SMALL FARM CENTER • COOPERATIVE EXTENSION • UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA

— CONTINUED ON PAGE 6 — CONTINUED ON PAGE 7

Mike Madison: FlowerGrower, Visionary, andAuthor

Pioneer Straus LeavesLegacy

California Farm Conference

Pioneer Agriculturist Award

Managing Risks in Farmingand Ranching

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Small Farm News VOLUME I

2003

Ellen Straus. Photo byMarilyn Garry-Mulkeen

PioneerStrausLeavesLegacy

Mike Madison: Flower Grower,Visionary and Author

Farming is more than simply a way for Mike Madison to pay his bills and feed hisfamily. From speaking with him, reading his books, and learning about his farm

and home, it becomes apparent that to Madison, farming is a meditation on life. It isan expression of his values, beliefs, spirituality and creativity. “For anybody to go intofarming today, it’s not a rational economic decision,” he says. “It’s a decision based onsome other thing. It has to do with some other set of values or how you want to live.”

Before founding Yolo Bulb, in Solano County just outside of Davis, California, in1986, Madison and his wife Dianne lived in Florida, where Madison managed a citrusfarm and botanical garden. Despite this connection with agriculture, Madison’s dailyschedule involved a bus commute to an office where he was required to wear a tie.“That was like being in prison,” he recalls. “I like being outdoors.” The Madisonsdecided to move to California to start a flower farm. “No matter how badly things goon the farm,” he says, “it’s still better than working in an office.”

Madison spent a large part of his childhood in Davis, and by returning to growflowers he was returning to his roots in more ways than one. Both Mike and Diannehave horticulture in their backgrounds. Mike’s father was a flower farmer when Mikewas a child, and later, a professor of horticulture at UC Davis. Dianne’s family operatesa flower and produce business in Florida. “We have it from both sides,” says Madison.“I’ve always been a flower-oriented individual.”

Yolo Bulb is a self-sufficient enterprise, entirely dependent upon the labor of thishusband and wife team. It is a small operation, and the Madisons want to keep it smallin order to maintain both their independence and lifestyle. “There is no advantage inthe flower business of being bigger,” says Madison. Yolo Bulb is a 33-acre farm; sevenof these acres are devoted to flower cultivation. Madison originally toyed with theidea of building a 10,000-square-foot greenhouse, “imitating that aspect of the flowerindustry” as he puts it, but then decided against it. “Once you have greenhouses,” hesays, “you will never get a day off. As it is now, we still get a couple of months off inwintertime. Having a greenhouse is like having a dairy. It’s twice a day, 365 days ayear.” So Madison designed and built a smaller greenhouse — one suitable for Yolo

The small and sustainable

f a r m i n gc o m m u n i t i e s

mourn the loss of Ellen Straus, whopassed away November 30, 2002. Strauswas 75 when she died of cancer.

Straus’ life represented innovation infarming, which encouraged an unprec-edented alliance between farmers andenvironmentalists in Marin County. Theresults she achieved in environmentalconservation for Marin County affectedthe national climate of environmentalconservation.

Ellen Tirza Lotte Prins was born inAmsterdam, Holland, in 1927. In 1940,her family fled to New York just beforethe Nazis invaded. Straus grew up in NewYork, attending Bard College. In 1949, shemet Bill Straus, whom she married onlythree months later.

Ellen moved with her husband Billto a dairy farm near Tomales Bay, in MarinCounty, in 1950. As development in theregion increased, Ellen became more in-volved with the fight to conserve farm-land in the county. She was instrumentalin creating the Point Reyes National Sea-

Farmers Market ManagerOversees Lively AsianMarket

Specialty Crops Jamboree'03

IN THIS ISSUE

By Isabella Kenfield, research assistant, Small Farm Center, and Desmond Jolly, director,Small Farm Program, and extension economist, Department of Agricultural and ResourceEconomics, UC Davis

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SMALL FARM NEWS VOLUME I 2003

Director’s MessageNew Small Farm Program Grants Focus on Specialty Crops

We be-gin

the NewYear withsome satis-faction re-garding anumber ofp r o j e c t sand initia-tives whichwere com-

pleted or moved forward last year. The2002 California Small Farm Confer-ence, for which we were a major spon-sor, wrapped up the year for us on ahigh note. The Conference drew one ofits largest attendances ever — morethan 600 participants. The Small FarmProgram co-sponsored an “AddingValue to Farm and Natural ResourceProducts” Short Course, that providedits participants with a cross section ofvaluable information covering a gamutof topics from production through mar-keting.

