Skarsgard Farms Growers Collective

Be Wise Ranch

Be Wise Ranch is a CCOF-certified family farm owned and managed by Bill and Marsanne Brammer. Located 20 miles north of San Diego and 8 miles east of the Pacific Ocean, their farm enjoys a unique microclimate that allows for year-round production.

Bill started farming in 1977 when organic farming was very much a grassroots movement. He started off planting several hundred avocado and citrus trees on his 20-acre homestead. After he and Marsanne married in 1982, they built a farmhouse on their land, leased some neighboring land and added early and late season crops of tomatoes, cucumbers, and green beans.

Bill remembers the hard work involved in overcoming the initial learning curve of organic farming and marketing in the new industry. Over time, Bill saw a dramatic change in the wildlife population around his farm and knew that this was a positive result of his efforts.
In the 1980s, Bill served as State President of CCOF for five years. In the 1990s, he was a founding member of the Organic Farming Research Foundation (OFRF).

Cuyama Orchards

Cuyuma Orchards is located in a remote mountainous area of Santa Barbara County surrounded by the Los Padres National Forest. Warm days, cool nights and ample native water makes this a perfect location for growing premium organic apples.

Cuyama Orchards has 150 acres under production owned and operated by the Albano family, who have been farming the Cuyuma Valley for over twenty years. They currently have three varieties under cultivation: Fuji, Pink Lady and Crimson Gold Crab apple, first introduced in 2001. The Pink Lady is a bi-color apple that originated in Australia. It is a cross between the Golden Delicious and Lady Williams, which was bred in 1973 by the Agriculture Department of Western Australia.

The Cuyama Valley name is derived from the word Chumash for the Chumash Indians who originally settled the area.

Del Cabo/Jacobs Farm

Del Cabo is a cooperative founded by longtime organic farmers Larry Jacobs and Sandra Belin of Jacob’s Farm. A successful working model of a socially responsible organization, Jacobs Farm / Del Cabo Cooperative improves the lives of small-scale growers and their families by providing economic opportunities and a safer environment free of toxic and persistent chemicals.

The idea of farm- and community-centered production supported by international market opportunities has proven to be very successful for Del Cabo. Today, this collaboration between Jacobs Farm and the Baja growers provides over 400 farming families with needed training in organic growing, harvesting, and handling, as well as start-up funds, farming technology, administrative training, and consistent distribution channels—ensuring the best return for small-scale organic farms. Learn more about Del Cabo here.

Excelsior Orchards

At Excelsior Orchard we grow sweet and sour cherries, apricots, peaches, nectarines, plums, pears and apples.  We also produce dried fruit, a variety of ciders and honey. All of our products are 100% USDA certified Organic. 

Since 2006 we have taken pride and pleasure in providing a variety of our products to LPO and its customers.  We are also members of LPO and thoroughly enjoy working with Monte and his hard working staff.

Full Belly Farm

Full Belly Farm is a 200-acre organic farm located in the Capay Valley, less than two hours northeast of the San Francisco Bay Area. Full Belly has been farmed using organic practices since 1984. The farm produces an amazing diversity of flowers, herbs, walnuts, fruits and many different vegetables.

Full Belly provides year-round employment for a crew of 30 and is owned by four partners who live with their families and work there full-time. The farm maintains several habitat areas for beneficial insects and wildlife and integrates crop production with long-term environmental stewardship.

As stated by the farm’s owners: "We strive to produce the highest quality food and to foster long-term mutually beneficial relationships with our customers. We are creating a vibrant and complex farm ecosystem that protects and stewards all farm resources. We strive for economic stability built upon the economic well being of our workers and the vitality of our community."

Joe Perry Farm

At 72, Joe Perry possesses many qualities of a much younger farmer. He rises at the crack of dawn and gets to work. Since his 75-acre organic farm is part of a historic park, Joe not only farms, he gives tours to school kids, telling tales of the old days when Fremont, now part of Silicon Valley, was once a small farm town.

Joe farms using the best organic techniques of cover cropping, composting and selecting seed varieties suited for his land and climate. He’s farmed nearly all of his adult life, most of it in Fremont, and his experience shows in the quality of his produce. The quality of his lettuce will rival or surpass lettuce from any other grower. We count on Joe Perry as one of our main suppliers of summer and autumn lettuce.

Johansen Ranch

Rich Johansen tells us:  In 1909, our Great Grandparents moved from South Dakota to the warmer climate of Orland, California where they purchased an 80-acre farm. Their primary business was a nursery.

In 1916, our grandparents were married and acquired 80 acres of the original farmland, where they cultivated apricots and peaches. In 1960, our family planted 2000 Owari Satsuma Mandarin trees. Other citrus were planted during the 1960s. Currently, we grow Owari Satsuma, Clementina Mandarins, Washington Navel, Blood Oranges, Meyer Lemons, and olives.

In the 1960s, our mom became deathly allergic to chemicals and she could no longer live on a conventional farm. Fortunately, our farm manager Ned Wilson was a native Cherokee whose dad and grandfather were experienced in farming without chemicals. With Ned’s help we converted to organic.

We are able to farm today because of the efforts and visions of many people, some dating back to 1910. Our goals are to be good stewards of the land, to help others realize their dreams, and to prepare the farm for the next generation.

