Santa Maria Valley ranches, nurseries, wineries and agricultural organizations will open their doors to the pubic during the first annual Santa Barbara County Farm Day on Saturday, September 28, 10am to 3pm where visitors will create their own itinerary to experience a day of agricultural activities and meet the farmers who grow the food they eat. Some tours require pre-registration and we have all the details here.
FARM DAY MOVIE SCREENING
Free Screening of "The Last Harvest." To top off Farm Day, the award winning movie, "The Last Harvest" is being screened at Regal Cinemas' Santa Maria 10 (1521 S. Bradley, Santa Maria) at 4 p.m. The film discusses the public's growing demand for better-tasting, natural foods as the ag industry is facing a severe labor shortage for these hand-harvested crops.
Tickets are free and can be reserved by going to Eventbrite. A limited number of tickets are available.
Santa Barbara County Farm Day is organized by the nonprofit Students for Eco-Education and Agriculture (SEEAG). SEEAG’s mission is to help children understand and appreciate the farm origins of their food through classroom agricultural and nutrition education and free farm field trips.
"We often take for granted the work that goes into creating that perfectly shaped strawberry, the deep green broccoli crown or the wine grape with just the right sugar content," says Mary Maranville, SEEAG's founder and CEO. "Farm Day is the opportunity to learn about the growing process and say thanks to our local growers."
PRE FARM DAY DINNER
Farm-To-Table Dinner. Santa Barbara County Farm Day officially kicks off the night before, Friday, September 27, with a "Farm-to-Table" dinner at Tres Hermanas Vineyard & Winery in Santa Maria. From 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., the public will enjoy live music, a Santa Maria-style barbeque and a Tres Hermanas wine flight. Local produce, harvested from participating Farm Day locations, will be used in the meal preparation. Proceeds go towards SEEAG's student agricultural education and nutrition programs. Tickets are available at Eventbrite.
HOW FARM DAY WORKS
Farm Day visitors travel at their own pace since they drive themselves to the farms they select. Each location is unique, but all feature a number of activities such as conducting educational tours and offering free produce samples.
GET A DIGITAL MAP AT GOOGLE HERE
Allan Hancock College's Agriculture Program: Allan Hancock College's Agriculture Program provides a wide range of courses, designed for students preparing for, or advancing in careers in agricultural sciences. Tailored to prepare students for employment within the local agriculture industry, the program offers a variety of options for students seeking employment or transfer. The program provides hands-on experiences for students via the working farm, vineyard, and winery
Babé Farms: Babé Farms will be opening its gates to the public for Santa Barbara County Farm Day! From 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM, we welcome guests to stop by our production office for a "Farmers Market" style set-up, displaying our brightest specialty vegetables. Staff will be on hand to share the Babé Farms story, discuss our farming operation, specialty vegetables and answer questions. Attendees will be able to taste/touch and select a small assortment of vegetables to take home (*limit 3 items per guest). In addition, we will offer product information, applications and recipe ideas to inspire the “at-home chef”.
PRE-REGISTRATION REQUIRED - Bonipak Produce Company: Join us for an educational tour through our "Seed-to-Sale" process and learn more about how we grow, harvest, cool and ship our fresh produce.
Innovative Produce: Located at the historic Tognazzini “Sunset Laguna” Dairy, visitors will see our automated Brussels sprouts harvesting machine, learn about Santa Maria Valley dairy history, take photos with modern and vintage farm equipment, as well as taste test Brussels sprouts prepared by Chef Rick!
Engel & Gray, Inc./Harvest Blend Compost: Stop by our yard at 745 West Betteravia Road to see how compost is made. See the equipment that is used to transform organic waste into beneficial compost products. We will have hands on demonstrations planting vege plants in compost amended soil. Up to a 1/2 yard of Harvest Blend Compost will be available for each family. Bring a bucket or a pickup and we will help you with your fall garden.
Main Street Produce:Main Street Produce, located in the fertile Santa Maria Valley of California, grows, cools and ships strawberries and broccoli. We farm our own product through our sister company, Freshway Farms, and cool it at our own top-of-the-line facility so that we are never dependent upon outside growers or packers.
Plantel Nurseries: Plantel Nurseries has been in business for 30+ years growing vegetable transplants. The Telephone Road Nursery is dedicated to growing organic transplants.
Primus Labs: Join us for a tour to learn about different aspects of food safety, and while you’re here, enjoy a hot dog, some Santa Maria Valley produce, along with kids’ games and giveaways!
PRE-REGISTRATION REQUIRED - Rancho Laguna Farms: We are offering limited tours showcasing our substrate raspberries and table-top strawberries, grown for Driscoll’s. You will learn about how our precision farming and irrigation system was designed to be both workforce and automation friendly, as well as learn about the future of farming and sample berries.
- Sign up for this tour HERE
Reiter Affiliated Companies at Union Valley: Come learn about the genetics and research behind the berries we grow. See and hear about how we grow traditional in-ground blueberries and blackberries and how sustainable farming practices are playing their part in the future of farming on our all organic ranch. Sample berries while learning about our farm worker health and wellness initiative, Sembrando Salud.
Riverbench Vineyard: Vineyard Manager Jim Stollberg will be touring guests through the vineyard, describing viticultural operations, and answering questions. Walking tour will be outdoors and in soft dirt, so prepare accordingly. Guests are encouraged to enjoy a glass of wine and picnic area is available at the tasting room.
- Tours will be casual and last 20-30 minutes.
- Tour times are 10:30am, 11:30am, 12:30pm, and 1:30pm.
The Patch: Students prepared an interactive community event including an agricultural exhibit, one acre corn maze, 3 acres of pumpkins, farm animals, free crafts, and so much more - all produced by local high school students. This event provides a platform for local high school students to showcase their hard work. $5 fee for parking.
Tres Hermanas Vineyard & Winery: Guests visiting Tres Hermanas Vineyard will be in for a real treat featuring fine wine and cattle. Stop by to learn about the history of the vineyard as well as the Teixeira family’s rich cattle ranching history, all headquartered at this location. Tours will begin at the cattle ranch operation followed by tours of the winery vineyards, processing and storage. Wine tasting is also available.
- Tour Times: 10:00am-1:00pm, every half hour
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Santa Barbara County Farm Day community partners include participating farms, wineries and agricultural organizations, Santa Barbara Foundation, Wells Fargo, JB Dewar, Rabo AgriFinance, Guadalupe Hardware Company, Grower Shipper Association, Maverick Farming Co., Farm Credit West, Community Bank of Santa Maria, Coastal Ag, Santa Maria Valley Chamber of Commerce and Santa Barbara Noozhawk.
For a list of participating farms and dinner ticket information, visit https://www.santabarbaracountyfarmday.com/
Visit them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/SantaBarbaraCountyFarmDay/
