This is for all those people who want to know more about our organic farming.
First of all, you should know the benefits of farming organically. The Organic philosophy is to focus on making the soil healthy so it can produce healthy plants and food. We have been farming organically since the mid 1970's here at our Brians Ranch location, the first farm in California's Santa Clara Valley to be Organically certified (by CCOF). Second, we believe that having a wide range of intresting and good tasting crops allows us to evangelize the benefits of a diverse diet and promote interesting things to eat. It helps us to have a rotation of crops that decrease the likelihood of a pest buildup in our fields and the need to treat pest problems rather than focus on health. Third, while we use field edges for windbreaks, beneficial insectaries, bird habitat, frog habitat and wildlife promotion areas, we do control harmful pests such as Ground Squirrels, Gophers and Starlings. Where there are problems with introduced non-native species, we control them to the extent that we can, to benefit our environment and assure we do not lose our crops. We are aficianados of plants, vegetables, fruits, nuts etc., but are not vegetarians as we like flavor, complete ecosystems and balanced diets. Fourth, we are trying to promote the well-being of others, our workers and their families and survival of our family and farm operation. This means we have a permanent workforce for our year-round crop production. Also, we are trying to make a profit to assure the ability to survive while doing the right things for our environment. We are prudently frugal at each opportunity we can be, while generous wherever possible and relish the connections to both our direct customers and whomever ultimately eats our food.