farm

The Story of the Oishi Family Farm

By Chris Mittelstaedt on May 16, 2023

This newsletter is dedicated to the Japanese-American Internees The Oishi family was part of the farming community of Japanese immigrants and Americans of Japanese ancestry who were flower growers …

Filed Under: Profiles Tagged With: Agriculture, farm

Featured Farm: Fruit World

By Pia Hinckle on December 3, 2021

Fruit World is famous for its extraordinary Sky Ranch Mandarins, a clementine grown on farmer Bianca Kaprielian’s grandfather’s ranch, which sits atop one of the area’s tallest foothills and is named …

Filed Under: FruitGuys News, Profiles Tagged With: citrus, family farm, farm, mandarin

Farm Grantees Make Progress Despite Pandemic

By The FruitGuys Community Fund on September 18, 2020

The FruitGuys Community Fund 2020 grantee farms have sent us their interim updates, and in spite of the pandemic, these farms and organizations have done some incredible work! These 15 small farms and …

Filed Under: Impact Tagged With: California, Chicago, farm, farmers, fruitguys community fund, New York, Pennsylvania, pollinators, small farms, support small farms, sustainable agriculture

The 2020 FruitGuys Community Fund Grantees

By The FruitGuys Community Fund on May 13, 2020

During the COVID-19 crisis, small farms are showing once again just how essential they are to keeping our local communities fed, healthy, and functioning. The FruitGuys Community Fund is excited to …

Filed Under: Profiles Tagged With: California, farm, farmers, fruitguys community fund, New York, Pennsylvania, pollinators, small farms, support small farms, sustainable agriculture

Eat the Endangered Gravenstein Apple

By Pia Hinckle on August 1, 2019

“Farming is a complex math problem,” sighs Dave Hale as he looks sadly at piles of wood chips that had been Gravenstein apple trees in the lot next to his thriving Sebastopol, CA, orchard. He tended …

Filed Under: Profiles Tagged With: California, farm, Gravenstein

From Seed to Need

By Sheila Cassani on April 23, 2015

The FruitGuys Community Fund, a nonprofit fiscally sponsored project of Community Initiatives, will award small American farms and agricultural nonprofits a total of $35,643 in 2015 for sustainability …

Filed Under: FruitGuys News, Impact Tagged With: farm, farm grants, fruitguys community fund, GoodWorks, sustainability, sustainable farming

Hungry for Farmland

By Stephanie Rosenbaum on July 31, 2014

Clear Spring Farm, PA. If you live in an eco-conscious region fighting to preserve its local family farms, chances are you’ve seen bumper stickers such as “Know your farmer, know your food.” “I …

Filed Under: FruitGuys News, Profiles Tagged With: farm, small farms

Buy a Box; Save an Apple

By Miriam Wolf on July 25, 2014

Like the snowy owl and the snail darter, foods can be endangered too. If farmers stop growing your favorite variety of tomato because it’s too hard to ship or too prone to pests, we come that much …

Filed Under: FruitGuys News, Profiles Tagged With: California, farm, GoodWorks, Gravenstein

California’s Bitter Drought

By Pia Hinckle on January 23, 2014

Image courtesy of NOAA California Governor Jerry Brown declared on January 17, 2014, what farmers and ranchers have known for some time -- the state is in a drought, possibly the worst one in …

Filed Under: FruitGuys News Tagged With: California, drought, farm, fruitguys community fund

Save The Gravenstein

By FruitGuys Staff on July 29, 2013

“Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree.” —Martin Luther (1483–1546, a German monk and church reformer) In a world awash with Red Delicious …

Filed Under: Fruit Tips Tagged With: apple, California, farm, Gravenstein, heirloom fruit

The Farm Bill: Why Farmers Need to Be Activists

By Tanya Tolchin on March 25, 2013

Many small family farms switch into gear in late winter and early spring to get the farm season on track. On our farm we are busy ordering seeds, building new hoop houses, fixing fences, tuning up …

Filed Under: FruitGuys News Tagged With: family farm, farm, organic farming, organic fruit, small farms

Durst Organic Growers

By Heidi Lewis on March 23, 2013

Farming with Heart By Heidi Lewis The main ingredient in good vegetables, says farmer Jim Durst, is soil: “Feed the soil, and the soil will feed the plants." Jim and his wife, Deborah, have been …

Filed Under: FruitGuys News, Profiles Tagged With: family farm, farm, organic farming

Where Does My Fruit Come From?

By The FruitGuys on October 15, 2012

The FruitGuys buys the best produce we can find from small and local farms whenever possible. Our regional hubs across the country allow us to create local networks of farms and produce wholesalers so …

Filed Under: Fruit Tips, FruitGuys News Tagged With: farm, fresh fruit

Subsidizing Big Ag

By Charlene Oldham on October 11, 2012

Small Farms Left Out of Farm Bill By Charlene Oldham When the first “farm bill” was created in the late 1930s to help family farms, horses and hand plows were as common on farms as Model …

Filed Under: FruitGuys News Tagged With: Agriculture, family farm, farm, farmers, health, organic farming, sustainability

Talking About The Weather

By Chris Mittelstaedt on February 14, 2012

There’s a fast-paced, smart device game called “Fingerzilla” that lets you rain Godzilla-like destruction down upon virtual cityscapes and towns using only your finger. While being at the helm of such …

Filed Under: FruitGuys News Tagged With: citrus, farm, nectarine, small farms, stone fruit, winter

The Lemon Lady

By FruitGuys Staff on February 2, 2012

Karen Morss is called the Lemon Lady. She started her suburban Emerald Hills, CA (San Mateo County), an organic citrus farm, Lemon Ladies Orchard, in 2004. She has done her part breaking glass …

Filed Under: Profiles Tagged With: California, farm, organic farming, organic fruit

FruitGuys Donations are Backbone of Some Food Pantries

By Pia Hinckle on December 13, 2011

In a year when more people continued to struggle with less, The FruitGuys GoodWorks program responded to the realities of the continuing hard economy by making micro-loans to farmers; increasing …

Filed Under: Impact Tagged With: farm, fruit donations, holiday donations, sustainability

Irene Hits Farms

By Pia Hinckle on September 7, 2011

By Pia Hinckle While damage varied from state to state and even within the same county, Tropical Storm Irene hit many farms from North Carolina to Vermont hard. Growers reported everything from …

Filed Under: FruitGuys News Tagged With: farm

Getting Back Up

By Chris Mittelstaedt on September 2, 2011

I’ve always been a pretty active person—something that made coming down with a random medical condition all the more humbling. About a month ago I had an acute onset of achalasia, an uncommon disorder …

Filed Under: FruitGuys News Tagged With: fall, farm

Pest Policy Questioned: Panelists say Quarantines Unfair to California Farmers

By Pia Hinckle on June 16, 2010

The Light Brown Apple Moth is an indigenous pest considered harmless to crops in New Zealand, Hawaii, Australia, and the UK, all countries that are free to export fruits and vegetables to U.S. markets …

Filed Under: FruitGuys News Tagged With: Agriculture, California, farm, pesticides