The course drew on University ofCalifornia experts such as Linda Har-ris, extension food microbiologist withthe UC Davis Department of Food Sci-

ence and Technology; and ShermainHardesty, director of the Center for Co-operatives and lecturer in the UC DavisDepartment of Agricultural and ResourceEconomics. Desmond Jolly served ascourse coordinator and moderator. Farm-ers rounded out the course presentations,drawing on their own experiences andvisions for growing their businesses.These included Talibah Al-Rafiq of theCalifornia Cashmere Company, JamieJohansson, an olive oil producer, andBecky Smith of Frog Hollow Farms.

The Small Farm Program was also akey contributor to the 3rd NationalSmall Farm Conference held in Albu-querque, New Mexico, September 17-20,2002. That event enabled significant na-tional and regional networking as well asfacilitated participants learning from thebest of our colleagues’ efforts in otherparts of the nation.

With three new grant-funded efforts,the Small Farm Program anticipates morebreakthroughs in our ability to providevaluable products and services to our cli-ents in 2003. Through a new $150,000competitive grant from the CaliforniaDepartment of Food and Agriculture’s“Buy California” Initiative, we will con-

duct field and post-harvest research ona large number of niche specialty crops(see back cover). Another $80,000 “RiskManagement for Specialty Crop Produc-ers” grant will allow us to conduct fo-cused outreach to specialty crop grow-ers targeting risk management educa-tion and risk management products andpractices. A third USDA grant will tar-get management education for womenfarmers and ranchers.

So, we have a rather large portfolioof research and outreach activitiesplanned for 2003–2004. Growers mightkeep your eyes open for field days, dem-onstrations, workshops and conferenceswhere Small Farm staff will share up-to-date information on new crops andbest practices. Also visit the SFC website, www.sfc.ucdavis.edu, where thou-sands of articles and research reports onspecialty crops can be accessed throughthe SFC On-line Library. A large num-ber of these publications are now postedin PDF format, allowing you to down-load them from our web site. Or clickon the Specialty Crops link on our homepage to access our online SpecialtyCrops database. Happy New Year!

Desmond Jolly

SMALL FARM CENTER WEB SITE TAKES BIG HITS

WEB SERVER STATISTICS for the UC Small Farm Center (SFC) web site indicate that a growing number of farm relatedinformation clients are being served through the SFC web site. A summary report for the period September 9, 2002,through January 28, 2003, provides these statistics:

(Figures in parentheses are for the 7-day period ending January 28, 2003.)

• SUCCESSFUL REQUESTS: 801,000 (27,557) • AVERAGE SUCCESSFUL REQUESTS PER DAY: 5,677 (3,936)

• SUCCESSFUL REQUESTS FOR PAGES: 141,216 (7,562) • DISTINCT HOSTS SERVED: 56,889 (3,962)

www.sfc.ucdavis.edu

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VOLUME I 2003 SMALL FARM NEWS

SMALL FARM NEWS is published by the Small FarmCenter, University of California, One Shields Avenue,Davis, CA 95616-8699; Phone: (530) 752-8136;fax: (530) 752-7716; e-mail: sfcenter@ucdavis.edu;web site: http://www.sfc.ucdavis.edu

Director: Desmond Jolly, dajolly@ucdavis.eduSecretary: Birgit Hempel, sfcenter@ucdavis.eduEditor/Designer: Susan McCue, sfcenter@ucdavis.eduTechnical Assistant: Solomon Teklu, steklu@ucdavis.eduAdministrative Assistant: Linda Vieira,lmvieira@ucdavis.eduResearch Assistant: Isabella KenfieldStudent Intern: Samuel Tet

the 2003 National North American Farmers DirectMarketing Association (NAFDMA) Conference inNorth Carolina, February 3–9. MacNear is themarket manager of the renowned Davis FarmersMarket, which she has helped to develop as one ofthe flagship farmers markets in California and theUnited States. She also serves on the Board ofNAFDMA and has been secretary of the CaliforniaFederation of Certified Farmers Markets.

Marion Kalb Takes New PositionMarion Kalb, long-time member of the Small

Farm Program Advisory Committee and formerExecutive Director of Southland Farmers MarketAssociation, has left Southland to assume a posi-tion as the Farm To School Coordinator with theNational Community Food Security Program. Wewish her continued success in her career. Kalbhelped Southland to become a leader in farmersmarket management. Southland is now regardedas a pacesetter in a number of areas – most recentlyin articulating a policy on ethics in market partici-pation and management.

Leonard Diggs Appointed to RDC BoardLeonard Diggs, a long-time member of the

Small Farm Program Advisory Committee, asmall farmer and a faculty member at Santa RosaJunior College, has been appointed to the Roots ofChange Council, a coalition of foundations launch-ing a new initiative to facilitate a greater transfor-mation rate of California agriculture to a more sus-tainable framework. Also appointed to the councilwere Desmond Jolly, director of the UC Small FarmProgram, and Richard Rominger, former USDAdeputy secretary.

