Cultivating Biodiversity and Small Farm Preservation

For Jeff and Annie Main of Good Humus Produce, their 20-acre farm serves as more than their family’s home and livelihood; it also functions as an increasingly complex agro-ecosystem, hosting numerous species of animals and plants, as well as serving as a “living laboratory” where school children regularly visit to learn about the farm environment, nutrition, and sustainable agriculture practices. 

Jeff and Annie are fourth-generation Californians who have benefited from the agricultural experiences of their parents and grandparents. Both are UC Davis graduates, with Jeff’s training in civil engineering and Annie’s in renewable natural resources.  Equipped with this knowledge and a strong commitment toward the land, in 1976 they set to work transforming a fallow milo field in Hungry Hollow into the 20-acres of certified organic vegetables, fruit, herbs and flowers that are grown year-round today.

The farm is located in the uplands along the eastern slope of the Capay Hills northwest of the town of Esparto. As Jeff describes, “they started with 20 acres, two large olive trees, a well, and a whole lot of view”.  One of their first projects involved the planting of 600 fast-growing Australian beefwood trees to serve as field borders and much-needed shelterbelts for the prevalent high winds.  Although the Casuarina trees established quickly, their aggressive shallow roots created an 80-foot strip that could no longer sustain crops. 

To offset the effective loss of over 190,000 sq. ft. of cropland, it was suggested that they use those areas to plant hedgerows of drought tolerant native trees, shrubs and grasses. Apart from enhancing biodiversity and wildlife habitat, they anticipate that the productivity of adjacent fields may improve due to an increase in abundance of beneficial insects to provide pollination services and prey upon crop pests.  Jeff and Annie successfully applied for EQIP funding for plantings and conservation planning assistance through the NRCS, and undertook a five-year installation program of a series of four 80ft. by 600 ft. hedgerow borders adjacent to their fields and orchards. The EQIP funding also assisted the Mains in replacing their above-ground irrigation system with a buried PVC system, resulting in water conservation and reduced usage costs. 

The initial installation and early maintenance proved to be a challenge to Jeff and Annie’s already busy year-round crop schedule. However, now that the hedgerows are mature, the inherent benefits are starting to accrue. Jeff and Annie rely solely on native bees for pollination, and Jeff has observed a substantial reduction in crop pests over the past two years. Jeff estimates that it took about five years for a balance in favor of beneficial insects to emerge as a result of the diverse hedgerow plantings.  The mature hedgerows also  benefit local second-graders, who regularly visit and receive on-site field biology lessons, as part of a farm-to-school program that Annie helped to initiate.  Additionally, UC Davis scholars in agronomy, biology, ecology and entomology have conducted short and long-term research projects on their farm. A list of the resulting research publications can be found on the farm’s website, by following this link.  To read further about the installation and benefits of hedgerows, follow this link.
 
Jeff and Annie are committed to developing “intensively”, with over 70 annual and perennial crops, rather than “extensively”. They have focused on marketing their produce locally and regionally, instead of entering into the national or international market.  The Mains are considered local pioneers in the development of a farm-to-market system in Yolo County, and are among the founders of the Davis Food Co-Op and the Davis Farmers Market. For the past decade, they have also been providing fresh produce to residents in Woodland, Sacramento, Davis and San Francisco through their Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) subscription box program.

Annie explains that one of the goals of Good Humus Produce is “to create a working partnership: food security for local communities, and land security for local farmers.” To address this goal, Jeff and Annie are currently working with a land trust to develop a new model for agricultural easements that stipulates that the land must continue to be farmed using sustainable practices, must be lived on by a farmer deriving his/her income through farming, and must remain affordable so that future generations can continue to live and work in local agriculture. To do this, they have embarked on the Farm Preservation Campaign, to raise $300,000 to purchase their agricultural easement, and permanently remove the property from the pressures of speculative real estate investment or development. Their model is called a Shared Equity Ag Easement and is created with a philosophy that encourages community partnership with farmers to create and maintain a viable, secure local food production system.

Jeff and Annie have learned that it can take multiple generations to build a healthy, sustainable farm. The term “sustainable” is used frequently these days, and when applied to agriculture, it often highlights the need for a combination of practices that are economically and environmentally sound, and socially responsible.  The Farm Preservation Project draws attention to the potential role the local community can play in providing more economic stability for local family farmers. We are fortunate to have innovative growers like the Mains, who have the long-term vision and field-tested knowledge needed for the challenge of preserving the viability of small farms in Yolo County.

Article by Diane Crumley for the Yolo Co. RCD's Conservation Quarterly, Volume 11, Issue 4, Winter 2008. Photos of Jeff and Annie Main and  "road with a  view" by Nancy Warner,  warnerphoto.com