On the third Saturday of each month, Pie Ranch hosts a Community Work Day, potluck dinner, and rollicking barn dance in the roadside barn. All are welcome; come lend a hand in the fields while you work alongside other volunteers and farmers. Celebrate the spirit of community at this monthly ritual of working together on the ranch, sharing locally grown food, and then spinning, laughing and dosey-doing together into the night.

The work day will begin at 2pm.

We offer an optional farm tour at 4pm that begins at the upper slice toolshed ($10-20//person, sliding scale).

Then join in the potluck at 6pm and dancing at 7pm until about 10pm.

The dance is $10-20 (sliding scale) to compensate Pie Ranch, the County Line Pickers (featuring Jim Davies, bass; Joni Davies, guitar; Josh Lane, mandolin; Ken Clarkson, banjo; Jon Young & Nancy Vail, fiddles) and caller, Andy Wilson.

To keep our barn dances open & accessible to the public, we cannot accommodate large, private groups of over 10 people.  Children under 12 free accompanied by their parents; if you bring a large group of youngsters (over 7, 10 the maximum) we request prior notification and a sliding fee of $5-10 per child.

Please help us provide ample activities and tools by emailing us your RSVP for the work day at events@pieranch.org.

Important info:

• Come check in at the Roadside Barn upon arrival to find out where the work day activities will be taking place.
• Please leave dogs at home. (We love dogs too, honest, but it is really not a good event to have dogs present)
• Be careful turning into Pie Ranch from Highway 1.
• Park at the Roadside Barn or in the field directly behind the roadside barn. PLEASE DO NOT DRIVE UP TO THE UPPER SLICE.  If you’re confused, please ask at the roadside barn.
• Bring water bottles, clothing layers, sunscreen, closed toe shoes, and sunhats.
• Bring work gloves, tools, and enthusiasm! (We have gloves and tools for you to use too).
• Please bring your own dishes and utensils for the potluck. Every bit of clean up help is greatly appreciated!
• To keep an inclusive, family atmosphere, the potluck and barn dance are alcohol-free events.

Pie Ranch extends a warm welcome to the new crop of apprentices for the 2013 year!  This accomplished group (Jenny is a certified yoga instructor, Sam plays drums, Reesha is a cheese maker, Emil can build with hay bales!!) comes with a lovely level of maturity and can-do spirit.  The apprenticeship is a year-long program designed to expose the apprentices to sustainable food systems, organic farm management, marketing produce & product, animal husbandry and working with youth & the public.  The apprentices participate in virtually every facet of Pie Ranch life from leading tours & work parties with the public, to site managing events to harvesting crops in the fields alongside permanent staff.  They are a critical piece of the pie here on the farm!

Emil Hansgen

Hello new co-workers, co-habitants, and soon to be friends!  I am moving to Pie Ranch from a short jaunt north, Oakland.  I moved to the Bay Area about seven years ago from Asheville, NC.  At the time of that move I had transitioned from identifying my primary passion as farming/gardening to focusing more on natural building (cob, adobe, straw bale, etc.) and especially natural finishes.  I have been lucky enough to have spent a great deal of my working time (and a lot of my pleasure time) doing earthen wall finishes in the Bay.  I still love this work and am excited to continue developing my knowledge and skills.  But as I rounded another of the great transitionary times that our human story offers (the Saturn Return OR Entering My Thirties), I received a loud clear message that I had not yet explored my connection to food and farming as much as I needed to.  I love to cook, to grow food, and to work hard.  I also love this planet, and see sustainable agriculture as one of the most important ways to protect and heal the Earth from the toll humans have taken and continue to take on Her. The youth programming is one of the reasons I was drawn to Pie Ranch in particular.  I like to imagine a future when all schools have gardens or farm programs to connect youth to the Earth through their food.

Reesha Katcher

I grew up in Massachusetts eating copious amounts of kimchi in a Jewish vegetarian home. In 2011, I participated in a Jewish farming fellowship in Connecticut, which grew into a year-long apprenticeship, which just ended this past December. As a result, you might hear some Yiddish or Hebrew slip out in my everyday speech. Oy vey! I’m excited to keep learning, especially about soil and plants. I love to sing and embroider, and I’m hoping I can learn some card games and get a yoga & stretching buddy this year. My embarrassing secret? I’m a little addicted to Netflix; I’m looking forward to getting weaned back into electricity-free fun. I can’t wait to build community, dance in the barn, and make meals with all of you!

Sam Lipschultz

I come from Santa Cruz where I became enamored with fruit trees, via New York City where I went to school, played music and worked on food justice projects, via Boston where I was born and raised. This coming year at Pie Ranch I want to learn how to manage a diversified farm, and I want to continue to figure out how growing food fits in my life. I’m also committed to centering social justice in my life, and am exploring how to do good work in creative ways that are helpful for other people and keep me going too. I’ve been dreaming of making cheese, learning more about soil care, taking more notes, playing my drums, watching plants grow, getting to know some animals, getting to know Pescadero, and hopefully experimenting with some woodworking projects.

Jennifer Helfand

I came to farming and social justice organizing at home in St. Paul, Minnesota as a high school student. Since then, I’ve been weaving anti-oppression work, sustainability and learning into many areas of my life. As an Environmental Studies major at Oberlin College, I had the opportunity to explore relationships between communities and the land. My education expanded in Americorps Seattle, supporting youth who were homeless and/or in foster care. In the last five years, I’ve worked on rural and urban farms in Washington, Ohio and Minnesota. Before my recent arrival to California, I was a youth restorative justice mediator at the Conflict Resolution Center in Minneapolis. I’m inspired by growers and activists centering community empowerment and healing in their work.

I just arrived to the Bay Area from Minnesota, and I’m amazed every day by the ocean. It is beautiful here. At Pie Ranch, I am looking forward to getting into a healthy rhythm working my first full season. I hope to build growing, food justice organizing and education skills.

]]> http://www.pieranch.org/2013/04/the-apprentices-of-2013/feed/ 0 http://www.pieranch.org/2013/03/april-20th-work-day-barn-dance/ http://www.pieranch.org/2013/03/april-20th-work-day-barn-dance/#comments Thu, 28 Mar 2013 21:17:44 +0000 Kelly http://www.pieranch.org/?p=3271

On the third Saturday of each month, Pie Ranch hosts a Community Work Day, potluck dinner, and rollicking barn dance in the roadside barn. All are welcome; come lend a hand in the fields while you work alongside other volunteers and farmers. Celebrate the spirit of community at this monthly ritual of working together on the ranch, sharing locally grown food, and then spinning, laughing and dosey-doing together into the night.

The work day will begin at 2pm.

We offer an optional farm tour at 4pm that begins at the upper slice toolshed ($10-20//person, sliding scale).

Then join in the potluck at 6pm and dancing at 7pm until about 10pm.

The dance is $10-20 (sliding scale) to compensate Pie Ranch, the County Line Pickers (featuring Jim Davies, bass; Joni Davies, guitar; Josh Lane, mandolin; Ken Clarkson, banjo; Jon Young & Nancy Vail, fiddles) and caller, Andy Wilson.

To keep our barn dances open & accessible to the public, we cannot accommodate large, private groups of over 10 people.  Children under 12 free accompanied by their parents; if you bring a large group of youngsters (over 7, 10 the maximum) we request prior notification and a sliding fee of $5-10 per child.

Please help us provide ample activities and tools by emailing us your RSVP for the work day at events@pieranch.org.