Suzanne Vaupel

Randii MacNear

The Small Farm Center links those who need informationon small-scale farming with those who have the informa-tion. The Center produces publications and a newsletter;sponsors conferences and seminars; holds a library ofperiodicals, reports and books; gives referrals; and answersnumerous requests for information.

Readers are encouraged to send us information, expressviews, and contact us for assistance. Mention of a specificproduct is intended for the reader’s information or as anexample of a similar product—not as a recommendation ofthat specific product.

Small FarmCenter

prog

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new

s In Memoriam -Suzanne Vaupel(1948-2003)

Suzanne Vaupel, along-time supporter andmember of the SmallFarm Program Advi-sory Committee, re-cently passed away afterbattling cancer for sometime. We miss Suzannebadly; we loved her dearly. She was a pioneerin attending to the policy and regulatory as-pects of organic agriculture and authored aSmall Farm Center publication, Marketing Or-ganic Produce In Certified Farmers Markets.

Using her legal training, Suzanne was in-volved in advocacy, consulting, and mediatingon issues related to standards and equity inthe development of the organic industry. For amore extensive article on the contributions andlife of Suzanne Vaupel, please visit our web site:www.sfc.ucdavis.edu/news/news.html

Randii MacNearWins Award

On a morepleasant note, an-other member ofthe Small FarmProgram Advi-sory Committee,Randii MacNear,was named Farm-ers Market Man-ager of the Year at

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SMALL FARM NEWS VOLUME I 2003

California Farm Conference 2002

BeckySmithdisplaysherjams.

Speaker TalibahAl-Rafiq isintroduced byDesmond Jollyin the AddingValue ShortCourse.

ShermaineHardesty showsattendees aspecialty foodproduct label.

A large groupof conferenceparticipantsattended theAdding ValueShort Course.

Conference attendees gather for the evening speaker meeting.

Farm advisor Paul Vossen presents information about olive oilproduction and processing in the Adding Value Short Course.

The UC Small Farm Program was a major sponsor of the 2002 CaliforniaSmall Farm Conference held November 17-19 at the Holiday Inn in

Ventura. More than 600 participants celebrated the fruits of California’s smallfarms, networked with each other and with agencies serving the small farmcommunity, and attended a large menu of short courses and workshops on avariety of relevant topics. Key sessions provided by Small Farm Program ad-visors included workshops on farm management, specialty crops, innovativemarketing, and organic agriculture.

A popular Short Course patronized by 50 participants was “Adding Valueto Farm, Ranch and Natural Resource Prod-ucts” and was sponsored by the Small FarmCenter, the Center for Cooperatives, and theUC Davis Department of Food Science andTechnology. The Short Course included pre-sentations by farm operators: Jamie Johansson,Lodestar Farms olive oil producer; Talibah Al-Rafiq, California Cashmere Company cash-mere goat rancher; and Becky Smith, Frog Hol-low Farms organic grower.

The UC Small Farm Program also pre-sented its Kathleen L. Barsotti Pioneer Agricul-turist Award to George and Elaine Work of theWork Ranch in San Miguel, California. (SeePage 5).

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VOLUME I 2003 SMALL FARM NEWS

Farm Conference continuedAdding Value Short Course Fourth Generation California Farmer

Receives Pioneer Agriculturist Award

George Work accepts his award from DesmondJolly as a smiling Elaine Work looks on.

More than 100 years ago, GeorgeWork’s ancestors arrived in Califor-

nia as pioneers, eager to establish them-selves as farmers on the California land-scape. George and Elaine Work continuethe pioneering tradition of the Work fam-ily today, with the same commitment toranching and farming the land.

At the 2002 California Small FarmConference, held in Ventura County inNovember, the Works’ commitment tofarming in California was acknowledged when they were presented with theKathleen Barsotti Pioneer Agriculturalist Award. The Works received the award forthe pioneering efforts they have made in the development of agritourism and eco-logical ranching.

When the UC Small Farm Program started its agritourism program in 1997with the objective of enabling farmers, ranchers and natural resource owners todiversify their income streams through agritourism and nature tourism, the Workswere among the first cooperators with that program. In his presentation of theaward, Desmond Jolly, UC Small Farm Program director, stated that the Works“have been leaders in this new enterprise, sharing knowledge willingly and openlyand taking leadership in the farmstay legislative initiative.”

George Work was instrumental in helping to pass the 1999 farmstay legisla-tion that eased visitor restrictions on farmers and ranchers, enabling them to moreeasily create and run agritourism ventures, thereby increasing their livelihood andsecurity on the land.

The Works have created a farmstay component to their ranching business.Visitors stay with the Works in their home, and learn about ranching, the historyof the Work Ranch, and how the Works are endeavoring to ranch in an environ-mentally friendly manner.

