Everything is opening up again now that COVID-19 is receding and vaccinations are increasing. So Vacaville farmers were thrilled to open their property to visitors Saturday at Open Farm Days.
The event continues Sunday.
They had to skip the annual event last year due to the pandemic. The event is sponsored by the Pleasants Valley Agriculture Association, a group of farmers in Vacaville with a collective interest in agriculture tourism, preserving agricultural land and cross-promoting with local businesses in Solano County.
At Bucktown Harvest Farm, John and Sheri Mendes treated guests to a time to meet the animals, who showed up courtesy of Zinger Ranch Farm Sanctuary, owned by Steve and Missy Benzinger. They brought along Ezra the Duck and Axel Foley the Goat. Missy explained that the goat is named after the main character from the movie, “Beverly Hills Cop” and that she and Steve like to name their animals after characters from 1980s movies.
The Benzingers have almost 200 animals at their sanctuary, including goats, donkeys, sheep, ducks, turkeys and even an emu. They connect the animals with the community at events like Open Farm Days or also as therapy. The LNU Lightning Complex Fire last summer burned all but about two of their 185 acres, but the grazing animals kept the grass short on those two acres, which kept the Benzinger’s home from burning down.
Axel Foley is a very tame goat and welcomed the interest and petting of the many children in attendance. Also showcased was the Mendes’s very own pig, Petunia, who gave birth to a litter Friday night, just in time for visitors. Petunia is a kunekune heritage hog, a small breed of domestic pig from New Zealand. Sheri Mendes gave a “pig talk” to the visitors about the breed.
Bucktown Harvest Farm has a persimmon orchard, its main crop. The Mendeses also harvest walnuts and pecans and will venture into figs in the near future.
Also on hand were Veronica Bearce and Stephanie Jordan from Sustainable Solano to give a cooking demo on making peach salsa.
The demo, said Bearce, is about “learning how to utilize the fresh produce that is produced in the area, using as much local as possible… We are in charge of having a drop point for where those places (local farmers) drop off food, and people who subscribe pick up their produce and/or meats.”
Robin Lynde of Meridian Jacobs gave a demo on weaving the fiber of Jacob Sheep, which are horned, with two or four horns, and have a spotted fleece.
“With the spotted fleece, if I sort the wool I get three different natural colors,” said Lynde, who had some of her wares available for purchase, including blankets, scarves and shawls. “We have irrigated pasture, ten acres, about 100 sheep now because there are still a lot of lambs left. I go into winter with about 65 and then we lamb in the spring. I have them primarily for their wool although I also sell them for butcher lambs.”
Right up the road from Bucktown Harvest Farm is Be Love Farm, an organic farm and farm store owned by Matthew and Terces Engelhart. They have had the 21-acre farm for 18 years.
“We are jacks of all trades, masters of none,” said Matthew Engelhart. “We do everything from asparagus to zinfandel. We do wine, olive oil, vegetables, fruits, nuts, make teas, milk cows, so we are a very diverse farm. But our main product is love and hospitality.”
The farm store is open seven days a week on an honor system, as no one attends to it except to stock it. It is self-serve and customers can pay by Venmo, check or cash.
Matthew Engelhart gave a 45-minute tour of the farm. He said the farm is an experiment in regenerative agriculture, noting that farmers are collectors of solar energy. He said that three principles guide his farming.
The first is minimal disturbance. He said that Mother Earth is modest and wants to keep herself covered. He said that plowing the ground is the most destructive thing someone can do to the soil, which is complex and contains much life. He added that climate health, soil health and human health are all related.
The second principle is diversity, the same thing that makes a nation great. He said that “nature cannot stand a monoculture” and noted that when something is planted, weeds are the first responders, as they are trying to knit back the area of earth which has been disturbed. As he put, “Nature always bats last.”
The third principle is animal integration because animals promote ecological benefits for the farm.
Be Love Farm grows drought-resistant crops, such as mulberries and pistachios.
Meanwhile, out at Soul Food Farms, owner Alexis Koefoed was happy to be back open to the public, as the farm had to shut down completely and had zero income during COVID.
“It was a struggle, but we had time to get things done on the farm and to conceive of this store and open it up again,” she said.
The primary products at Soul Food are olive oil and flowers and a lavender business in partnership with Morningsun Herb Farm just down the road.
Prior to COVID, Soul Food had a fruit stand, but Koefoed has now renovated a small building that serves as the stand and just opened a month ago. The store, which is open Fridays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., is filled with items from farmers in Solano County, including beef and lamb from local ranchers and dried goods from local farmers.
On Sunday a half dozen local farmers will have booths set up at Soul Food Farm to introduce people to what they do on their farms. Sustainable Solano will also be doing a cooking demo, and Zinger Ranch will showcase their animals.
“It’s just a chance for people to connect out here with their rural neighbors and meet the farmers,” said Koefoed.
Deb Galloway and Kirk Howard run Menagerie Hill Ranch, which welcomed kids and adults to interact with their alpacas. They currently have 28 of them and a couple of llamas.
“Our kids were in 4H and over time they ended up having pretty much every species you can think of,” said Galloway. “So when I discovered alpacas it was kind of like, ‘Well, what’s one more?’ Our kids are grown and gone now and all their animals are grown and gone, but we kept the alpacas.”
The farm, which they have owned for 20 years, is also home to chickens, whose eggs are for sale. But the mainstay of the farm is the alpacas. Alpacas live for about 20-25 years and the litter is almost invariably just one.
“We raise them for the fiber and also for seed stock for other breeders,” said Galloway. “The fiber we turn into yarn and these hats and gloves here are made from our yarn.”
The hats and gloves and other items are made by Melanie Perkins, who uses a circular sock-knitting machine, which can produce hats and other goods. It uses small latch needles which were first invented in the early 1800s for mechanized knitting. The machines were used to make socks during the Civil War.
The farm gives tours by appointment only, for $25 per person. The farm also rents the alpacas for special events, like weddings and photo shoots.
While other farms suffered during COVID, Menagerie Hill Ranch did well, to the surprise of Galloway.
“We actually sold more alpacas last year than we would typically sell,” she said. “And it seems that likely it is because people were working from home.”
She added, “A lot of people moved out of the city and bought property. So all of a sudden there were people who had the space to keep them. We sold to quite a few people who had just bought property.”
The six farms participating in this year’s Open Farm Days are:
Soul Food Farm, 6046 Pleasants Valley Road
Morningsun Herb Farm, 6137 Pleasants Valley Road
Brazelton Ranch, 3628 Gates Canyon Road
Bucktown Harvest Farm, 6902 Bucktown Lane
Be Love Farm, 7071 Bucktown Lane
Menagerie Hill Ranch, 4071 Norman Court
For more info on Sunday activities, visit pleasantsvalleyagricultureassociation.com/open-farm-days-2021.
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June 27, 2021 at 07:22AM
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Open Farm Days welcomes visitors this weekend - Vacaville Reporter
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