Important info:

• Come check in at the Roadside Barn upon arrival to find out where the work day activities will be taking place.
• Please leave dogs at home. (We love dogs too, honest, but it is really not a good event to have dogs present)
• Be careful turning into Pie Ranch from Highway 1.
• Park at the Roadside Barn or in the field directly behind the roadside barn. PLEASE DO NOT DRIVE UP TO THE UPPER SLICE.  If you’re confused, please ask at the roadside barn.
• Bring water bottles, clothing layers, sunscreen, closed toe shoes, and sunhats.
• Bring work gloves, tools, and enthusiasm! (We have gloves and tools for you to use too).
• Please bring your own dishes and utensils for the potluck. Every bit of clean up help is greatly appreciated!
• To keep an inclusive, family atmosphere, the potluck and barn dance are alcohol-free events.

David Stockhausen, Culinary Arts Program Coordinator

With a 15-year background in youth education, organic farming, and farm-to-table cooking, David is a great addition to the Pie Ranch team. Over the years, David has served as an educator in a myriad of contexts and has taught youth from diverse cultural and economic backgrounds with passion and drive. Last year, he served as the Farm Supervisor for the Homeless Garden Project in Santa Cruz, where he re-designed and implemented their training & education program, refining their vast farm curriculum. Since 2003 his passion for organic farming and gardening has led him to work on, manage, and inhabit various biodiverse organic farms from Vermont and California to NSW Austrailia. Though he has pursued these other passions, it is cooking that persists as his primary love and deepest practice for over 20 years.

Above all, he feels that it is through his toil as a farmer and his understanding as an educator, that he truly thrives as a chef.  Welcome to Pie Ranch David!

 Marc Cavatorta, Animal Husbandryman Journeyman

A couple years ago Marc decided that he wanted to learn more about sustainable agriculture and found an internship at Sustainable Settings, a non-profit educational facility and sustainable farm and ranch that produces “beyond organic” produce, meat, milk, and eggs in Carbondale, CO. There, he gained valuable knowledge about how to run an organic CSA, manage a dairy herd for a raw milk herd share, build healthy, organic soil, and raise animals for meat sustainably from birth to butchering. Over the past year, after moving to Davis, CA, Marc has been immersing himself in the organic agricultural community of Northern California. He completed a six month beginning farmer training program called the CA Farm Academy, where he learned about all of the aspects of starting and managing his own farm including finding land, financing, marketing, etc. Now he is ready to take on additional experience and hands-on training at Pie Ranch. Welcome Marc!

Alexandra Villegas, Pescadero High School Youth Coordinator

Alex was born and raised in rural San Diego, CA. She became interested in learning about the food system after her freshman year of college in San Francisco where she was studying fine art. After having exposure to the field to fork movement at Slow Food Nation 2008, she decided that instead, she wanted to focus her work in community-based food work. She moved home and connected with San Diego Roots Sustainable Food Project where she learned the value and power in community involvement with food education projects. In 2010 she transferred to UC Santa Cruz where she worked with the Food Systems Working Group as well as the Real Food Challenge. During her time as a student at UCSC, she organized ways for students to engage in the food system through multiple learning opportunities.

Alex believes that food is a language all its own that crosses cultural boundaries and brings people together. She is inspired by the community that is built through the preparation of a meal, and values food system education as a way to promote a healthy lifestyle for future generations. She comes to Pie Ranch eager to grow her leadership abilities and is very excited to help inspire students at Pescadero High School to recognize their own leadership potential. In her free time, she enjoys riding her bike, cooking with friends, traveling, and taking photographs.

Hai Vo, Oceana High School Youth Coordinator

Hai grew up cooking, sharing and enjoying large portions of traditional Vietnamese dishes on family holiday gatherings – weddings, anniversaries, graduations, and lunar festivals. For him, connecting to traditions, building with community inter-generationally, and cooking lots and lots of good food was and is inherent to who he is. The last seven years of his life he has been committed to youth food and farming organizing, advocacy, and leadership development. He has volunteered and interned on farms and gardens, helping with youth programming and leadership development, primarily with high school-aged youth of color. He has helped organize youth food justice campaigns locally and nationally, on- and offline, around food sovereignty and health issues. He is currently working on creating a youth food and farming KitchenCorps with People’s Kitchen 510 in Oakland, a program equipping youth with culinary arts career internships with strong social and food justice and sovereignty lenses. Hai is seeking food justice in his lifetime and believes youth are a key component to shifting food culture and policy in a movement toward food sovereignty and healthy food, soil, water, and land for all.

]]> http://www.pieranch.org/2013/03/welcome-to-team-pie/feed/ 0 http://www.pieranch.org/2013/02/march-16th-work-day-barn-dance/ http://www.pieranch.org/2013/02/march-16th-work-day-barn-dance/#comments Thu, 21 Feb 2013 22:35:41 +0000 Kelly http://www.pieranch.org/?p=3251  

On the third Saturday of each month, Pie Ranch hosts a Community Work Day, potluck dinner, and rollicking barn dance in the roadside barn. All are welcome; come lend a hand in the fields while you work alongside other volunteers and farmers. Celebrate the spirit of community at this monthly ritual of working together on the ranch, sharing locally grown food, and then spinning, laughing and dosey-doing together into the night.

The work day will begin at 2pm.

We offer an optional farm tour at 4pm that begins at the upper slice toolshed ($10-20//person, sliding scale).

Then join in the potluck at 6pm and dancing at 7pm until about 10pm.

The dance is $10-20 (sliding scale) to compensate Pie Ranch, the County Line Pickers (featuring Jim Davies, bass; Joni Davies, guitar; Josh Lane, mandolin; Ken Clarkson, banjo; Jon Young & Nancy Vail, fiddles) and caller, Andy Wilson.

To keep our barn dances open & accessible to the public, we cannot accommodate large, private groups of over 10 people.  Children under 12 free accompanied by their parents; if you bring a large group of youngsters (over 7, 10 the maximum) we request prior notification and a sliding fee of $5-10 per child.

Please help us provide ample activities and tools by emailing us your RSVP for the work day at events@pieranch.org.

Important info:

• Come check in at the Roadside Barn upon arrival to find out where the work day activities will be taking place.
• Please leave dogs at home. (We love dogs too, honest, but it is really not a good event to have dogs present)
• Be careful turning into Pie Ranch from Highway 1.
• Park at the Roadside Barn or in the field directly behind the roadside barn. PLEASE DO NOT DRIVE UP TO THE UPPER SLICE.  If you’re confused, please ask at the roadside barn.
• Bring water bottles, clothing layers, sunscreen, closed toe shoes, and sunhats.
• Bring work gloves, tools, and enthusiasm! (We have gloves and tools for you to use too).
• Please bring your own dishes and utensils for the potluck. Every bit of clean up help is greatly appreciated!
• To keep an inclusive, family atmosphere, the potluck and barn dance are alcohol-free events.

On the third Saturday of each month, Pie Ranch hosts a Community Work Day, potluck dinner, and rollicking barn dance in the roadside barn. All are welcome; come lend a hand in the fields while you work alongside other volunteers and farmers. Celebrate the spirit of community at this monthly ritual of working together on the ranch, sharing locally grown food, and then spinning, laughing and dosey-doing together into the night.

The work day will begin at 1pm.

We offer an optional farm tour at 3pm that begins at the upper slice toolshed ($10-20//person, sliding scale).

Then join in the potluck at 5pm and dancing at 6pm until about 9pm.

The dance is $10-20 (sliding scale) to compensate Pie Ranch, the County Line Pickers (featuring Jim Davies, bass; Joni Davies, guitar; Josh Lane, mandolin; Ken Clarkson, banjo; Jon Young & Nancy Vail, fiddles) and caller, Andy Wilson.