George Work was an early student of the Alan Savory method of range andlivestock management and incorporated that knowledge into the management ofhis ranch. The Works practice dry farming grain, a system of farming that is low-impact and controls erosion. A recent profile in the San Francisco Examiner saysthat George is “one of the top agriculturalists in the nation and one of the first inthe U.S. to practice holistic management. He is also an international pioneer inwater and soil conservation, for which he received an award at the White House.”

Work continues to provide leadership and is currently involved with his con-gressman and others in trying to get a mobile slaughtering facility for farmers andranchers in his region. This facility would enable ranchers to reduce the trauma tolivestock during transport because slaughtering would take place at the ranch. Itwould also reduce the costs of transporting the livestock and paying for off-siteslaughtering. In addition, ranchers could serve their own beef to visitors whenthey come for farmstays.

The Small Farm Program salutes George and Elaine Work for their efforts topromote sustainable ranching and farming in California

Becky Smith discusses her specialty jams and pastries.

Desmond Jolly makes a point during the Short Course.

Jamie Johansson discusses olive oil production.

By Isabella Kenfield, research assistant, Small Farm Center

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SMALL FARM NEWS VOLUME I 2003

Bulb’s needs as a small farm. In addition,he built a shed, a cooler and even theMadison family’s home.

The Madisons rely on no hired la-bor. At one point, when they were ex-perimenting with wholesaling and devel-oping market niches, they did have hiredhelp. “I hated it,” recalls Madison. “Ihated being a boss. Nobody workednearly as fast as I did and they didn’t havethe in-terest .So wegot ridof oure m -ployeesand weg o tsmaller.”Havinga largeropera-t i o nwas notw o r t ht h eheadache of managing employees.

In his new book, A Sense of Order-The Rural Landscape of Lower Putah Creek,Madison describes the social structurebetween managers and employees onmainstream, industrial farms in theLower Putah Creek District. He writes,“the land is worked not by farmers butby workers, who have no ownership andno tenure. The farmer is the manager.And so there is a long history of a divi-sion between management and labor thatforeshadows the industrial model offarming.” Besides freeing him from hav-ing to manage anyone, his decision tokeep his operation small and not usehired labor has a socio-political dimen-sion as well.

Prospects are GoodMadison feels the opportunities for

small-scale flower farms are “excellent”right now. At the 2002 California SmallFarm Conference in November, Madisonspoke on the two strategies that, in his

Mike Madison – FROM PAGE 1 view, work best for small flower farms.The first, which is the strategy he himselfutilizes, is to market directly to a relativelysmall market over a long season. All ofYolo Bulb’s flowers are sold within eightmiles of the farm. Two-thirds are sold atthe Davis Farmer’s Market, and the otherthird goes to the Davis Food Co-op andthree Nugget markets in Davis andVacaville. Nearly all of Yolo Bulb’s salesare to repeat, loyal customers who buyflowers weekly; this testifies to the qual-ity of the flowers Yolo Bulb produces.

The Madisons try to harvest three tofour hundred bunches of flowers per weekover a 44-week season. To supply flowersfor such a long season, Madison growsmore than 200 flower species, includingforsythia, lilac, gerbers, hydrangea, sun-flower, iris and cala lily. The constant pro-duction of a small amount of flowerskeeps labor needs to a minimum andmaintains a constant source of income.

The second strategy, which Madisondoesn’t use, is to cultivate one or a fewspecialty crops that are not in regular com-modity markets. “If it’s fast and easy, it’slikely others will grow it and prices will

fall,” he says. “If it’s slow and difficult,you’ll have the market all to yourself andyou can get an excellent price.” Examplesof such hard-to-grow flowers are daphne,clematis and fruiting branches.

While acknowledging that his flow-ers could bring more money if he waswilling to drive to Sacramento or even tothe San Francisco Bay Area to sell them,Madison is adamant about keeping his

own operation local. Madison regards alocal farm economy, in which local farmssupply the agricultural needs of local com-munities, as an intrinsic facet of a healthyagrarian landscape. “One benefit of thisis decreased dependence on fossil fuelsand a decrease in the number of truckson the road,” he writes. “Also, carbon, ni-trogen and other nutrients are kept withinthe district rather than exported, as withhay sent to distant dairies. More impor-tant, local production builds the sense of

c o m -munity.Schoolc h i l -d r e nvisit thed a i r y,t h e yunder-s t a n dw h e r et h e i rm i l kc o m e sf r o m ,t h e yfeel as o c i a l

connection to the dairyman and his fam-ily.”

By keeping dependency on fossil fu-els to a minimum, Madison believes smallfarms are more economically and environ-mentally sustainable. Yolo Bulb has onetractor with about 15 different compo-nents, and the majority of the labor isdone by hand. Yolo Bulb also is environ-mentally sustainable in other ways.Madison’s clementine groves are organi-cally certified. Though the trees are stilltoo young to be highly productive andtherefore profitable, Madison hopes tostart making a return on his investmentin the next year or two. He has alreadyfound an organic distributor who will buyhis clementine when his trees start to pro-duce.