Lakeside Organic Gardens

We started with 55 organic acres in California's Pajaro Valley and have expanded to over 1000 organic acres in Pajaro, and El Centro. Our growing practices are good for the Earth and the crops we produce are good for the consumer. We hope to see everyone eating more organic vegetables in the future and living longer healthier lives.

The Peixoto family is focused on providing the freshest organic produce available.

For over 35 years the Peixoto family has been growing produce in the Pajaro area. Dick Peixoto started his farming career in eighth grade by hiring neighborhood kids to pick tomatoes on his family farm so he could market them. From that early start his business has grown tremendously. In 1996 he recognized the advantages of organic produce and began transitioning to organic farming.

Las Palmalitas Ranch

Las Palmalitas Ranch is one of Veritable Vegetable’s most treasured family farms. Will Carlton and his son Billy are grower/packers of biodynamic and organic avocados and lemons. The family ranch, located in Carpinteria, California (near my alma matter of UC Santa Barbara) was started before the California Gold Rush in the early 1840s, and has been in production ever since. The Carltons have 20 acres of avocados of their own. Persuading other members of their extended family to become certified organic growers, they have added a total of 40 acres to their operation, and built a new packing shed two years ago.

Organic farming is a second career for Will, who spent 25 years working for Hewlett Packard. Since 2001 when Will and Billy decided to preserve the old family ranches and prevent them from encroaching development, they have been dedicated biodynamic farmers. Community-minded, the Carltons offered to pack organic fruit for their neighbors, and have helped to manage many orchards, successfully converting them to organic and biodynamic practices. One of these neighbors has three acres of persimmons that were grown under Will and Billy’s careful management.

Will Carlton has been on the California Avocado Commission for the past 5 years, and has been actively promoting organic and biodynamic farming within the broader agricultural community.

Phil Foster Ranches – Pinnacle Organic

Phil and Katherine Foster farm 240 acres of certified organic vegetables, melons and apples on two ranches in San Benito County, California. Their "Pinnacle" label is well known as one of the highest quality organic labels.

Due to the coastal influence, the 40-acre ranch in San Juan Bautista is ideal for growing cool weather crops such as lettuce, celery, strawberries, root crops and cabbages. The other 200 acres in Hollister has a hot dry summer perfect for growing onions, tomatoes, peppers, squash, garlic, sweet corn and melons.

Phil devotes 4-acres to making high quality, fertile compost for the farm’s needs. Phil believes the essential components of organic farming are: building the soil with cover crops and compost, practicing environmentally sensitive pest control, using recyclable materials and less water.

The ranch has 20 year round employees and 20 seasonal employees. Fieldworkers are paid 20% higher than California minimum wage, and receive a year-end bonus based on profits. Workers in-state family members are included in the health care plan too because, according to Phil and Katherine, a sustainable agriculture needs to sustain its workers too.

Sandpiper Farms

Sandpiper Farms was established in 1988 by Dan and Sherri Schmida. Dan and Sherri developed this organic label for strawberries, blackberries, and raspberries. The original planting was three acres of organic raspberries in 1985.

Their experience and dedication has translated into a premium quality organic Sandpiper label that is recognized as the top quality label for organic berries in California.

Beach Street Farms began marketing the Sandpiper label in 1999, and the Schmida family remains involved in an expansion effort to meet our customers' demands. Dan Schmida oversees the operation and brings experience and innovation to Sandpiper Farms.

T&D Willey Farms

Tom and Denesse Willey, of T&D Willey Farms, say:  We farm a 75-acre patch of the Central San Joaquin Valley in the southern half of California’s Great Central Valley. Watered by snow melt streams from the Sierra Nevada, the rich alluvial soils of this region make up the most productive farmscape on earth.

We have been farming since 1980 and certified organic since 1987. Tom and his staff of five grow everything from artichokes to rutabagas using the latest biological fertility systems. Denesse manages the hand-harvest, sales and shipping with her permanent staff of 25.

We pack our produce in recyclable paper lined wooden crates and compostable lugs made of recycled paper. We strive for freshness and only pick to order. We do not warehouse produce on the farm.

Terra Firma Farm

Paul Holmes started Terra Firma Farm over seventeen years ago with an old VW van and a rototiller on less than an acre of land. Over the years, the farm moved down to the fertile alluvial soils along the Putah Creek, just west of Winters at the hilly edge of the Sacramento Valley. In 1994, Paul Underhill joined Paul and they began to organize friends and acquaintances in San Francisco who wanted to get fresh, local organic vegetables delivered to their neighborhood on a regular basis. Their CSA program now has over 500 members and is complemented by their wholesale business. The farm has grown to include over 80 acres of fields and orchards, including walnuts, apricots and citrus. The farm supports 20 employees, many of whom have been with Paul Holmes since day one.

White Mountain Farm

White Mountain Farm is located in an ancient lake bed called the San Luis Valley. It lies between the San Juan and Sangre de Cristo Mountains of the Southern Colorado Rocky Mountains, at an elevation of about 7600 feet. The farm has been in the family since the 1930s. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the main crops were organically grown wheat, alfalfa, and sheep. In 1984 we started experimenting with Quinoa. In 1987, White Mountain Farm was incorporated and started growing certified organically grown Quinoa and potatoes. In 1987, White Mountain Farm was the first large-scale Quinoa operation in North America. Over the past years we have been selecting the best tasting Quinoa and potatoes to offer our customers.