To keep our barn dances open & accessible to the public, we cannot accommodate large, private groups of over 10 people.  Children under 12 free accompanied by their parents; if you bring a large group of youngsters (over 7, 10 the maximum) we request prior notification and a sliding fee of $5-10 per child.

Please help us provide ample activities and tools by emailing us your RSVP for the work day at events@pieranch.org.

Important info:

• Come check in at the Roadside Barn upon arrival to find out where the work day activities will be taking place.
• Please leave dogs at home. (We love dogs too, honest, but it is really not a good event to have dogs present)
• Be careful turning into Pie Ranch from Highway 1.
• Park at the Roadside Barn or in the field directly behind the roadside barn. PLEASE DO NOT DRIVE UP TO THE UPPER SLICE.  If you’re confused, please ask at the roadside barn.
• Bring water bottles, clothing layers, sunscreen, closed toe shoes, and sunhats.
• Bring work gloves, tools, and enthusiasm! (We have gloves and tools for you to use too).
• Please bring your own dishes and utensils for the potluck. Every bit of clean up help is greatly appreciated!
• To keep an inclusive, family atmosphere, the potluck and barn dance are alcohol-free events.

Fruit Tree Pruning Workshop

Thursday, February 7^th 10am-1pm

Learn the basics of fruit tree pruning with Orin Martin, master orchardist & manager of the UCSC Alan Chadwick Garden and get some pointers in the Pie Ranch apple & pear orchards. Other instructors include Pie Ranch Farm Programs Director, Nancy Vail and Everett Family Farmers Zoe Hitchner & Sky DeMuro (also a past Pie Ranch apprentice).

Park in front of the historic farmhouse located on the lower slice & we’ll meet you there!

Bring felcos, pruning shears, notebooks, snacks, water, hats & sunscreen.

General admission: $30/person – check or cash please

Please RSVP nancy@pieranch.org

650-879-0995

Please note that the fee for the barn dance has changed!  Due to rising costs, we will be asking that folks pay $10-20, sliding scale for entrance to the barn dance!  

On the third Saturday of each month, Pie Ranch hosts a Community Work Day, potluck dinner, and rollicking barn dance in the roadside barn. All are welcome; come lend a hand in the fields while you work alongside other volunteers and farmers. Celebrate the spirit of community at this monthly ritual of working together on the ranch, sharing locally grown food, and then spinning, laughing and dosey-doing together into the night.

The work day will begin at 1pm.

We offer an optional farm tour at 3pm that begins at the upper slice toolshed ($5/person).

Then join in the potluck at 5pm and dancing at 6pm until about 9pm.

The dance is $10-20 (sliding scale) to compensate Pie Ranch, the County Line Pickers (featuring Jim Davies, bass; Joni Davies, guitar; Josh Lane, mandolin; Ken Clarkson, banjo; Jon Young & Nancy Vail, fiddles) and caller, Andy Wilson.

To keep our barn dances open & accessible to the public, we cannot accommodate large, private groups of over 10 people.  Children under 12 free accompanied by their parents; if you bring a large group of youngsters (over 7, 10 the maximum) we request prior notification and a sliding fee of $5-10 per child. Workday participants pay a discounted rate of $5-20 so come on down and hoe before you hoe down!

Please help us provide ample activities and tools by emailing us your RSVP for the work day at events@pieranch.org.

Important info:

• Come check in at the Roadside Barn upon arrival to find out where the work day activities will be taking place.
• Please leave dogs at home. (We love dogs too, honest, but it is really not a good event to have dogs present)
• Be careful turning into Pie Ranch from Highway 1.
• Park at the Roadside Barn or in the field directly behind the roadside barn. PLEASE DO NOT DRIVE UP TO THE UPPER SLICE.  If you’re confused, please ask at the roadside barn.
• Bring water bottles, clothing layers, sunscreen, closed toe shoes, and sunhats.
• Bring work gloves, tools, and enthusiasm! (We have gloves and tools for you to use too).
• Please bring your own dishes and utensils for the potluck. Every bit of clean up help is greatly appreciated!
• To keep an inclusive, family atmosphere, the potluck and barn dance are alcohol-free events.

Job Announcement

Co-Farm Manager-Emerging Farmer Program (CFM-EFP)

Pescadero, CA

Application Deadline: January 29^th, 2012

Pie Ranch is seeking a full-time Co-Farm Manager-Emerging Farmer Program (CFM-EFP) position for its 27-acre ranch, of which 10-acres are in use for production and teaching. We market our produce through a roadside farm stand, school-based Community Supported Agriculture program, to restaurants, bakeries, and farm events. Our dynamic farm offers educational opportunities for apprentices, interns, volunteers, and students from elementary through college. Our current production focus is on an integrated mix of vegetables, fruits, grains, beans, flowers and animal husbandry (laying hens, milk goats, pigs and cows). The CFM-EFP requires a strong practical knowledge of agricultural skills and farm management; ability to teach adults in sustainable agriculture skills & concepts; a broad understanding of community food security and a deep commitment to food justice and social change. The CFM-EFP works with our Co-Farm Manager-Youth Programs (CFM-YP) on the planning, coordination, and implementation of all work and farm activities at Pie Ranch. This position coordinates, supervises, teaches and mentors Pie Ranch’s Emerging Farmers – our apprentices and interns – while the CFM-YP does the same but with our high school youth. Together the Co-Farm Managers will collaborate on the planning and coordinating of all agricultural production activities from seed to harvest. This position is also responsible for marketing Pie Ranch produce through our Farm Stand, restaurant accounts, and collaborates with the CFM-YP on the CSA.

This is a full-time, year-round position. This shared management position works in direct collaboration with our Co-Farm Manager-Youth Programs staff person to oversee production, reports to the Farm Programs Director, and works closely with other staff to facilitate hands-on learning through farming.

KEY JOB RESPONSIBILITIES

Emerging Farmers – Supervision, Management, and Teaching

• Work with the CFM-YP to establish priorities and work plans for the apprentices, interns and volunteers, helping to maintain the daily flow of farm work.
• Serve as the direct supervisor for apprentices and interns, providing feedback, evaluation, and support in their living and learning environment on the farm.
• Instruct apprentices & interns in all aspects of growing and harvesting vegetables, fruits, tree crops, and herbs organically, including but not limited to: crop rotation & planning, greenhouse & direct sowings, field irrigation, bed preparation, planting, fertility, pest and pathogen management, and cultivation techniques.
• Deliver instruction, in-field training and formal training in all aspects of direct marketing management, including production planning, administration, and outreach as well as harvest and post-harvest handling techniques for field and orchard crops.
• With support from the Farm Programs Director, develop and manage the annual farm operations budget, tracking and monitoring revenue and expenditures.

Farm Management – The responsibilities below are shared with the CFM-YP and in collaboration with the Farm Programs Director & Executive Director

• Develop and carry out the annual crop plan and seed order.
• Perform tractor work in fields and orchards, plan and manage cultivation activities; maintain equipment
• Manage greenhouse and plant propagation, oversee and manage the planning and implementation of the weekly planting schedule for greenhouse seeding, field seeding, and transplanting.
• Manage overhead irrigation & drip systems, schedule & monitor irrigations.
• Manage insect and weed control, soil fertility monitoring, and general field observation.
• Manage Pie Ranch livestock, including: pastured hens, milk-goats, and dairy cows.
• Develop, manage, and maintain farm infrastructure plan.
• Maintain Pie Ranch’s Soil Fertility Management Plan and application process with CCOF.
• Maintain thorough records of all farm activities.