The geographic location of Yolo Bulbfarm supports ecologically sound farming.Putah Creek borders Yolo Bulb farm onone side. Some of the flower beds lie onthe floodplain of the creek, which has in-

Mike Madison stands amidst his flowers.

Madison sells regularly at the Davis Farmers Market.

Yolo Bulb farm borders Putah Creek and ariparian forest that provides pest control.

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VOLUME I 2003 SMALL FARM NEWS

credibly rich, moist soil. This floodplainwas the primary factor in Madison’s deci-sion to buy the land. In addition, the ri-parian forest that fringes the creek pro-vides an efficient pest control programbased on biological control. The forest isa nesting ground for bats, owls, and preda-tory insects like beetles and lacewings, allof which prey on pests. “We have virtu-ally no insect problems,” he boasts. “Ihaven’t used insecticides in years. It’spartly philosophical, but mostly becauseI don’t need to.”

The downside of the forest is that therich diversity of fauna makes for a terriblevertebrate problem. These are primarilygophers, along with birds and rodents.During the season that he planted hisclementine trees, Madison lost 28 out of200 trees to gophers. He claims he loses15 percent of his product to gophers — alarge percent of his potential profit. Forgophers, he uses traps instead of poison.

Yet weeds are the single biggest prob-lem facing Yolo Bulb. To deal with weeds,Madison employs a combination of tac-tics. He starts his seeds in the greenhouseand waits to plant the seedlings until theycan “compete” with the weeds with a fourto six week head start. He also burns regu-larly. When a flower bed has produced itsfull potential for the season, Madison al-lows it to dry out and then burns the en-tire cover on the bed, thereby burning theweed seeds.

Planning AheadLooking to the future, Madison has

planted 1,200 olive trees on six acres, andhopes to be harvesting olives within twoyears. Olive trees thrive in the dry, sunnyand warm climate of the Lower PutahCreek district. But olive trees aren’t culti-vated in the region (and nationwide) be-cause the cost of picking has never madeolive cultivation profitable. Though newtechnology allows for mechanized har-vesting, Madison has a different vision forhis olives: He hopes to create an olive oilcooperative which relies on hand pickingthe fruit.

“I’m choosing the solution that istechnologically backward but sociologi-cally advanced,” claims Madison. His co-

operative will recruit urban people tocome to the farm and pick olives. Insteadof being paid in cash for their share of theharvest, they will be paid in olive oil. Thepressman, bottler and farmer will also geta share of the oil. Madison believes it willwork because it will offer urban people a“primal satisfaction” in harvesting theirown food, in addition to the pleasure ofworking outdoors with family and friends.

Madison views this venture as a wayto reconnect urban and rural people,whom he currently sees as socially andgeographically divided. The olive oil co-operative, he imagines, “would foster anengagement of town people with thecountryside, both in the harvesting of the

fruit andin the en-joymentof the oil.By havinga tangiblestake inthe coun-tryside,”s a y sMadison,“ u r b a np e o p l ewould be-c o m e“partisansof farm-ing and

powerful allies in the preservation of therural landscape.”

Mike Madison is a visionary. In everyaspect of Yolo Bulb’s operation, he is mak-ing a conscientious decision based on howhe wants to live his own life, and the con-tribution he wants to make to society. Bybeing a small farmer and utilizing sustain-able farming practices, Madison makes hisown rules and takes more control over theimpact he has on the community and en-vironment around him. Additionally,through his farming he is working to cre-ate the social, environmental and eco-nomic atmosphere that he would like tosee in modern farming. This is an atmo-sphere of social justice, environmentalhealth and the unity of rural and urbanAmerica.

Ellen Straus – FROM PAGE 1

shore, which preserves 17 ranches. In1980, she co-founded the Marin Agri-cultural Land Trust (MALT), which, asthe first agricultural land trust in thecountry, pioneered the concept of con-servation easements. MALT buys de-velopment rights to farmland fromfarmers, legally stipulating that farm-land must always remain agricultural.

Since its inception, MALT has suc-ceeded in putting about one-quarter ofMarin’s privately owned farmland intoeasements, representing 32,000 acreson 47 ranches.

In 1992, the Strauses used moneyfrom their own agricultural easementto make their dairy farm the first or-ganic dairy west of the MississippiRiver. As they transitioned to organicin 1994, they launched the Straus Fam-ily Creamery, changing their dairy fromone that provided raw milk to a whole-saler to a dairy that produces and pack-ages its own value-added products onthe farm itself.

In 1998, Straus was presented withthe Washington-based American Farm-land Trust’s Steward of the Land Awardto recognize her efforts to support fam-ily farms. Straus’ important contribu-tions to sustainable family farming inCalifornia and nationwide will not beforgotten.

Yolo Bulb flowers grace this bouquet.

