After years of crippling drought, family farms throughout California withstood one of the wettest winters on record—storms, floods, an environment torn between extremes. Together with the scourges of an evermore globalized food system and the ever-rising cost of doing business as a small farm, to succeed today our food producers require above all one universal quality: resilience. And this year’s recipients of the Farmers Guild’s annual awards reveal beautifully the many diverse faces of resilience in pursuit of a more sustainable food system. Please welcome us in congratulating those who set an example for farmers and agricultural advocates alike:
NEW FARMER OF THE YEAR: Hunter Flynn & Isa Quiroz, Tequio Family Farm
“Tequio” is a Mexican concept which refers to collective work done by a community to benefit the place in which they live. From their start in 2015, Isa and Hunter of Tequio Community Farm in Willits, CA have stayed true to this. In just two years, they used their training in the Bio-Intensive method to establish a local business, moving beyond gardening to provide food for Mendocino County. On less than an acre, they supply year-round, fresh, seasonal produce using a method of farming that is human powered, sequesters carbon and engages neighbors in the art and science of small-scale, intensive food production. This past winter, a vicious storm destroyed their brand-new greenhouses, testing their resolve. But when the community they’d cultivated over the years came together in that aftermath to help Isa and Hunter rebuild, Tequio found a second wind. Today, their third season is off to an abundant start.
“Tequio” is a Mexican concept which refers to collective work done by a community to benefit the place in which they live. From their start in 2015, Isa and Hunter of Tequio Community Farm in Willits, CA have stayed true to this. In just two years, they used their training in the Bio-Intensive method to establish a local business, moving beyond gardening to provide food for Mendocino County. On less than an acre, they supply year-round, fresh, seasonal produce using a method of farming that is human powered, sequesters carbon and engages neighbors in the art and science of small-scale, intensive food production. This past winter, a vicious storm destroyed their brand-new greenhouses, testing their resolve. But when the community they’d cultivated over the years came together in that aftermath to help Isa and Hunter rebuild, Tequio found a second wind. Today, their third season is off to an abundant start.
FOOD BUSINESS OF THE YEAR: FEED Sonoma, Tim Page
Perhaps no business of late has done more to sustain and invigorate the North Bay’s small-farm economy than FEED Sonoma. In a truly unique coupling of efficiency and cooperation, FEED Sonoma serves as the real-world conduit between nearly 60 family farms and dozens of restaurants, retailers and other food businesses throughout the Bay Area. The “wheels-on-the-ground”, Tim Page and his team of truck drivers and warehouse staff support farmers directly by offering a consistent market for their crops, capturing the surplus and communicating real value. FEED Sonoma focuses on the technical details of distribution so farmers can focus on farming. By collaborating with chefs, other food buyers and a community of North Bay growers, FEED plays a vital role in building a vibrant, sustainable and fair food system for all.
Perhaps no business of late has done more to sustain and invigorate the North Bay’s small-farm economy than FEED Sonoma. In a truly unique coupling of efficiency and cooperation, FEED Sonoma serves as the real-world conduit between nearly 60 family farms and dozens of restaurants, retailers and other food businesses throughout the Bay Area. The “wheels-on-the-ground”, Tim Page and his team of truck drivers and warehouse staff support farmers directly by offering a consistent market for their crops, capturing the surplus and communicating real value. FEED Sonoma focuses on the technical details of distribution so farmers can focus on farming. By collaborating with chefs, other food buyers and a community of North Bay growers, FEED plays a vital role in building a vibrant, sustainable and fair food system for all.
LEGACY FARMER OF THE YEAR: Maria Catalán, Catalan Family Farm
Maria came to America as a child from Guerrero, Mexico in the 1960s with her father and grandfather, working the fields. A lifetime in agriculture and a commitment to providing healthy food for her children and neighbors gave Maria the skills and motivation to become a true pioneer among Latina farmers, establishing the first CSA in Hollister, CA. Calatan Family Farms has since found success growing and selling organic produce throughout the Bay Area, including establishing a family restaurant that uses its kitchen to prepare farm-fresh salsas. Despite setbacks and the ongoing challenges of farming amid an erratic climate, Maria believes that with her five children—from 38 to 5 years old—and her 11 grandchildren, their farm will prosper. Today she works with a dozen small farms run by other Latinos, assisting with organic certification to promote farmworker health and financial sustainability.