Harvest, Marketing, and Delivery

• In collaboration with CFM-YP, plan and manage weekly harvest schedule.
• Manage post-harvest handling, sales, marketing and distribution for on-site farm stand, restaurants, and bakeries. Assist CFM-YP with CSA & school food programs.
• Oversee marketing and outreach efforts of Pie Ranch produce and value-added products at Pie Ranch’s farm stand.
• Coordinate and assist with delivery of produce to restaurants & bakeries.

QUALIFICATIONS

• A minimum of 5 years of full-season agricultural experience.
• A minimum of 2 years of full-season farm management, including year-long farm planning and weekly schedules.
• Working knowledge of farm infrastructure.
• Supervisory experience with farm workers and volunteers.
• Experience managing the distribution and sale of farm products through Community Supported Agriculture, farmers’ markets, or wholesale to restaurants.
• Experience working collaboratively in a team environment with successful outcomes.
• Strong ability in operating tractors; farm machinery/small-engine maintenance and repair experience.
• Knowledge & experience with drip & overhead irrigation set up & operation.
• Experience with and interest in livestock management.
• Basic carpentry and general building maintenance skills.
• Experience and interest in working with diverse populations – different ages and various economic, social and political backgrounds.
• Possess qualities of self-motivation, time management, flexibility and cooperation.
• Strong communication skills; ability to work with team and community members respectfully and with patience.
• Ability to lift up to 40 pounds repeatedly, wake up early, and do physical labor 40+hrs/wk.
• Desire for long-term commitment and growth.
• BA from a four-year, degree-granting institution.

ADDITIONAL EXPECTATIONS

• Work takes place in the field, greenhouse, and office settings.
• This position works weekends and some evenings.
• Ability to perform hard and repetitive physical work.
• Professional, friendly, and enthusiastic personality.
• Access to a personal computer for work-product development and for communication.
• Possession of a current valid driver’s license and clean driving record.
• Criminal background checks required.

SALARY AND BENEFITS

This is a full-time, exempt, position located in San Mateo County. Salary is commensurate with experience. Compensation includes a comprehensive benefits package. Housing may be available.

TO APPLY

Please send a cover letter and resume detailing relevant experience, and 2 reference letters to employment@pieranch.org, and include Co-Farm Manager in the subject line. No phone calls, please. Initial deadline is January 29^th.  We hope to have this position start March 1^st.

Applicants only. Recruiters, please don’t contact this job poster.

Pie Ranch is committed to providing equal opportunity employment opportunities to candidates and employees without regard to race, religion, creed, age, sex, sexual orientation, or national origin citizenship. Pie Ranch encourages women and people of color to apply for employment opportunities.

Job Announcement

Culinary Arts Program Coordinator & Chef Educator

Pescadero, CA

Application Deadline: February 15^th, 2013

Since 2005, Pie Ranch has worked with urban and rural youth around food and farming, providing repeat visits to Pie Ranch and engaging youth back in the classroom. We are excited to now be strengthening our educational efforts around culinary and nutrition education with this part time position. The CAP Coordinator and Chef will be responsible for providing culinary and nutrition education to our youth education program participants as well as provide healthy meals on a regular basis to our permanent and temporary staff members. This position oversees the upkeep, maintenance and organization of the outdoor kitchen as well as designs and prepares seasonal meals at the farm that are in line with Pie Ranch’s values.

Key Job Responsibilities:

• Design and prepare all meals for program participants and events using farm fresh produce. Meals should be in line with Pie Ranch’s values of using ingredients that are accessible, affordable, delicious, nutritious, organic and local.
• Serve as the direct supervisor of kitchen organization and implement all associated systems.
• Stock and supply kitchen with all necessary items on a regular basis.
• Prepare educational lessons that enhance the cooking experience of participants and reinforce concepts around food justice, nutrition and culinary arts education.
• Work with Pie Ranch’s education and farm teams to create menus and lesson plans that meet each program’s unique needs.
• Work with the Finance Manager to create and maintain a CAP budget, tracking and monitoring revenue and expenditures.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• A minimum of 3-5 years experience cooking for large groups.
• A minimum of 2-3 years experience working with youth of diverse backgrounds in culinary arts, nutrition or related field.
• Youth leadership development experience and skills
• Strong organization, coordination and collaboration skills
• Knowledge, passion, and familiarity with local, organic, and seasonal produce.
• Ability to prepare cuisine that is culturally diverse, original and appealing to young people
• Friendliness, approachability and enthusiasm for working with other people, especially high school youth
• Proficiency with Word and Excel
• Scheduling flexibility, and availability to work some weekends. 

Desired:

• Commitment to personal health and interest in cooking and nutrition
• Experience in sustainable food systems/food justice work.
• Bilingual: English and Spanish
• Residence in proximity to the farm
• Strong organization, coordination and collaboration skills
• BA or BS from 4 year college in environmental sciences, education or related field, plus one year experience working in experiential education, youth leadership development or other relevant field; or
• AA 2 year college, plus two years of experience working in experiential education, youth leadership development or other relevant field;

Work Specific Requirements:

• Ability to lift 50 pounds and participate physically in kitchen work
• Access to computer for work-product development and for communicating with colleagues and collaborators
• Ability to drive and access to a vehicle for travel to and from farm, and for supply runs
• Criminal backgound checks required

Hours:

This is a part time position located at Pie Ranch’s farm in Pescadero CA, with anticipated weekly average of 20 hours per week. Program days will typically fall on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays and occasional weekends. The position will be from March 2013-Nov 2013, with possible extension and expansion of the position into the next calendar year.  Anticipated start date: March 1st 2013.

Compensation:

The hourly rate for this position will be $18-$21/hour depending on experience

To apply:

Please send a cover letter and resume detailing relevant experience, and 2 reference letters to employment@pieranch.org, and include CAP in the subject line. No phone calls, please. Initial deadline is February 15^th.  We hope to have this position start March 15^th.

Job applicants only.  Recruiters:  please don’t contact this job poster.

Pie Ranch is committed to providing equal opportunity employment opportunities to candidates and employees without regard to race, religion, creed, age, sex, sexual orientation, or national origin citizenship. Pie Ranch encourages women and people of color to apply for employment opportunities.

Job Announcement

Animal Husbandry Journeyman

Pescadero, CA

Application Deadline: January 29th, 2013

About the position:

Pie Ranch is seeking an Animal Husbandry Journeyman, which is a median level position, between apprentice & master. Our goal is to provide an opportunity for a hard-working, motivated person with proven leadership and dedication to sustainable farming and environmental education to develop and hone their animal husbandry and marketing skills in preparation for farming independently. This position is perfect for someone who would like to start or manage their own animal operation, but needs more  “practicing” on an established farm. The Animal Husbandry Journeyman works directly with our Co-Farm Managers and reports to the Farm Programs Director.

Responsibilities:  

Chickens -

• Oversee and lead day-to-day care of chickens.
• Make sure chickens have adequate feed and access to fresh water
• Monitor nesting boxes and coordinate with weekly schedule to clean out and refill with fresh straw as needed.
• Schedule and lead chicken coop clean out every 2-3 months
• Coordinate with farm managers when chicken fencing needs to be moved and when chicken moves will occur (approximately once a week)
• Monitor overall health of the birds
• Track egg number daily and input monthly records into Google Docs.
• Determine the weekly average and project how many eggs we’ll have available for the coming month.
• Wash and pack eggs with apprentices, interns and volunteers for markets.
• Assist with egg sales through farm stand, CSA, and restaurants (Farm managers will oversee management of most of these sales)
• Write monthly newsletter update on chickens, oversee deliveries of eggs to customers
• Coordinate donation of any unsold eggs.

