactly how difficult it is to make a living in this profession. Local food is still a big buzzword, but here are a few points of information about the trends that are really affecting agriculture in the state of California (I have sources for all if you would like to read more):

-- According to the USDA, vegetable consumption in the U.S. fell in 2012. This is part of a longer term trend.

-- Total production acreage of fresh produce in CA fell last year, as did acreage of most specific fresh produce crops. The exceptions included strawberries and melons.

-- Produce wholesalers and retailers pay lip service to "locally grown". However, when the price spread becomes significant, their commitment disappears. CA asparagus growers stopped harvesting this year because Mexican asparagus was priced below the cost of production.

-- The minimum wage in California is set to rise this year and again in 2016. Already, a new bill has been introduced in the legislature that increases it even more. It will most likely pass on a party line vote of urban politicians.

-- The crops that are expanding in California are primarily mechanically harvested commodities including nuts, grapes and hay.

-- Prices for these crops are at record highs, driven by exports.

-- These capital- and land-intensive crops are driving up the cost of land dramatically all over the state.

My point, basically, is that "Locally Grown" is window-dressing for what is a continuing macroeconomic trend towards large scale, mechanized agriculture in California. Our policymakers do not recognize this trend and continue to promote public policy that actually makes it harder and harder for small farmers to survive. As a farmer, you need to be aware of these trends and also try to communicate about them to your customers and local policymakers at every opportunity.

Hi all,

Just wondering what farmers and interns/apprentices are doing about health care insurance now that Affordable Care Act is here?

Thanks!

Marisa

NCAT-ATTRA

We are writing to you about an issue that is very important for all of us -- farmers and community members -- to understand. We are asking you to help by submitting comments to support your local family farmers. The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), passed by Congress in 2010, gives the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) broad powers over how farmers grow fruits and vegetables. We think there are some very serious problems with their proposals and since the deadline for submitting comments is November 15, we are writing to you now.

The FDA Proposed Rule seeks to reduce food safety problems, but their proposals don't get anywhere near the heart of the matter. The regulations are being developed by buyers, manufacturers, processors, handlers, auditors and now the FDA and all of them are trying to place 100% of the responsibility for "food safety" on the farm. The proposed FDA Standards

We are writing to you about an issue that is very important for all of us -- farmers and community members -- to understand. We are asking you to help by submitting comments to support your local family farmers. The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), passed by Congress in 2010, gives the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) broad powers over how farmers grow fruits and vegetables. We think there are some very serious problems with their proposals and since the deadline for submitting comments is November 15, we are writing to you now.

The FDA Proposed Rule seeks to reduce food safety problems, but their proposals don't get anywhere near the heart of the matter. The regulations are being developed by buyers, manufacturers, processors, handlers, auditors and now the FDA and all of them are trying to place 100% of the responsibility for "food safety" on the farm. The proposed FDA Standards for the Growing, Harvesting, Packing, and Holding of Produce for Human Consumption have a number of problems that sustainable agriculture advocates, including both farmers and consumers are very concerned about.

The website of the Community Alliance with Family Farmers has all the helpful information that you might need, including instructions on How to Comment or you can go straight to the comment site. There are two proposed rules, make sure that you comment on the Produce one.

If the proposed Produce Rule goes forward, it will require costly changes in production practices with little scientific justification and doubtful reduction in food poisoning outbreaks. Based on previous history with implementation of "food safety" regulations in the 1980's, many family farmers will go out of business, and others will stop growing certain crops once full implementation takes place. Please take a few minutes to submit comments! The FDA is staffed by people who know little about agriculture. Those of you who are in touch with a local farm may have more expertise than them!

Here is an example of comments that you could submit directly onto the government website:

The proposed Rule is too expensive. The cost of the Rule will reduce the ability of new farmers to start farms and will require other family famers to seek off-farm jobs to offset the financial burden. Weekly microbial water tests and the need for consultants and new staff will mean lower wages for productive crew members and more employment for expensive consultants.

The proposed Rule makes it more difficult to use compost. This is in direct conflict with the established federal Organic Program, even though Congress ordered that the new Rule should not conflict with it. The FDA should eliminate the requirement for a 45-day interval between the application of compost on a field and the harvest of produce from that field. The waiting period is unnecessary because compost used on farms is already required to be tested pathogen free. This burden on farms that use compost is unscientific, especially considering the wealth of data showing that soil treated with compost is more suppressive of human pathogens than soil not treated with compost.

The proposed Rule makes it impossible to include grazing animals in a crop rotation. The Rule appears to require a 9-month waiting period between the time when grazing animals have been on a field and the time that crops are harvested from the field. This should be clarified and the 9-month waiting period should be eliminated because few, if any farms, can fallow their fields for 9 months. Farms that use animals in their rotations till the soil after the animals leave and organic farms generally observe a 120-day waiting period. This results in highly fertile soil that is suppressive of human pathogens. Grazing animals are an important part of a healthy crop rotation. Taking all the farm animals off the farm and putting them in concentrated animal feeding operations was the reason that many of the serious human pathogens like E. coli 0157 developed in the first place.

The proposed Rule requires excessive water testing. Weekly water tests for surface irrigation water is unrealistic and the science isn't available to support either this frequency or the test for generic E. coli. The standard of water testing being proposed is not based on relevant scientific data. Until better science and data are available, the FDA should reconsider this prohibitively expensive requirement.

The Rule should encourage conservation practices. The FDA should explicitly encourage the use of conservation practices to address food safety issues. No more habitat should be destroyed in the name of "food safety". The Rule should protect practices like installing native plant buffers for pollinator habitat that benefit both wildlife and food safety.

Tell the FDA that short supply chains are best. Food from many local farms goes direct from the fields on one day, to the consumer the next day. The consumer knows where it comes from and there are no intermediaries. This limits any food borne risk to the general public. The short interval between harvest and sale limits the growth of pathogens after harvest. Because the produce is harvested by professional crews, by hand, if there were animal intrusion or quality problems, they would not harvest it. Short supply chains from local farms do make a difference.

~ Judith