Maria came to America as a child from Guerrero, Mexico in the 1960s with her father and grandfather, working the fields. A lifetime in agriculture and a commitment to providing healthy food for her children and neighbors gave Maria the skills and motivation to become a true pioneer among Latina farmers, establishing the first CSA in Hollister, CA. Calatan Family Farms has since found success growing and selling organic produce throughout the Bay Area, including establishing a family restaurant that uses its kitchen to prepare farm-fresh salsas. Despite setbacks and the ongoing challenges of farming amid an erratic climate, Maria believes that with her five children—from 38 to 5 years old—and her 11 grandchildren, their farm will prosper. Today she works with a dozen small farms run by other Latinos, assisting with organic certification to promote farmworker health and financial sustainability.
FARM ADVOCATE OF THE YEAR: Suzi Grady, Petaluma Bounty
Suzi Grady rarely bothers with easy questions. Instead, you’ll find her at countless community meetings steering the conversation away from safe territory and towards uncertainty where the real challenges and the real opportunities await. Suzi takes two oftentimes disparate questions--how do we support small, ecologically-minded family farms and how do we create access to healthy, local food for all—and forces us to ask them in the same breath. For Suzy, sustainability requires inclusion. As Program Director of Petaluma Bounty, Suzi oversees an urban farm while organizing gleanings, affordable food incentive programs like Farmers’ Market LIFE, a sliding scale farm stand, food and farm literacy, and advocacy for policies and governmental services that promote community food security.
Suzi Grady rarely bothers with easy questions. Instead, you’ll find her at countless community meetings steering the conversation away from safe territory and towards uncertainty where the real challenges and the real opportunities await. Suzi takes two oftentimes disparate questions--how do we support small, ecologically-minded family farms and how do we create access to healthy, local food for all—and forces us to ask them in the same breath. For Suzy, sustainability requires inclusion. As Program Director of Petaluma Bounty, Suzi oversees an urban farm while organizing gleanings, affordable food incentive programs like Farmers’ Market LIFE, a sliding scale farm stand, food and farm literacy, and advocacy for policies and governmental services that promote community food security.
FARMERS GUILD LEADER OF THE YEAR: Laurel Greyson, San Diego Farmers Guild
With determination and an unstoppable drive for community, Laurel has taken the Farmers Guild phenomenon of Northern California and single-handedly rooted it into the soils down South. In less than a year, Laurel has galvanized her friends and local colleagues to form the San Diego Farmers Guild, a thriving hub promoting a new generation of agrarians. With creative meet-ups and new bridges between farmers young and old, urban and rural, eaters and growers alike, her energy has brought renewed life to an agricultural community facing urban development, rising land prices and a fast-aging population of farmers. Laurel and our newest outpost bring hope. We not only look forward to the addition of avocados and lemons to the Farmers Guild table, but also to a burgeoning new crop of innovative farmers representing our state’s southern reaches.
With determination and an unstoppable drive for community, Laurel has taken the Farmers Guild phenomenon of Northern California and single-handedly rooted it into the soils down South. In less than a year, Laurel has galvanized her friends and local colleagues to form the San Diego Farmers Guild, a thriving hub promoting a new generation of agrarians. With creative meet-ups and new bridges between farmers young and old, urban and rural, eaters and growers alike, her energy has brought renewed life to an agricultural community facing urban development, rising land prices and a fast-aging population of farmers. Laurel and our newest outpost bring hope. We not only look forward to the addition of avocados and lemons to the Farmers Guild table, but also to a burgeoning new crop of innovative farmers representing our state’s southern reaches.
Every February, at the annual Farmers Guild-Raising & Agrarian Lovers Ball, our community recognizes Californians contributing to a stronger local food economy, promoting food justice and empowering a new generation of agrarians. Recipients are selected from countless nominations by people like you.
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