Goats-

• Oversee and lead day-to-day care of goats

• Make sure goats are being feed adequately and they always have access to fresh water
• Oversee milking schedule – and milk quantity records
• Cleaning station – making sure bottles, sink, buckets, etc. stay sanitary.
• Monitor goats’ health
• Schedule hoof trimmings as needed
• Monitor feed supply and schedule a delivery organic alfalfa twice a year.
• Assist in baby goat care (castration, feeding)
• Monitor pasture health and report to farm managers when you think they need moving
• Check in with farm managers if there are issues or concerns about the goats.

Cows-

• Oversee and lead day-to-day care of cows

• Make sure cows are being fed adequately and have access to fresh water at all times
• Monitor overall health of cows
• Milking – same as goats
• Monitor health of pasture and move cows/irrigate where possible.
• Schedule and oversee any veterinary service.
• Check in with farm managers if there are issues or concerns about the cows.

Pigs/other animals – to be determined.

Animal integration with programs:

• Coordinate with program staff the schedule of milking demonstration and animal care.
• Oversee and facilitate with the apprentices (where necessary) the instruction to youth and adult visitors who are being taught how to milk the goats and/or cows.
• Assure proper safety guidelines when handling animals with the public and school programming.

Qualifications:

The Animal Husbandry Journeyman should have two to three years of experience working in the field on a diversified, sustainable or organic farm that integrates animal husbandry. It is highly preferred if candidates have managed staff or volunteers in the field, have experience with a CSA model or direct marketing of livestock of livestock products.

Compensation and Hours:

This is a full-time position, (35-50 hours/week, depending on the season) based in Pescadero, Ca. The Animal Husbandry Journeyman will receive 1 ½  to 2 days off/week, depending on the season. The salary range is $19,200-24,000/yr.  In case housing was required, rent would be deducted from the gross wages.

To apply:

Please send a cover letter and resume detailing relevant experience, and 2 reference letters to employment@pieranch.org, and include Animal Journyman in the subject line. No phone calls, please. Initial deadline is January 29^th.  We hope to have this position start March 1^st.

Applicants only. Recruiters, please don’t contact this job poster.
Pie Ranch is committed to providing equal opportunity employment opportunities to candidates and employees without regard to race, religion, creed, age, sex, sexual orientation, or national origin citizenship. Pie Ranch encourages women and people of color to apply for employment opportunities.

            By Ned Conwell, Jered Lawson, and Jessica Beckett

Pie Ranch is focused on creating a relationship-based food system, which embodies both transparency and integrity at every step. As you may have personally experienced, the food system in the United States has become increasingly opaque over the last century. The majority of food eaters do not know what is in their food, much less where it came from. A central focus of Pie Ranch is to connect the Bay Area public with the base of their food system, allowing eaters to meet farmers and talk about food, face-to-face.

In order to have a truly localized food system, where these types of direct eater-farmer relationships are possible, Pie Ranch has recognized that the Bay Area needs to increase the number of local farms that grow food expressly for local people. The westside of San Mateo is one of the most accessible regions with a large percentage of undeveloped, arable farmland left in the Bay Area. This agricultural land lies within easy driving distances of both San Francisco and the greater Silicon Valley.

Of the Food Shed Assessments completed by community interest groups in the San Francisco Bay Area, five have focused on recommendations for increased protection and promotion of regional farming (Wooten et al., 2009) If the arable farmland in San Mateo County is going to be protected for future generations, someone has to advance that agenda.

Fortunately for the eaters of the Bay Area,  much of the work has already been done to prevent development on potential agricultural land.  A handful of non-profit and state run organizations have worked together over the last few decades to conserve the land in western San Mateo County. These conservation organizations have collectively saved tens of thousands of acres, many of which are farmable, guarding their beauty and potential productivity for future generations. Were it not for the diligent work and foresight of these organizations over the last few decades, western San Mateo County today would likely look much like Silicon Valley.

“San Mateo; this used to be a very agricultural county- in fact the entire bayside was farms and orchards- you see there are no farms and orchards here anymore- it’s all houses. Our last remaining ag land is on the coast- and it’s threatened with being developed or being taken out of production, and I think that will diminish the entire county if that happens.”

- Scott Morrow MD,  San Mateo County Health Dept

Long before it was the Silicon Valley, the area from San Jose north to Fremont and Palo Alto was known as the Valley of Hearts Delight. The area was home to thousands of commercial fruit growing operations and shipped primarily stone fruit (peaches, plums, prunes) across the country (Jacobson, 2011). On the coastal side of the county, Italian families settled and started mixed vegetable operations and dairies that supplied San Francisco to the north and Santa Cruz to the south (Debenedetti, 1997). Rural San Mateo, along with the counties of Marin, Sonoma, and Napa fed the growing urban population of the Bay Area.

In these regions with such a deep agricultural heritage, much of the land today is privately owned by non-farmers. Some has been re-zoned for urban development as communities have grown and needed more space for housing. The vast majority of the eastern half of San Mateo County has been developed into roads, businesses, schools, and housing. Seven hundred thousand people now live in all of San Mateo County (Census, 2010) with just over fifty thousand of whom reside full time on the western side of the Coast Range mountains (Census, 2010). Western San Mateo County still retains much of its agricultural potential due to its low population density.

Given increasing population and development pressure, several land conservation organizations began over forty years ago to protect the wild lands of Western San Mateo County with the goals of habitat and open space preservation.   However, when these organizations began their mission to conserve this land, their focus was not on feeding future Bay Area residents. Their primary focus was on the conservation of natural, scenic and recreational resources of the area including efforts to protect habitat for wildlife, including the mountain lion and the San Francisco Garter snake.  In service of this mission of  nature oriented conservation, some San Mateo farms and ranches were decommissioned.   While in limited instances taking land out of production in order protect such wildlife and/or watersheds may be necessary, we also believe that agriculture can be an incredible tool for conservation and enhancement of the local ecosystem.  Well-trained farmers can be excellent land stewards and ambassadors for the land.  As some of the land trusts that work on the coast have observed, farms themselves can be meaningful portals for the public to connect with both the cultivated space and the wild space that abuts these properties.

Pie Ranch has been working since 2006 to address the issue of land access and tenure for farmers on the San Mateo Coast. Pie Ranch believes that farmers and ranches can be  terrific land stewards, and that keeping and getting more farmers back on the land in San Mateo will serve diverse interests. We recognized a need for an active voice for farmland preservation in San Mateo and have helped gather together diverse stakeholders to have that conversation. Pie Ranch was one of the founding members of the San Mateo Food Systems Alliance, an organization comprised of regional organizations, farmers, government representatives, and individuals who are interested in food system change in San Mateo. However large the vision, Pie Ranch is a small organization with limited staff time that operates both a working farm and educational programs. We understood early on that to make land more accessible for small farms in San Mateo County, we would need to partner with established institutions with the know-how, social capital, and funding to make this vision come about more quickly. This is why we began exploring the concept of broadly applied farmland preservation with the area‘s most established land conservation experts, Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) and the Mid Peninsula Regional Open Space District (MidPen).

Together with these partners, Pie Ranch has surveyed how other organizations are addressing these issues across the US, and what tools have been developed to create stable, affordable land tenure for farmers. This report details our findings.

Different Kinds of Land Tenure Agreements

There are many types of agreements that can increase farmer’s access to land - each with benefits and disadvantages. Property owners interested in leasing land to farmers and farmers interested in leasing or buying land should consider all of the options before choosing their preferred method of land access.

