Agriculture and Land-Based Training Association Cultivates New Food Businesses: La Bisnaga Organic Farm
The Issue
The owner of La Bisnaga Organic Farm was previously a farmworker, working for large companies in the Salinas Valley region. His desire had been growing for years to do something on his own and benefit more directly from his hard work, and he was willing to put in the hours that it would take to get there. However, how does one get started in this capital-intensive business? Where do you get the training and access to farmland? That is where the Agriculture and Land-Based Training (ALBA) was able to help.
Our Response
This aspiring farm owner enrolled in ALBA’s Farmer Education Course in 2021, a 400-hr hands-on, bilingual course for those wishing to launch a farm or obtain a better job in the local ag industry. He received college credit while learning about organic production, small farm business management, marketing, and regulations. As part of the course, he developed a crop and business plan. After graduation, he qualified to lease land in ALBA’s Organic Farm Incubator, where he received access to subsidized farmland and equipment, and free technical support on production, market access facilitation, and compliance.
Our Impact
Through the owner’s determination and ALBA’s support, La Bisagna came to be. You may be wondering about the farm’s name. ‘La Bisnaga’ refers to a cactus that grows in the area around the farm owner’s birthplace in Mexico.
From a ½-acre in 2021 to over 5 acres in 2025, the owner has proven to be a dedicated and talented grower. Its organic broccolini, zucchini, and other crops rival the yields of much larger and more well-resourced operations. True to the saying, “The best fertilizer is the farmer’s shadow,” you will often see the team at La Bisnaga tending crops with family from sunup till sundown, and sometimes harvesting late into the evening with headlamps. The farm has focused on volume for local wholesale distributors, though it has also started to dabble with direct sales accounts.
