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Valley News
08/27/07
Farms plant seeds for family outings
By Kimberly K. Fu/Staff
Writer - TheReporter.Com
Faud Ateyeh (right), his wife (left) and daughter look for vegetables Sunday during Suisun Valley Fun Family Farm Days. (Nina Robinson/The Reporter)
As the clock struck 11 a.m. Sunday, Suisun Valley merchants opened their arms and their businesses to visitors of the first of three Family Fun Farm Days of the season, an event inaugurated last year.
By 1 p.m., the area teemed with people, along with chickens, dogs, llamas and myriad other animal friends.
At Parker Farms, a sweet-faced canine nodded off under a tall white table as Vacaville resident Diane Stam picked through the tomatoes exhibited on top.
"I have never seen this many colors of tomatoes so we wanted to try new ones," she said, indicating the greens and yellows in her bag. She soon wandered into the cabana area, which is new this year. Also new are the chickens slated to produce organic eggs.
Around front, children and adults threw ripe tomatoes at a pair of scarecrows and won candy for their hits.
Many of the youthful players, it seems, have surprisingly good aim, said game staffer Devon Anderson of Fairfield.
"Some of these kids, you don't think they've got it in them, and they have an arm and just bust it," she said with a grin.
At Tenbrink Winery, visitors sifted through sweet pluots and marveled at the gigantic tomatoes. Owner Linda Tenbrink refused to identify a favorite variety, emphasizing that "it's like asking me to choose between my children. I like them all."
Meanwhile, Mario Moratorio with the University of California Cooperative Extension explained the use of a refractometer in gauging the sweetness of wine grapes. According to his test, Tenbrink's Pinot Noir rated a 26, making it sweeter than the Petit Sirah, which rated a 23.
At 99 Cherry Orchard, 3-year-old Christopher Castles of Sacramento repeatedly hugged Mr. Jelly Belly as Sneakers the dog sat on his grandmother's foot. As Pat Stevens coaxed the pooch into another position, the boy continued his love fest.
"He likes any person that's in a costume," said his mom, Leila Castles. The family likes fun drives with family activities, she said, which made this day perfect.
"The gourmet stuff is nice for the adults and there's stuff for the kids," she said.
The next Family Fun Farm Day is set for Sept. 23, with the final event on Oct. 21.
Kimberly K. Fu can be reached at cops@thereporter.com.
08/27/07
A harvest of creativity
By Audrey Wong - Daily Republic
Children paint pottey at the Clay Station at Mankas Corner during Fun Family Farm Days Sunday. (Adam Smith/Daily Republic)
MANKAS CORNER - Nkosi Williams-Ross, 9, shaped, molded and created to his hearts content Sunday at The Clay Station on Mankas Corner.
He proudly displayed a red and blue coffee cup and spoke about how he punched his finger through the clay to make the handle.
'Its very fun,' Nkosi said of the clay making. 'I love it because we make our own stuff and we get better at it.'
But Nkosi didnt just express his artistic side at the Fun Family Farm Day Sunday. He beat on a Japanese Taiko drum at The Vegetable Patch, ate jelly beans and pet llamas at 99 Cherry Orchard.
'They felt really squishy,' Nkosi said.
The second annual Fun Family Farm Days highlights the farms, restaurants and other businesses in the Suisun Valley as well as harvest time. Suisun Valley Harvest Trails organizes the event. Participants follow a map to the vendors.
Foot traffic was steady, said Tracy Ellison, Suisun Valley Agricultural Ambassador. Ellison estimated attendance was lower than the 2,200 people who came last year but vendors drew many new customers, Ellison said. The next Fun Family Farm Days are from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 23 and Oct. 21.
Attendance was 'above a normal Sunday,' Ellison said.
Children swarmed the candle making and clay play table at The Clay Station, an artist cooperative. Young people packed cubes of brightly colored wax into a Dixie cup then co-op member Casey Erlenheim poured hot wax into the cups to create candles. Erlenheim estimated she helped make 50 candles.
Small artists flattened, balled up and rolled clay into pottery or creatures. Aiden Richards, 8, made a cleaning monster which seeks trash with its large eyes and picks up clothes with its antenna.
Phylicia Horton, 10, improvised with the clay, bending the sides up then dabbing red paint on it to make a dish. She had no idea what her final product was going to be.
'Sometimes when you think about stuff you make up stuff,' she
said.