Owning in Fee

The most commonly understood land relationship in the US is for a person to own the ‘fee-title’ to their land. The fee-title is the equivalent of owning the pink-slip for a car: it signifies that one owns the deed on the property along with all rights to sell or develop it (within zoning and other county and state regulations). Owning the property in fee generally gives the farmer the most flexibility in farm management, but it can also be prohibitively expensive for famers in areas where land value is as high as it is in the Bay Area unless the farmlands’ tax structure is protected (such as through the Williamson Act in California),  farmland can become so valuable that even for farmers who own the land outright taxes can be a prohibitive additional expense.  In this case, encumbering a property with a conservation easement can help farm families keep the taxes on their land manageable over the long term.

Owning in Fee with Easements

Land can be made more affordable for farmers if it is encumbered with a conservation easement, which is a voluntary legal agreement restricting the use, development, and other activities on a property for all time. The easement is a document which sets out the restrictions on the land and is recorded in local land records. It acts, in essence, as a secondary deed on a property, which governs not its ownership but its development rights. The landowner still holds the fee title deed (ownership of the land), but the easement, or development rights, are held by a third party, most commonly a conservation organization or land trust. Because the development and use of the land is limited, the monetary value of the land is reduced. The monetary value of the easement is determined by an appraiser. The easement remains with the parcel of land in perpetuity, regardless of who owns the land or how often it changes hands. The easement holder, not the landowner, is responsible for enforcing the conservation restrictions contained in the easement.

Farming families can benefit from conservation easements, because an easement decreases the fee value (or sale price) of the property. The market value of the land goes down because the development and use-potential is limited in order to protect the inherent conservation values of the property. This means that the owner pays a reduced property tax rate on the land. A farmer can also sell the conservation easement on their land, while retaining the primary ownership of the farm, and use the income from selling the conservation easement towards new infrastructure.

A great organizational example of widespread use of this technique is the Marin Agricultural Land Trust (MALT). Over the last few decades, MALT has conserved over 50,000 acres of farm land  primarily by buying conservation easements. Many of the farm families who sold their easements used the money to upgrade their farm facilities in order to make farming viable for the next generation. Strauss Family Creamery, a well known milk, yogurt, ice cream and butter company, sold an agricultural conservation easement to MALT in 1993 and used the money to upgrade their operations to organic. They were the first organic dairy operation west of the Mississippi, and continue to thrive today (MALT, 2012).

Unfortunately, access to some agricultural land is unaffordable even when preserved under conservation easements (Sokolow, 2006). In addition, most of these easement-protected properties are still in their first generation of ownership under the easements, and there is concern that as the land changes hands, the amount of land held and worked by farmers will continue to decrease (Equity Trust, 2005).

A number of land trusts and farmland conservation programs in the Northeastern US have adopted farmland conservation tools to directly address the related goals of ensuring continued farming and land-affordability for farmers, rather than mere conservation of farmland as a static entity (Johnson, 2011).  The distinction between the efficacy of different methods of conservation lies in how the land is used.

Affirmative Easements

Affirmative easements help close the gap between a land with a traditional easement and what a farmer can actually afford. A restriction requiring the landowner to farm the property makes it less appealing, thereby limiting the pool of potential buyers and further reducing the value of the encumbered land, while respectively increasing the cost of the easement.

There are now many organizations that are successfully using Affirmative Easements. The Massachusetts Agricultural Preservation Restriction, through the State of Massachusetts, is one of the most prominent programs that currently includes an affirmative agricultural easement, in the form of an ‘affirmative covenant’.

Here in California, Live Power Farm in Covelo held the first affirmative easement in the state, held by Equity Trust (Lawson, 1997). Marin Agricultural Land Trust (MALT) and Ag Land Trust in Monterey County both hold easements with affirmative use language, as does the Land Trust for Santa Barbara County on an urban farm in Goleta called Fairview Gardens.

Pie Ranch supports Affirmative Agricultural Easements so long as they are used as an affirmative tool rather than as a punitive one. We also believe that conservation organizations should initially target parcels that are actively being farmed when testing this mechanism.

Option to Purchase at Agricultural Value

In response to the concern that protected farms were being purchased by non-farmers at prices higher than farmers could afford, legislation in two states established innovative farmland conservation programs which now authorize Options to Purchase at Agricultural Value (OPAV). An OPAV is an additional legal right appended to an agricultural conservation easement and owned by the easement holder. An Option allows the easement holder the legal right to purchase a conserved farm property any time that property is sold on the open market. The OPAV also sets the future price of conserved farmland at its appraised value based upon commercial agricultural use alone, disregarding factors such as location and views. As the agricultural value of the land is less than the “estate” value, this provides a substantial deterrent to non-farm buyers, and encourages the sale of conserved farmland to another farmer or land trust at a reasonable price. The State of Massachusetts, Vermont Land Trust, and Equity Trust (located in MA) have all adopted OPAV.

An OPAV can be exercised at time of sale, or assigned to another farmer. To save paperwork and government involvement, and thereby appeal to a broader group of farm owners, Vermont waives OPAV when a farm is transferred to family or a qualifying farmer. (A qualifying farmer is defined by the IRS as one earning 50% or more of their income from agriculture, according to VLT.) (Johnson, 2011)

OPAV gives the easement holder a measure of control over future land transactions, deters non-farm buyers, and may create an opportunity for land trusts and/or farmers to purchase these farms any time the land is transferred. OPAV ensures that agricultural land remains available for agricultural use. This mechanism is limited, however, in its ability to put the cost of farmland within reach of incoming farmers. The purchase price, while lower than commercial or estate value, may still be too high. In addition, land trusts or other easement holders may not have cash or financing available to exercise their Option to Purchase when a property goes on the market. To our knowledge, an OPAV has not yet been used in California.

 Leasing

Leasing is often the most affordable option for farmers as it requires the least upfront capital, but it comes with variables that can challenge the stability of a farming operation. Generally speaking, the longer the lease, the better for farmers. Year-to-year leases may provide flexibility for the owners and farmers, but do not provide incentives for sustainable land management practices that come with long-term planning. A tangible example is perennial cultivation. If a farmer is able to get a multi-year lease, they will be more likely to plant fruit trees and perennial borders that they wouldn’t otherwise take the risk to plant.

One challenge of traditional lease agreements is that they typically do not allow farmers to build equity on the land by building or improving infrastructure on the property. A farmer who invests in infrastructure on leased land most often loses that investment, because the farmer does not own the improvements and cannot sell them. Long-term leases that are inheritable and have the ability for a farmer to build equity, as described in the following section, are one of the best options for farmers in areas where land is expensive.

 Equity Lease

In this model, the fee title is held by a public entity, private entity, or private non-profit land trust. The farmer has a lifetime, inheritable and transferrable ground-lease. (Ideally, the lease is offered to the farmer at an affordable rate. However prices may also be set at market value, which can be an obstacle for new farmers where land is expensive.) The farmer purchases the buildings and other improvements on the land and invests in them over time. If the farmer wishes to let go of the lease, he/she may sell the improvements to another farmer at an affordable agricultural value determined by a set valuation criteria, monitored by the landowner. This means a farmer who has made improvements can retain the value of their investment in the land, even if they leave the lease.

With an equity lease, the value of the land is separated from the value of buildings and other improvements on the land. Land is removed from the market and held in trust by the fee title holder. The distribution of the rights and responsibilities to use the land is determined by the land-use agreements, rather than by the placement of title (Matthei, 1997).

