- Author: Pamela S Kan-Rice
Margaret Lloyd, UCCE organic agriculture and small farms advisor for the Capitol Corridor, hosted a tour on Oct. 24 for about 40 Hmong and Iu-Mienh farmers to meet other farmers in Winters and Sacramento.
“This is a first of its kind – for us and probably these farmers,” said Lloyd, who organized the tour for the small-scale farmers.
The farmers met at the UCCE Sacramento County office, then traveled by bus to Winters to meet walnut grower Craig McNamara at Sierra Orchards, who talked about the benefits of hedgerows. Their second stop was Rainwater Farm, a flower farm owned by Lauren McNees, former UC ANR program and event specialist, and her husband Lee.
“After lunch we went to Tierra Firma Farms to look at farm equipment,” said Meaghan Donovan, small farms program manager. Then we visited Fiery Ginger Farm where we saw a bed weeder that helps control pathogens and weeds, small-scale leafy greens harvester, and a paperpot transplanter.
Lindsey Kelley, community education specialist, made a video of the tour: https://www.canva.com/design/DAFzaUl_5AA/9yNUVdHlTUTYmAlQFl_XZA/watch
“We are seeking help in this needs assessment regarding animal health concerns on small-scale farms and for peri-urban and urban animal agriculture in California, Colorado, Oregon and Washington State,” said Pires, who is leading the study with Dale Moore of Washington State University and Ragan Adams of Colorado State University.
Peri-urban and urban animal agriculture refers to raising food animals within residential areas with the goal of producing animal products to eat themselves or to distribute locally. The farms included in this study have gross annual sales of less than $500,000 with a maximum of 500 goats or sheep, 100 cows or 100 pigs, or are poultry producers who process or sell fewer than 1,000 chickens per year.
The increasing popularity of local food production and sustainability has boosted interest in small-scale farming and urban animal agriculture.
“This survey aims to identify the needs of livestock and poultry owners related to animal health, animal husbandry and food safety; and the role that veterinarians play on small farms,” Pires said. “This study will serve as a benchmark for designing effective educational programs to train farmers, backyard producers and veterinarians working within this sector.”
The survey takes about 15-20 minutes and can be accessed at http://ucanr.edu/smalllivestocksurvey.
All answers will remain completely confidential and no personal information will be recorded.
For more information, contact Pires at (530) 754-9855 or apires@ucdavis.edu. A flyer can be downloaded at http://ucanr.edu/sites/anrstaff/files/240951.docx.