Check your local bookstore for MikeMadison's publication, Growing Flowersfor Market: A Practical Manual for Small-Scale Field Production and Marketing ofFresh Flowers.

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SMALL FARM NEWS VOLUME I 2003

What is your risk tolerance?Your risk tolerance is reflected in the ways you

choose to manage risks. Understanding your choicesand considering each of them may cause you to changeyour management style to more closely reflect yourtolerance for risk.

Benefits of Identifying Your Risk Toleranceand Assessing Your Risks:

• Allows you to identify and exclude those alterna-tives which expose you to unacceptable risks.

• Helps guide providers of risk management servicesto the best options for you.

• Ensures that your insurance dollars will be spentwisely.

• Increases the likelihood that you will select thebest combination of risk management strategies.

Some Questions for Your Risk ManagementCheck-up:

• Have I identified my risk tolerance?

• Have I communicated my tolerance for risk to theprofessionals who provide me with risk manage-ment services?

• Which risks can keep me from attaining my goals?

• Which risks am I comfortable retaining and man-aging with my own resources? Which risks will Ishift to others? Which will I avoid?

• When was my last insurance check-up for health,life, casualty, property, disability, long-term care,Medicare/Medicaid and crop insurance?

• Have I established a confident relationship withmy risk management advisers, so that they can helpme assess my business and personal risk exposure?

For a detailed breakdown of risk-management al-ternatives for California farmers, contact the USDA RiskManagement Agency Regional Office, 430 G St., Davis,CA 95616-4168; (530) 792-5870; rsoca@rma.usda.gov;http://www.rma.usda.gov/aboutrma/fields/ca_rso/

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Managing Risks in Farming and Ranching:Setting Shared Goals Small Farm

Center

While no two people share the same goals in life,all of the people involved in a family business

must share some common goals. Identifying thoseshared goals, involving everyone in the goal-settingprocess, and then acting together to achieve those goalsshould be a serious effort that focuses both the indi-vidual and the organization. After all, a family busi-ness cannot be successful if it does not help fulfill theindividual dreams of everyone involved.

Many times, the hardest thing about setting riskmanagement goals is reconciling different views aboutrisk. People have different answers for the same fun-damental questions: What are my risks? What are ourrisks? What is an acceptable level of risk? What shouldwe do about the risks? Recognizing and acting on op-portunities as well as trying to minimize losses can helpshape agreement on fundamental risk managementgoals.

Benefits of Goal Setting

• Reflects your values, interests, resources and ca-pabilities. An honest goal-setting session for yourself,your family, and your business will cause you to takeinventory of those things.

• Provides a basis for your decisions and a focal pointfor everyone involved. Well-understood organizationalgoals allow every individual in the organization to setrealistic personal goals.

• Establishes priorities for the allocation of scarceresources. What things will you do today and whatthings will you do in the future? For example, whatpriorities have you established for using net farm in-come? Will you buy land, pay for college, or pay downdebt?

• Provides a means for measuring progress. Whichdecisions made progress toward your goals, and whichdecisions need to be reevaluated?

Questions for Your Risk ManagementCheck-up:

• Are my goals written, reasonable, and measurable?• Are my goals attainable in my lifetime?• Have I shared my goals with everyone involved in

the business and have they shared their goals withme?

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VOLUME I 2003 SMALL FARM NEWS

Specialty and Minor Crops HandbookUpdated and expanded from the first edition, theSpecialty and Minor Crops Handbook contains 63crop profiles, a comprehensive bibliography, a glos-sary of Asian vegetables, and an index to commonand scientific crop names.

To order: Call the Small Farm Centerat (530) 752-8136.Cost: $35 plus tax and shipping.

Small Farm HandbookThis practical guide covers topics in-cluding livestock and crop production,buying property and equipment, deal-ing with taxes and regulations, and mar-keting.

To order: Call the Small Farm Centerat (530) 752-8136.New price: $15 plus tax and shipping.

Agritourism and NatureTourism in CaliforniaThis how-to manual is for farmers,ranchers, and the professionals whowork with them. Useful as a train-the-trainer tool, the publicationwalks readers through the processof starting and maintaining anagritourism or nature tourism en-terprise. Details range from a cur-rent evaluation of California tour-ism trends to evaluating your farmor ranch as a potential agritourismor nature tourism enterprise.

To order: Call the Small Farm Cen-ter at (530) 752-8136.Cost: $25 plus tax and shipping.

A Primer on Agritourism and EcotourismStartups and ManagementThis publication offers farmers and ranchers an in-troductory view of the issues involved in starting anagritourism or ecotourism enterprise. Produced bythe UC Small Farm Center and the Agritourism andNature TourismWorkgroup, thepublication is inbinder format andincludes hand-outs and other in-formation sharedat agritourismworkshops.