The goal is for a farmer to build equity with a lifetime, inheritable and transferrable ground lease. The lease protects agreed-upon ecological, economic and social objectives between all parties. The lease requires buildings be owner-occupied, not sublet for vacation homes, and that that the land is farmed commercially. The lease may also ensure that the buildings remain affordable  at resale to the next farmer.

One example of an equity lease is Indian Line Farm in Massachusetts (Indian Line Farm, 2012). A community land trust holds the fee title to the land, The Nature Conservancy holds the development rights (conservation easement), and the farmers own the farm structures. This gives farmers the opportunity to build equity and have long term security with a 99-year lease. By taking away the burden of land debt, the farmers can focus on growing food for the community, achieving the conservation goals of the land, and maintaining a viable business.

Keys to Land Tenure

1) Farmland for Farming

2) Affordability

3) Secure Tenure

4) Equity Building Opportunities

5) Flexibility of Management

6) Trust

1)    Farmland for Farming 

Traditional land protection measures such as zoning and conservation easements have failed to keep farmland accessible to farmers who do not already own land, privileging those who can afford to buy land for speculation or for country estates. The land often ends up in the hands of estate buyers or second homeowners who do not intend to cultivate the land. Once we prioritize that farmland in San Mateo County is best used for farming, we as citizens and farmers, along with our private, public, and non-profit allies, can begin to imagine and implement some of the tools described above.

2)    Affordability

For farmers to be able to start new operations and maintain existing farms, land needs to be affordable. The definition of affordability in this case is based on the potential income of a farmer. While conservation easement programs have reduced the value of protected properties, it is still sometimes beyond the means of a family on a farming income. New proactive measures should be applied to farmland conservation to ensure that farmers can afford to purchase or lease land.

3)    Secure Tenure

In an age where farmland is bought on futures speculation, and owners may decide at a moment’s notice to develop or sell, farmers and owners should create stable, long-term agreements, such as a multi-year lease. Therefore the farmer has an incentive to build new infrastructure, repair current infrastructure, and maintain the soil and environmental health of the land to ensure the long-term viability of the operation.

4)    Equity Building

When structuring a lease, land-owners should allow farmers to build equity over the long term. Farmers with the opportunity to build equity will have a greater incentive to be a good tenant, to put time and energy into improving the soil structure and fertility, building and maintaining water systems and infrastructure, and upgrading or constructing new buildings such as barns or houses. When farmers are permitted to own and sell these improvements, they are better able to plan for the long-term health of the land, its resources, and its ecological features. Building equity can also help to create a financially-stable future for farming families.

5)    Flexible Management

Within reason, farmers should be supported in making the daily decisions about their farming operation with minimal interference. Farmers are by nature independent, and may be off put by detailed scrutiny from an inflexible landlord. The next generation of farmers is creating dynamic and diverse operations that rely upon on-the-ground decision-making. When choosing a tenant farmer, be sure to consider references and to choose farmers that will operate according to the lease and any easement requirements.

6)    Trust

Lastly, the long-term tenure of any farm relies on the mutual trust of the individuals involved. Be it a lease agreement, owner-owned, or community supported agriculture project, we have found that if relationships between the parties is based on trust, the outcome is more likely to be positive.

 Preserving the Base of our Local Food System

“We need to preserve productive farmland so we know we have this basic resource to provide our communities with the food that it needs.”

- Jered Lawson, Pie Ranch Executive Director

Initially when Pie Ranch began calling for land access for farmers in San Mateo County, we were prepared to embark on a broad public policy initiative modeled after the Homestead Act. Instead of the government giving the land away, we envisioned that the government would protect the land, like they do with parks. Rather than conserving land just for natural resource protection and recreation, Pie Ranch envisioned that some land would be designated for food production, making long-term ground leases available for farmers interested in serving local food needs.

There are now efforts being made by our regional land trusts and open space district to serve that vision. MidPen is beginning to take on working row crop lands after successfully leasing rangelands. POST has been getting farmers back on easement-controlled land in San Mateo County, and more recently they have been advancing a full-fledged Farmland Protection Program. There are private landowners in western San Mateo County who are ready to discuss how they can participate. When Pie Ranch began to research the theme of land access for farmers, we discovered these many disparate voices speaking along similar lines.

Pie Ranch, together with the San Mateo Food System Alliance, has worked over the last six years to bring those voices together. Organizing events, workshops, and meetings with the stakeholders in San Mateo County, we have begun to harmonize the diverse efforts into a unified call for action. We look forward to continuing to collaborate with MidPen and POST on their upcoming efforts for farmland protection.

San Mateo County has amazing resources at its fingertips. We have available farmland that has been conserved and we have farmers that are willing to farm it. We have a public that is interested in local food and farming, and we have organizations that want to facilitate land access for emerging farmers. We believe the success of these efforts will be assured as long as private, non-profit, and public landowners will keep in mind the six Keys to Land Access.

Pie Ranch will continue to advocate for improved conditions for farmers growing food for local markets, and for the public to have opportunities to interface with those farms. We are committed to access to land for farmers to ensure the health and viability of a regional food system that will feed our children and grandchildren. We wholeheartedly believe that local food system resilience is possible, given the right mix of public policy infrastructure, individual support, and organizational leadership. We at Pie Ranch will continue to work hard to realize this vision.

 References

Debenedetti, Jack L., Jr. Brussel Sprouts and Artichoke Growing on the North Coast Interview. May 1997 Regional History Project, University of California Santa Cruz.

Cited from Transcript 2.25.10: http://library.ucsc.edu/reg-hist/debenedetti

Equity Trust (2005). Farmers and Farmland for the Future: Beyond Conservation Easements. DVD. Turners Falls, MA, Equity Trust, Inc.

Indian Line Farm Website: http://www.indianlinefarm.com/history.html. Cited July 6, 2012.

Jacobson, Yvonne, Passing Farms, Enduring Values: California’s Santa Clara Valley (2001). California History Center Foundation; 2nd edition.

Johnson, Kendra (2008). “Preserving Farmland, But For Whom?” Master’s Thesis, UC Davis Community Development Graduate Group.

Johnson, Kendra (2011). “Tools for Small Farm Preservation in Capay Valley, Yolo County.” Unpublished report.

Lawson, Jered (1997). “This Land Shall Be Forever Stewarded: The story of a community’s effort to preserve the farm through sharing property equity.” Davis, CA, Community Alliance with Family Farmers.

MALT website: http://www.malt.org/protected/straus-dairy Cited July 5, 2012.

Matthei, Chuck (1997). Excerpt from “Farms of Tomorrow, Revisted,” edited by Trauger Groh and Steven McFadden. Biodynamic Farming and Gardening Association.

Pacific Legal Foundation Website: http://www.pacificlegal.org/page.aspx?pid=1233#.T_3Pd5gz2rc. Cited July 11, 2012.

Parsons, Robert; Kathryn, Ruhf; G.W, Stevenson; John Baker; Michael Bell; Ethan Gilbert; Jess Epley; Chandra Hinton; Julie Keller (2010). The Farm LASTS Project: Agricultural Land Tenure. USDA. CSREES. Available at: www.uvm.edu/farmlasts

Siedenburg, K. and Bournhonesque, R. “Community Food Assessment: A Tool to Develop Better Food Systems.” CFSC Spring 2004 Newsletter. Available at: http://foodsecurity.org/CFSCSpring2004.pdf.

Sokolow, Alvin D. (2006). “A National View of Agricultural Easement Programs: Measuring Success in Protecting Farmland – Report 4.” The National Assessment of Agricultural Easement Programs: A joint project of American Farmland Trust and Agricultural Issues Center. University of California, Davis.

