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Bulletin, Progressive, Record, Reporter Wednesday, June 22, 2011 1B
REGI()NAL
B::EDITORIAL AND OPINION • UPCOMING EVENTS
Divers00caticn: Sierra Valley
Farms breaks new 2ro0000nd
In Sierra Valley, increasing productivity means extending the growing season. The Romanos of Sierra Valley Farms look to greenhouses to accomplish this. Romano
only wants to keep off the frost. He encourages plants to adapt to the local climate and become hardier on their own. Wasabi, at top right, may become part of the
Sierra Valley Farms lineup of products in the future. Currently, the beautiful leaves of the Japanese plant are used to garnish plates in fancy restaurants while the
Romanos increase their quantities of the slow-growing plant. Photos by Diana Jorgenson
Diana Jorgenson
Staff Writer
djorgenson@plumasnews.com
I come from third-
generation farmers
on both sides of my
family," said Gary Romano of
Sierra Valley Farms, by way
of introduction.
He was raised on a flower
farm near San Jose and spent
summers haying with his
cousins in Sierra Valley.
"I spent my childhood
farming and swore I'd never
do it again."
His grandfather emigrated
from Italy in 1906 and bought
the first of several family
ranches under the Home-
stead Act.
Gary's mother was born in
Sierra Valley, and family
members continued to run
the ranches through the
1970s.
Although Romano disliked
farming, he liked plants so he
got a degree in horticulture
and went to work for the
California Department of
Parks and Recreation.
He also loved Sierra Valley
and when his aunt and uncle,
Emilio and Betty Folchi,
were ready to sell their
65-acre family farm in 1989,
he was ready to buy it.
Although he bought the
farm for its family value
and for historical reasons,
Romano noted, "My roots
started tugging at me, trying
to grow things."
Nevertheless, he had no
illusions: "Sierra Valley is
the worst place in the world
to start a farm."
He continued to work for
Parks and Rec. He was based
at that time in Tahoe City
and later in Truckee. He
invested in three green-
houses costing $80,000 and
spent about five years
figuring out what woUld
grow in his part of the valley.
At that time, there was a
big market for native plants
because planning depart-
ments were requiring that
land be re-stocked with
native plants after develop-
ment.
Sierra Valley Farms
began, then, as a native
plant nursery.
Romano soon discovered
that there were no local
outlets for native plants, so
he got his license and became
a landscaper.
That carried him and his
family for about seven years,
long enough for the organic
farming industry to begin to
move and organize.
He worked with the organi-
zation of a farmers market in
Truckee as part of his job
with Parks and Rec and saw
an avenue for his produce.
Gary and his wife, Kim,
were now ready to leave
salaried employment behind
and become farmers.
Going organic was an easy
decision. Organic farming
was just the "old-style"
farming he had been taught.
Romano laughed that his
Italian forbears were so
cheap, they wouldn't spend a
dime on fertilizer even if it
did help.
The farm had lain fallow
for 30 years and was a
great candidate for organic
certification.
The Romanos concentrated
on cool season crops like
salad greens and radishes,
after noting that they were
no longer available in the
Central Valley after June.
Today, that is still their
mainstay. They grow lettuce,
greens, spinach, beets,
carrots, broccoli and kale
and sell it at four different
farmers markets as well as
supplying several restau-
rants with their salad needs.
The quality of their pro-
duce is what differentiates
their produce from others'.
Naturally occurring boron
in the soil and the hardiness
required of plants in this
climate make the Sierra
Valley Farms lettuce durable:
often lasting three weeks in
the crisper.
Today, Sierra Valley
Farms hosts its own farmers
market, one that has evolved
over the past 15 years.
Back then, there was no
..... "i :i ; ...... .
Kim Romano stands by plants from the native plant nursery. Native plants were the beginnings of
Sierra Valley Farms and continue to be one of its offerings among a growing list of enterprises.
farmers market in Plumas
County, so the Romanos
began by buying up produce
from their fellow vendors in
Truckee and bringing it to
the farm for re-sale.
They had the idea of
bringing customers to the
farm, and agritourism was
born at Sierra Valley Farms.
The market grew and
attracted vendors of its own.
People came and bought,
often staying two or three
hours to watch the cooking
demonstrations featured at
noon.
The old 1936 buildings on
the farm were memorabilia
See Farm, page 9B
'Agritourism' means more agencies to
Diana lorgenson
Staff Writer
djorgenson@plumasnews.com
Diversification on small
farms is not a new concept.
Subsistence farms try to
satisfy as many of the farm
family's daily needs on site in
order to reduce their reliance
on cash, and subsistence
farms are as old as the act of
planting.
But times have changed
and in today's world, it's
frequently, not possible to
live on a small amount of
cash. Today's farmer looks to
diversifying income sources
to make ends meet.
That premise was the
foundation for a recent
Ranch Diversification Tour
hosted by Sierra CRAFT
(Collaborative Regional Al-
liance for Farmer Training),
Who would have guessed that
being a farmer would mean
dusting off your public speak-
ing skills? Gary Romano of
Sierra Valley Farms has found
increasing need for them in
hosting farmers markets and
dining events on the farm.
contact
the University of California
Cooperative Extension and
Plumas Rural Services.
The daylong field trip
visited hree local ranches
and discussed what these
farmers and ranchers were
doing to meet their needs in
changing times.
Not only must today's
farmers monitor potential
markets and look at "stack-
ing" enterprises as a way of
increasing farm income, they
face an onslaught of new
regulatory agencies along
with the costs of permits and
complying with regulations.
This is new and it can be
daunting.
While Gary Romano of
Sierra Valley Farms credits a
family farming history and a
degree in horticulture for his
success as a farmer, he is
equally indebted to his job in
the California Department of
Parks and Recreation.
Not only did his "day job"
pay for his investment into
farming, Romano was made
familiar with government
agencies and processes.
He knew what went into
permitting farmers markets
and was undaunted by certifi-
cation requirements for
organic farming.
He continues to draw
from his knowledge of the
regulatory bureaucracy as
he moves even further into
agritourism.
"Agritourism" means any
income-generating activity
conducted on a working farm
or ranch for the enjoyment
and education of visitors.
This includes the interpreta-
tion of the natural, cultural,
historical and environmental
assets of the land and the
people working on it."
So said Holly George,
UC Cooperative Extension
adviser for Plumas and
Sierra counties, and Ellie
Rilla, UC Cooperative Exten-
sion for Marin County, in an
article entitled "Agritourism
enterprises on your farm
or ranch: understanding
regulations."
• This publication and a
companion article (Publica-
tions 8333 and 8334) on where
to start the process of per-
mitting your proposed enter-
prise are available from
the University of California
Division of Agriculture
and Natural Resources
(anrcatalog.ucdavis.edu).
For Romano, agritourism
began with an on-farm
farmers market and con-
tinues with his "Dinner in
the Barn" series.
For the Harrisons at Green
Gulch Ranch (to be featured
in Part III of this series), it
means operating a hunting
preserve for small groups of
hunters•
Every enterprise added to
the ranch roster may involve
a new regulatory agency in
the process.
"Do your homework,"
George and Rilla advise
ranchers who are beginning
new enterprises and make
friends of your local officials.
Ask lots of questions and let
your neighbors in on your
plans early in the process.
If you identify regulatory
requirements in the be-
ginning, you can anticipate
expenses and build them
into your business plan.
That will give you a
more fair indication of
your enterprise's chance of
success.