Reach Audrey Wong at 427-6951 or awong@dailyrepublic.net.3/23/07
National Agriculture Week celebrates puts focus on local farmers
By Ines Bebea - Daily Republic
Ray Erickson, owner of the Erickson Ranch on Cordelia Road, walks through the blooming fruit trees on his ranch. (Photo by Zachary Kaufman)
Although many of the Fairfield farm stands werent open during the National Agriculture Week celebration this week, Ray Erickson is looking forward to selling his produce and farm-made jam in the summer. With a passion for farm life grown from working side-by-side with his father, Ericksons commitment runs deeper than family connections.
'What I like best is being around nature,' Erickson said. 'You get to see all the seasonal changes, and to watch how the seeds you plant begin to grow.'
Growing produce is the easy part. Staying competitive in a global economy is a different story altogether.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, imports of fruits and preparations, including frozen juices from China, increased from $160 million in 2002 to $480 million in 2006. China also exported $339 million vegetables and preparations in 2006 to the U.S. China is No. 2 on a list of biggest exporters to the U.S.
The increase in volume of imported produce is the motivation behind Pacific Coast Farmers Market Association support for Agriculture Week.
'The primary reason is to bring back focus on to the local farmer who grows our food,' said John Sildeira, director of Pacific Coast Farmers Association. 'The grown-local, buy-local campaign is something that we want to encourage people to do. Because when we make that choice, we are helping California family farms stay in business.'
Many California farms are struggling under the weight of the global economy, Sildeira added. Their disappearance will bring an end to the relationship between the local farmer and consumers.
'If we lose our local farmer, we lose the connection with how and from where the food we consume makes its way to our dinner table,' Sildeira said. 'Agriculture Week is celebrated during the first day of spring to let people known that fresh crops from their local farmers are available.'
To diversify his marketability, Erickson and his wife began making and selling jam from their own produce two years ago.
'Because of county regulations, we had to build a commercial kitchen in order to sell it on the farm,' Erickson said. 'But by selling the jam, we get to offer our customers an additional product.'
To stay competitive, Erickson also sells directly to grocers and farmers markets in Sonoma, Petaluma and Oakland.
'Many farmers are doing more than just farming,' said Tracy Ellison, agricultural ambassador for the Suisun Valley Fund Advisory Committee. 'Farmers are looking for value-added items, as they are getting ready for the season. They are not just about farming the land, they are looking for other ways to be sustainable.'
Ellison compared Ericksons jam making to what the grape growers have been doing for years. Wine grape growers dont just sell grapes, they sell wine as well, which is their biggest value-added item.
'Grape growers also diversify by having wine tasting rooms,' she said. 'Making jam or dried fruit from your own produce is the same concept, times change and they have to find ways to stay in business.'
Reach Ines Bebea at 427-6934 or ibebea@dailyrepublic.net.
Economic Impact of California Agriculture
Farmers generate $59 billion
Agriculture supports 1.1 million jobs, accounting for 7.4 percent of all employment
Fresh and processed fruits account for $30 billion and 567,000 jobs
Animal products account for $11 billion and 214,000 jobs
Food and feed grains account for $10 billion and 192,000 jobs
In Californias Central valley, agriculture accounts for 21 percent of all income and 25 percent of all employment
Source: The University of California Agricultural Issues Center, UC Davis
Erickson Ranch
Produce stand and dahlia patch
2482 Cordelia Road
864-0557
- Archives
- 3/11/2007 - Time for a new approach? -- Suisun Valley wine growers seek different methods to grow business
- 2/14/2007 - Ag ambassador making Suisun Valley a must-see destination
- 9/2/2006 - Pick your own flowers
- 9/2006 - A cornucopia of fruit/ Local produce sweet and plentiful
- 9/2006 - Solano County grows grapes by the ton/ Many end up bottled in some of California's best vintages
- 9/2006 - Cut & dried/Farm family's roots in fruit
- August 28, 2006 - Farmers showcase produce/Sowing seed goodwill on the farm
- 05/14/2006 - Three-part series examining the future of Suisun Valley Agriculture
- 4/3/2006 - Welcome to Fairfield "LED" Sign
- 3/24/2006 - Suisun Valley Committee wants wine tasting room
- 3/24/2006 - Wine room is a great idea
- 3/29/2006 - Agriculture to get close look
- 2/5/2006 - Suisun Valley's Hidden, oily secret
- 11/15/2005 - KCBS Treasure Hunt Promotion Concludes with V.I.P. Tour