Community Alliance with Family Farmers - July 2015
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This past month, our region has been busy participating in a number of farmer education workshops on the Central Coast and beyond. Read on to learn more about what we've been up to!

Remember to like us on both the CAFF: Santa Clara Valley and the CAFF: Central Coast Facebook pages to stay updated about CAFF news and events!

Recap of Dry Farming Workshop at

Silver Mtn Vineyards

On June 30^th, CAFF hosted a Dry Farming Workshop for grape growers at Silver Mountain Vineyards, in partnership with the Viticulture Association of the Santa Cruz Mountains (VASCM). Speakers included Lars Pierce from CSUMB, Rich Casale from NRCS, Tom Shapland from Tule Technologies and Lisa Francioni from the CA Sustainable Winegrowers Alliance. The workshop ended with a tour of Silver Mountain Vineyards from owner Jerold O'Brien and a potluck and wine tasting. Our next Dry Farming Workshop will be in Valley Center, CA on August 7^th. Visit our website as more workshops are announced.

Member Spotlight: Route 1 Farms

This month we are highlighting long-time CAFF member, Route 1 Farms. CAFF and Route 1 have worked together in various capacities over the years, most recently last year as a provider of apples for CAFF's Harvest of the Month

program, which supplies tasting kits of local produce and lesson plans to local schools.

For over 25 years, owner Jeff Larkey has been farming 65 acres of certified-organic land on the Santa Cruz coast. From apricots to kohlrabi to sunchokes, Route 1 grows a large variety of organic produce.

Locals can purchase their produce at all of the Santa Cruz farmers markets, in local grocery stores and on restaurant menus throughout the Central Coast. Route 1 also runs a very successful Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) program; they are still accepting members for their Summer Season CSA, which runs until early December. Two summer share sizes are available: an individual share for $420 or $700 for a family share for the season. Depending on the time of year some of the typical items you can expect to find in your CSA share are: lettuce, kale, cabbage, cilantro, tomatoes, potatoes, bell peppers, radicchio, collards, herbs, summer and winter squash, chard and lots more.

Recap of Tri-Valley Marketing Roundtable

CAFF recently spoke on a panel at the Tri Valley Marketing Roundtable Workshop, organized by Sustainable Agricu lture Edu cation (SAGE) and hosted by Wente Viney ards in Livermore, CA. The panel also consisted of the executive chef and catering chef from The Restaurant at Wente, the chef/owner of Sideboard in Danville, and local farmers. The focus of the workshop was how local farmers can establish relationships with farm to table restaurants, and the benefits and challenges with selling to restaurants. The workshop concluded with a wine tasting and a tour of the garden at Wente that supplies The Restaurant with much of its produce. Thank you to SAGE for organizing and Wente Vineyards for hosting us!

Save the Date: CSA Workshop-Aug. 18th

CAFF will be partnering with UC Davis for a series of CSA workshops taking place on the Central Coast, Davis, Sonoma, Chico and Visalia. Researchers from UC Davis will be presenting the results of a survey of CSA farmers, with a discussion to follow. We will also be discussing the future of CSAs and will have an update on CAFF's CSA network. The first workshop in the series will be on the Central Coast (location TBD) on Tuesday, August 18^th. If you are a CSA farmer on the Central Coast and are interested in hosting the workshop in August, please email Rosemary Quinn at rosemary@caff.org. Read more about our work with CSA farmers on our website and stay tuned for details about these upcoming CSA workshops.

Recap of Farming Community Mixer

On July 15th, CAFF was invited to participate in a Farming Community Mixer, organized by El Pajaro Community Development Corporation, ALBA and California FarmLink that took place in the commercial kitchen incubator in downtown Watsonville. The mixer was well-attended by farmers, local chefs, produce buyers, farm support agencies, landowners and lenders.

Events and Workshops

Appropriate Planters/Seeders for Small-Scale Mixed Vegetable Operations

UCSC Farm

July 20 1pm-3pm

The UCSC Farm is offering a free workshop that will

demonstrate the three types of seeders that are most commonly used on small-scale, diverse vegetable farms. Read the workshop flyer for more details. Please RSVP to Melissa Betrone, mbetrone@ucsc.edu, to receive parking information and other details.

Growing and Designing Special Event Flowers

Alan Chadwick Garden at UCSC

July 25 10am-3pm

Professional flower grower Zoe Hitchner of Front Porch Farm in Healdsburg, and Sky DeMuro of UCSC's Alan Chadwick Garden will be leading a day-long workshop on special event flowers. Zoe and Sky will lead participants in demonstrations and hands-on activities as we make unique, seasonal arrangements that are farm-fresh and elegant. In addition to basic floral design techniques including hand-tied bouquets, centerpieces, corsages, and boutonniers, this workshop will also cover organic growing and selection tips for those who want to grow their own bouquets. For details about the workshop and to purchase tickets, visit Brown Paper Tickets.

Taste of Santa Clara Valley

October 17

CAFF will be partnering with Santa Clara County Parks to host the second annual farm to fork dinner at Martial Cottle Park in San Jose on Saturday, October 17. We will be announcing the chef and posting a link for tickets soon; stay tuned! Sponsorship opportunities are available; please contact Rosemary Quinn at rosemary@caff.org if you are interested in becoming a sponsor.