Handy Farms History

Crazy For Healthy

In 2017 my wife and I took our life savings and made a small down payment on some land. Were we crazy? Probably, especially looking back, but we wouldn’t change a thing. These past four years have been full of the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. So many tears, so many prayers, so much sweat and so much beauty. Farming is not for the faint of heart. It will put you through the wringer. We could write a book of everything we did wrong. Through it all, we finally have some trees that are bearing fruit of our labor. We had a harvest this year! It wasn’t much, but we all start somewhere.

My dear wife knows that I was never going to be content until I had land. It’s been a passion I’ve had since I could remember. Living in the countryside with a family, a big garden and lots of animals has been my dream. I have always loved life in all its shapes, sizes, and color. I have a special love for trees. I’m a certified arborist. I completed a degree in Forestry and Horticulture. In college I was introduced to natural farming and permaculture. I still remember the moment my paradigm shifted. I was reading a paragraph from “One straw revolution” by Masanobu Fukuoka. He described the abundance of life in his rice patties that he naturally farmed. His farm was teaming with life in all its forms. After years of trial and error he carefully was able to manage the balance without using chemicals and synthetic fertilizers and still get comparable yields to his conventional neighbors but his costs so much lower. I grew up in a small farming community and didn’t realize there was any other way to farm. GMO’s, Chemicals and synthetic fertilizers were the only way. This started a new journey. I began learning all I could about permaculture and natural farming. Then I found regenerative agriculture, biodynamic farming and holistic management and continued to read all I could.  I couldn’t wait to be able to have some land to practice all that I was learning.

Meanwhile, I had a family and needed to make a living. I began working for large farming outfits. My first employment was for large conventional orchards growing walnuts, prunes, almonds, pistachios, pecans, and olives. There was so much to learn, and I became a sponge. I wanted to understand everything I could about growing these crops. I quickly learned how strong the conventional farming culture is and had to be very careful about what I said and suggestions I made. At the end of the day, it was a business and understandably had to make money.  Risks needed to be low, and profits maximized. There were many things I incorporated that were regenerative practices and we had some success, but there were also others that we had failures. I learned that if I were to ever prove these natural farming methods to the extent needed, I would have to take the risk on my own with my own money, land, and crop.

Today we have that organic, regenerative, natural farm. From the beginning we incorporated the principles I had learned. There have been some extreme challenges that can come with this kind of farming, but we’re learning from our mistakes and are progressing. Soil health has been the priority. We started with a clean system- it has never been conventionally farmed. It was just a pasture, with no chemical residues because none were used. Nor have they been since then. We truly have a “clean” orchard. Most organic orchard operations begin with chemicals for three years till trees are more established, then transition to organic. Our operation has been “clean” from the beginning. This has come with its own challenges, but we were committed to be chemical free from day one.

One of my greatest joys is working alongside my wife and kids at the farm. Our kids and their friends can run, play, and climb trees any day they want in the orchard. That was never the case when we lived on conventional farms. We were living in the middle of the orchards but could never step foot because of chemical sprays, equipment, and liability. It was so sad. Now on our property they have free reign. Our kids are truly free-range kids, playing in the orchard for hours on end. We also love walking down the tree rows to admire all the life, from the birds to the worms and the bees to the frogs. I can’t describe the joy that comes from farming in this way.

It will take time to pay off the farm. I still have a day job. I’m a weekend farmer. We hope one day that I’ll be able to farm full time on our little property. We know we can get there sooner if we direct market our walnuts to our customers. We’re looking for like-minded people, people of our “tribe” that value real food grown this way- organically, regeneratively and nutrient dense. We’re looking for people who are trying to support the farmer directly, who want to support small farms. People who care about our beautiful little earth and are health conscious. The red walnut is higher in antioxidants and fiber then their blond cousins. Also lower on tannic acid, so easier on the tongue. The Livermore Red walnut is simply beautiful.

I farm transparently, so if you would ever like to visit our small orchard or have any questions on anything we do, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us here.