To order: Call theSmall Farm Cen-ter at (530) 752-8136.Cost: $20 plus taxand shipping.

Risk Management PublicationAg Help WantedGuidelines for Managing AgriculturalLaborThis book provides methods for improving manage-ment policies and procedures of agricultural employ-ers. Produced by the Western Farm Management Ex-tension Committee, the publication covers topics in-cluding legal considerations, organizational planning,staffing the farm business, supervising agriculturalwork, managing employee performance, and com-munication and problem solving.

To order: An online order form is atwww.aghelpwanted.org, or for more information,e-mail: information@aghelpwanted.org.No phone number was available at press time.Cost: Print publication $25. CD-ROM version $10.

resources

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SMALL FARM NEWS VOLUME I 2003

Farmers Market Manager Oversees Lively Asian Market

In the cool shadows un- der a downtown Stock-ton bridge, one ofCalifornia’s largest andliveliest Southeast Asianfarmers markets burstsinto life every Saturdaymorning. A soft breezeblows while managerCarlos Dutra calmlywatches over a hecticscene of 76 vendors sell-ing exotic products rang-

ing from fresh octopus and live chickens to horny skinned bittermelons.

As foreign as it sounds, this Southeast Asian market had avery local beginning. Launched in 1979 with help from theAmerican Society of Friends, or Quakers, farmers joined Friendsmembers to start a traditional market that provided the farmerswith a new local marketing venue and offered inner city resi-dents fresh produce.

Ini t ia l ly,around 30farmers sold atthe market,but most ofthem are gone.“Back in the'80s,” Dutrasays, “it startedchanging froma regular farm-ers market to a

Southeast Asian farmers market … because San Joaquin County,especially Stockton, has a large Asian community.”

Many of the current vendors are Southeast Asian themselves,and understand and cater to their customers’ tastes. Live poul-try and fresh fish are only part of their offerings. Asian vegetables,like daikon and gailon, also are on display, as well as massivebunches of mustard and pumpkin greens that customers haulaway in large plastic bags and steam at home.

Farming Background HelpsDutra fills his position with an ease borne of decades in the

agricultural industry. He joined the market as a farmer/vendorin 1985, selling cherries and okra, and now manages all fourStockton certified farmers markets as well as one in Tracy. Some-how, he still finds time to farm cherries and other crops on nineacres in Stockton, and recently opened a nursery on the city’sMain Street.

by Susan McCue, contributing editor, Small Farm News

As for the city’s support of this market, Dutra says, “Thedowntown people should be very happy, because every Saturdaywe bring about 9 to 10,000 people down here.”

Marketing StrategiesDutra promotes all five markets together, using print and

radio to advertise events such as the Carmen Miranda contesthe recently hosted at the Friday Stockton market. As for holdingspecial events at this busy Saturday market, Dutra says, “There’sno time to do anything. They shop so fast it’s amazing.”

A Farmer’s PerspectiveSocheath Sar, owner of Sar Farms, proudly displays a table

loaded with long beans anddai gay choy (Chinese mus-tard greens), which are justa fraction of the stunning ar-ray of Asian vegetables andfruits he grows on 14 acresin Fresno. “I like to farm,because the farm supportsmy family,” says Sar, who’sbeen in the business for 11years.

Sar has been selling atthis Stockton market for two years, but his primary market is towholesale buyers in Los Angeles. This is the only farmers mar-ket he attends. “Before I tried to get into other markets, but [therewas] no space.”

Although he sells predominantly to wholesalers, Sar notesthat prices at the farmers market are “more consistent.” His gross

sales vary widely each mar-ket day, from $500 to $800,and he estimates that hiscustomers spend an averageof $5 to $10 per person.

One of those customersis Arsenio Siojo, a spry oldergentleman carrying severalbags of produce as he pe-ruses the aisles. “I have asmall farm but no more en-ergy to do it,” says Siojo,who owns 2 1/2 acres insouth Stockton where heused to grow onions and

corn. Why does he come to the market? “It’s cheaper here, andyou meet friends,” smiles Siojo. “This is a great place for thecommunity.”

Arsenio Siojo shops early on Saturday.

Fresh fish sell quickly at the market.

Market shoppers buy greens in massive quantities.

Carlos Dutra smiles from his market van.