Vermont Housing and Conservation Board Website: http://www.vhcb.org/agoption.html Cited November 27, 2012.

Wikipedia.org Webpage: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservation_easement. Cited November 27, 2012.

Witt, Susan and Rossier, Jay (1990). “A New Lease on Farmland for the Northeast.” E.F. Schumacher Society, Barrington, MA.

Wooten, Heather MCP and Parente, Amy. Food System Meta-Analysis for the San Francisco Bay Area, Public Health Law & Policy in collaboration with Food First, March 2009, p. 22.

Additional Resources

California Farmlink, http://www.californiafarmlink.org/joomla/index.php

Marin Agricultural Land Trust, http://www.malt.org/

Land For Good, www.landforgood.org

The Farmland Access, Succession, Tenure and Stewardship (FarmLASTS) Project www.uvm.edu/farmlasts

Equity Trust, www.equitytrust.org

New England Small Farm Institute, www.smallfarm.org

ATTRA, www.attra.org

Please note that the fee for the barn dance has changed!  Due to rising costs, we will be asking that folks pay $10-20, sliding scale for entrance to the barn dance!  

On the third Saturday of each month, Pie Ranch hosts a Community Work Day, potluck dinner, and rollicking barn dance in the roadside barn. All are welcome; come lend a hand in the fields while you work alongside other volunteers and farmers. Celebrate the spirit of community at this monthly ritual of working together on the ranch, sharing locally grown food, and then spinning, laughing and dosey-doing together into the night.

The work day will begin at 1pm.

We offer an optional farm tour at 3pm that begins at the upper slice toolshed ($5/person).

Then join in the potluck at 5pm and dancing at 6pm until about 9pm.

The dance is $10-20 (sliding scale) to compensate Pie Ranch, the County Line Pickers (featuring Jim Davies, bass; Joni Davies, guitar; Josh Lane, mandolin; Ken Clarkson, banjo; Jon Young & Nancy Vail, fiddles) and caller, Andy Wilson.

To keep our barn dances open & accessible to the public, we cannot accommodate large, private groups of over 10 people.  Children under 12 free accompanied by their parents; if you bring a large group of youngsters (over 7, 10 the maximum) we request prior notification and a sliding fee of $5-10 per child. Workday participants pay a discounted rate of $5-20 so come on down and hoe before you hoe down!

Please help us provide ample activities and tools by emailing us your RSVP for the work day at events@pieranch.org.

Important info:

• Come check in at the Roadside Barn upon arrival to find out where the work day activities will be taking place.
• Please leave dogs at home. (We love dogs too, honest, but it is really not a good event to have dogs present)
• Be careful turning into Pie Ranch from Highway 1.
• Park at the Roadside Barn or in the field directly behind the roadside barn. PLEASE DO NOT DRIVE UP TO THE UPPER SLICE.  If you’re confused, please ask at the roadside barn.
• Bring water bottles, clothing layers, sunscreen, closed toe shoes, and sunhats.
• Bring work gloves, tools, and enthusiasm! (We have gloves and tools for you to use too).
• Please bring your own dishes and utensils for the potluck. Every bit of clean up help is greatly appreciated!
• To keep an inclusive, family atmosphere, the potluck and barn dance are alcohol-free events.

Pie Ranch Apprenticeship Perks: Delicious farm produce!

Pie Ranch is a twenty-seven acre, educational farm with animals & crops to tend, a farm stand to run, youth programming to teach, tours for the public to lead & corporate events to cook for; all of which involve apprentice support or leadership.  The ranch can be a hive of activity for the apprentices with lots of dynamic learning taking place; it can also be a wet slog through the rain with a bag of feed over your shoulder & yet another dump run to make after an overnight with a partner school!   It’s our job to select applicants who are prepared to help Pie Ranch fulfill it’s mission to the fullest.

Our current crew of apprentices are a hard-working, intellectually curious lot; resourceful & intelligent; quick to laugh and eager to try new things.  We recently sat down with two of them to get their thoughts on the apprenticeship.  Here is what they had to say:

Maya, addressing the crowd at the annual fundraising dinner

Maya

Where are you from & when did you first become interested in farming?  I am originally from Olympia Washington & went to school in Stockton at UOP.  Although I began my work at school in social justice, several rough experiences with the college cafeteria & being surrounded by the stockyards of Stockton prompted a change towards food justice.  I soon found myself working at a community farm & studying food justice, interviewing the workers at the farm about their experiences.

Why Pie Ranch?  I was drawn to Pie Ranch because of it’s reputation as a place for fostering food justice.  I’m  from a family of educators and I feel strongly about Pie Ranch’s commitment to educating kids about the source of their food.  I enjoy the small size of Pie Ranch & feel lucky that we have such a diverse production crop.  I also love the feeling of community here at the farm.

What’s the living situation like for apprentices here at the farm?  I live in a yurt and have a cranking wood stove.  It’s an art to get the stove to the right temperature where you don’t evaporate from your sweat output.  I love my yurt-it is private and away from the doings at the ranch. I like living with the other apprentices in Yurttown, we have a big outdoor kitchen that we all share.  There isn’t tons of privacy on a public place, but on the other hand, we can take lots of pride in what we do because what we do is self-evident; it’s our home.

You mentioned a bit of a privacy issue; what other things can be a challenge here at Pie Ranch?  It’s hard to take your own personal time off when you live where you work!  Sharing the outdoor kitchen with the various critters can be a challenge!

Olivia

Olivia at "circle up" a Pie Ranch pre-meal tradition

Where are you from & when did you first become interested in farming?  I grew up in a house where we grew our own food – I always had a deep conncection to where my food came from.  I reconnected to this past at UCSC by taking a course on food & food justice.  I started interning on farms in the Santa Cruz area & combined it with sustainable ag studies at UCSC along with environmental studies.  After graduation, I still loved the food angle even though I thought I would do something else!

Why Pie Ranch? I got hired at Pie Ranch to do the farm stand and moved into the apprenticeship role over the summer.  I realized I had missed farming when I came back to Pie Ranch.

 What’s your take on the living situation here at the farm? I’ve never lived in a circle!  It changes everything.  I love the wood burning stove & my yurt.  It’s a beautiful farm & an amazing area with tons of wildlife, the sounds of birds; it’s really peaceful.  Except when the goats or cow are in heat.  Animal alarm clocks are great!  Cooking in the outdoor kitchen is fun in the summer!  It feels like camping!

What are some challenges regarding the living situation? Order in the kitchen and communal space is hard.  We are really communal!  Sharing with the public, other apprentices & critters!  Sense of separation between work day & personal time is tough.

Describe the educational aspect of the Pie Ranch apprenticeship program?

Maya – I think the farming lessons are very practical.  Everyone is willing to answer questions.  I wish there was a bit more structured class time.  But the classes we do get are awesome.  You need to be proactive to get the most out of the experience.

Olivia- I’m learning without even realizing it.  It’s experiential.  I like structured academics too so sometimes, I would appreciate a more structured learning environment.

Where will this experience take you?

Maya – I don’t know where I’m going after Pie, everything I’ve learned is going to be so useful in what I want to do: farming, advocacy, education. It’s also a very connected place and the referral I will get from my peeps at Pie will be beneficial.

Olivia: I see this as a stepping stone to my future endeavors.  Not totally clear where I am going but I get lots of ideas and daydream a ton based on them. I am building a foundation for myself that is very broad.  We are involved in canning, education, farming, food advocacy – I can use all these skills.  I intend to continue with food advocacy/education.