Terra Firma is not a “traditional” family farm in the sense of a married couple farming together, maybe with the help of their kids.  Which is fitting, I think, since the “traditional” family now makes up less than 50% of households in the U.S.  We are a partnership, made up of myself and Pablote Holmes plus our newest partner, Ann Kormos.  

Paul founded the farm, in a slightly different location and with the name Sky High Farm, about fifteen years ago.  When I began working as an employee here, Paul had partnered with Charles Griffin and created Terra Firma.  I later became a partner, and Charles, while still an owner, has moved on to start other CSA farms in the Midwest.  Ann worked for us for five years before deciding to become a partner.

Paul, Ann and I share the day-today management duties of running the farm.  In particular,  Ann runs the daily harvest and manages our crew, Paul is our sales staff for surplus produce and general handyman, and I am responsible for the crops from before they are planted until just before they are harvested (which means I spend most of my time fixing broken equipment).

Terra Firma is unusual for a small farm in that three of its four owners support themselves fully from their farming income.  Most farms in U.S. of our acreage (95) produce less than $100,000 in gross income, i.e., a paycheck of $10,000 or less at the end of year.  The majority of farms our size in Winters are operated either by retirees or by people with full-time jobs who do their farming on the weekends.  I believe that TFF probably creates more income per acre than any other farm in Yolo County, and as I mentioned last week, most of this is spent right here.  Each year, we pay out around half of our gross income in payroll to our employees.  Another 40% goes to buy seed, compost, gas, packaging, and other needs — most of them purchased locally.

Speaking of our employees — our farm would not exist were it not for the core of experienced, committed people working here.  Because of the diversity of crops we grow, and the requirements of selling direct to our customers through the CSA and farmers’ markets, we rely on them to constantly learn new skills and remember old ones they haven’t used in a year.  The average person working on a harvest crew in California works at one task all day, for weeks at a time.  Terra Firma crew members have to know the ins and outs of harvesting 8-12 different crops every day, with the list changing almost daily with the seasons.  Our irrigators take pride in their expertise in four different irrigation technologies (most farms use just one).  And Victor, my right hand man on the tractor, knows more about tillage and cultivation equipment than most farmers in the county because of the dozen of crops we grow.  Our driver Hector makes sure that each and every box gets delivered — all over the Bay Area and Sacramento — every single week.  Add to that list each season a number of migrant Gringo farmworkers — fresh young faces eager to learn what organic farming is all about.  In addition to keeping the crew entertained with their bad Spanish, these folks help us keep our spirits up when things get hard and the days are too long.

So, no, we’re not a family farm.  Nor a cooperative, nor a collective.  Instead, we’re a family created by people who cooperate collectively to grow vegetables.  We have personality conflicts, competition, comraderie, drama, exhaustion, satisfaction… Maybe not as much as an actual family, but at least as much as a family on television...

DROP-OFF ETIQUETTE
Our wonderful drop-off hosts are protesting politely at the number of subscribers who bring empty boxes back at random times during the week.  They request that boxes only be brought back during pick-up hours — and that they always be unfolded.  This is a simple issue of respect for the service that these folks provide us all, and we hope everyone understands. 
  
A MIXED BOX 
 Strawberries return this week after a very rough time last week.  While we are hoping for a few more weeks of cooler weather to make up for the missed weeks in the season, forecasts are calling for 95 degrees here by Thursday.  Those kinds of temps will shut the berry plants down if they stick around for more than a day or too, so we’ll keep you posted.  Of course, that heat will speed the ripening of the apricots, so…

 Our first Potatoes of the season — reds — come in your boxes today.  They are a little dirty.  That’s because they are “new” potatoes, uncured, with delicate skins.  We found that washing them removed too much of the skin, and we were worried about resulting quality problems (bruising and browning).  So we decided to send them along in their natural glory.  A light rinse should remove the sandy soil — no need to scrub them.  New potatoes cook quickly — 10-15 minutes faster than mature spuds.  So keep your eye on them.  Red potatoes are traditionally used for potato salads and home fries, because they have a firmer consistency than yellow potatoes.   They can also be roasted, but they take a little longer than Yukon golds or Yellow Finns.  Look for yellow potatoes next time around.

 Spicy, nutty Arugula is a perfect addition to roasted potatoes or potato salad, especially with a solid dose of garlic.  See the recipe.
 Peas are gone.  Favas and Asparagus almost so — just enough to do Large and Small boxes respectively this week.  But look for a combo crunchy green vegetable/legume in the next week or two  — green beans.  And an experiment in expanding our summer shelling bean crop may yield several varieties of fresh legumes in July and August.  I’ll keep you posted.
   
Thanks,            Pablito