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VOLUME I 2003 SMALL FARM NEWS

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APRIL5Strawberry Fumigation Outreach for Mien FarmersStockton, CAFor Mien speaking growers, topics will include weed control and plastics.Contact: Benny Fouche, farm advisor, UC Cooperative Extension, SanJoaquin County, 420 S. Wilson Way, Stockton, CA 95205; (209) 468-9491;e-mail: bfouche@ucdavis.edu

AprilDate - TBAIrrigation Field DaySan Diego, CAResearch updates and field demonstrations.Contact: Ramiro Lobo, UC Cooperative Extension, San Diego County, 5555Overland Ave., San Diego, CA 92123; (858) 694-3666; e-mail:relobo@ucdavis.edu

MAY15Blueberry Field DayKearney Ag Station, Parlier, CAResearch results, marketing and tasting.Contact: Benny Fouche, farm advisor, UC Cooperative Extension, SanJoaquin County, 420 S. Wilson Way, Stockton, CA 95205; (209) 468-9491;e-mail: bfouche@ucdavis.edu

28Blackberry/Blueberry Field Day and DemonstrationKearney Ag Station, Parlier, CAResearch update and field demonstration.Contact: Manuel Jimenez, farm advisor, UC Cooperative Extension, TulareCounty, 4437 S. Laspina St., Suite B, Tulare, CA 93274; (559) 685-3309;e-mail: mjjimenez@ucdavis.edu.

JUNEDate - TBASquash Field DayKearney Ag Station, Parlier, CAResearch update and field demonstrations.Contact: Manuel Jimenez, farm advisor, UC Cooperative Extension, TulareCounty, 4437 S. Laspina St., Suite B, Tulare, CA 93274; (559) 685-3309;e-mail: mjjimenez@ucdavis.edu.

JULY10Specialty Crop Field DayKearney Ag Station, Parlier, CACrops include peppers, tomatoes, and tomatillos.Contact: Manuel Jimenez, farm advisor, UC Cooperative Extension, TulareCounty, 4437 S. Laspina St., Suite B, Tulare, CA 93274; (559) 685-3309;e-mail: mjjimenez@ucdavis.edu.

JULYDate - TBALichi/Longan Field DaySan Diego, CAResearch update and field demonstrations.Contact: Ramiro Lobo, UC Cooperative Extension, San Diego County,5555 Overland Ave., San Diego, CA 92123; (858) 694-3666;e-mail: relobo@ucdavis.edu

JulyDate - TBAAlternatives to Methyl BromideFresno, CAResearch update.Contact: Richard Molinar, farm advisor, UC Cooperative Extension,Fresno County, 1720 S. Maple Ave., Fresno, CA 93702;(559) 456-7555; e-mail: rhmolinar@ucdavis.edu.

AUGUSTDate - TBAAsian Specialty Crop Conference and TastingFresno, CAResearch updates, workshops, and tastings.Contact: Richard Molinar, farm advisor, UC Cooperative Extension,Fresno County, 1720 S. Maple Ave., Fresno, CA 93702;(559) 456-7555; e-mail: rhmolinar@ucdavis.edu.

SeptemberDate - TBACucurbit Field DayStockton, CAResearch update and field demonstrations.Contact: Benny Fouche, farm advisor, UC Cooperative Extension, SanJoaquin County, 420 S. Wilson Way, Stockton, CA 95205;(209) 468-9491; e-mail: bfouche@ucdavis.edu

SEPTEMBERDate - TBAWeed Management SchoolKearney Ag Station, Parlier, CAWorkshops on management techniques.Contact: Richard Molinar, farm advisor, UC Cooperative Extension,Fresno County, 1720 S. Maple Ave., Fresno, CA 93702;(559) 456-7555; e-mail: rhmolinar@ucdavis.edu

OCTOBER25Specialty Crop Field DayWoodlake, CAResearch updates and field demonstrations.Contact: Manuel Jimenez, farm advisor, UC Cooperative Extension,Tulare County, 4437 S. Laspina St., Suite B, Tulare, CA 93274;(559) 685-3309; e-mail: mjjimenez@ucdavis.edu.

Add your event to our online calendar at http://www.sfc.ucdavis.edu/calendar

12

SMALL FARM NEWS VOLUME I 2003

Small Farm CenterUniversity of CaliforniaOne Shields AvenueDavis, CA 95616-8699

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T he Small Farm Pro-gram recently launched

its special initiative —Specialty Crops Jamboree’03 — a cornucopia of activi-ties including research onnew, niche crops; outreach tosmall farmers; tastings forconsumers, the media andchefs; and recipes and dem-onstrations.

New crops being studiedfor adaptation to California orfor improvement include:blueberries, pitahaya, guavas,guayabas, papayas, mangoes,Thai chili, jocote, edamame,Szechwan peppers, capers,water chestnuts and waterJa

mbo

ree Specialty Crops Jamboree ‘03

spinach, jujube, nopales,pineapples, longans, litchiand tea.

Black tea is being testedin four coastal regions to as-sess its potential in differentagro-climatic zones. Seedshave been donated to theSmall Farm Program byKarahan Mete, who broughtback a supply from the BlackSea area of Turkey. With theburgeoning interest in teadue to its many health ben-efits, the Small Farm Pro-gram hopes to help create lo-cally based brands. Staytuned!

Pitahaya is one of many new crops being researched by theSmall Farm Program. Photo courtesy of Ramiro Lobo.