CAPAY VALLEY CALIFORNIA AGRARIAN COMMONS

Model

Local Agrarian Commons Board
Leasehold Farm: TBA
Community Stakeholders:
Tim Mueller, Riverdog Farm
Paul Muller, Full Belly Farm
Thomas Nelson, Kitchen Table Advisors
Gwenael Engelskirchen, Community Member
Ana Vazquez, Community Member
Agrarian Trust:
Kendra Johnson
Ian McSweeney
Contact: capayvalleycaliforniaAC@agrariantrust.org
The Capay Valley California Agrarian Commons is organized and shall be operated exclusively for the purpose of holding title to property, collecting income therefrom, and turning the entire amount, less expenses to the AGRARIAN LAND TRUST within the meaning of Section 501(c)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (the “Code”). Agrarian Land Trust, the parent corporation of Capay Valley Agrarian Commons, is a California nonprofit public benefit corporation exempt from federal income tax under Section 501(a) and described in Section 501(c)(3) of the Code.
CONTEXT
Click here for state and regional agricultural snapshot

California Agriculture

Capay Valley Geography & Culture

The Capay Valley is a ribbon of productive agricultural soils bordered by the Blue Ridge mountains in the west. To the east of the Capay Valley is the Central Valley, a vast agricultural landscape with numerous large-scale farms. In contrast, the Capay Valley could be described as a micro-region and is home to many small farms. Its geography is unique for Yolo county, which predominantly consists of flatlands. The Capay Valley contributes to a very special terroir and produces a variety of extraordinary agricultural products. There are many hiking trails nearby and a riparian corridor formed by Cache Creek, a California Wild & Scenic River. For many small-scale farmers, farming in the Capay Valley presents an opportunity for realizing how agriculture can support habitat preservation and ecological restoration.
A wide range of crops grow exceptionally well in the Capay Valley's climate and soil: walnuts, almonds, olive oil, stone fruit, figs, citrus, tomatoes, melons, and fresh vegetables. The organic farms that took root in the Capay Valley in the 1970s played a major role in advancing the direct-to-consumer marketing model, modern-day originators of the farm-to-table wave. Many of these farms are still cornerstones at farmers’ markets, bringing fresh produce to the Bay Area on a weekly basis throughout the year.

The Capay Valley is also rich in community engagement. The approximately 20-mile long, narrow Valley is capped by the historic Rumsey Hall in the north (on the National Register of Historic Places) and the newly constructed community Tuli Mem Park and Aquatic Center to the south. Perhaps due to the fact that the Capay Valley is located within an unincorporated region of Yolo County, the area is strong in civic engagement and nonprofit activity. In the Capay Valley, there is widespread support for preserving farmland alongside celebrating and sustaining the Valley’s cultural traditions and way of life.
Land Acknowledgement & Commitment
The Agrarian Commons acknowledges that it is located on the ancestral, occupied, and, in many cases, unceded land of Indigenous people. In acknowledging this legacy of genocide and theft, we are in turn committed to supporting Indigenous sovereignty.SNAPSHOT OF CAPAY VALLEY & CALIFORNIA AGRICULTURE

Food Insecurity & Hunger
Approximately 1 in 9 California residents are food insecure. 1 in 6 children live in a food insecure household.California Farmland Facts
Amount of Farmland: 24 million acres (25 percent of total land area) Acres Farmed Organically: 1.1 million acres (21 percent of U.S. organic farmland) Total Number of Farms: 70,521
- Average Age: 59.2
- Beginning farmers: 17,468
- Farmers of color: 25,287
- White farmers: 113,717
- American Indian or Alaska Native farmers: 1,428
- Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish Origin farmers: 14,597
- Black farmers: 429
- Asian farmers: 6,651
- Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander farmers: 487
- Female farmers: 42,138
- Male farmers: 63,242
Yolo County Farmland
- Amount of Farmland: 459,600 acres
Capay Valley Farmland
- Amount of Farmland: Approx. 30,000 acres
Resources on California Agriculture
- 2018 State Agriculture Overview
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, NRCS
- Land Values 2019 Summary, USDA
- American Farmland Trust, Farmland Info Center
- National Young Farmers Coalition Chapters
Farm and Food Reports on California
- State of California, Sacramento metro area and Ventura County (2005). Crossroads Resource Center. Partners: Roots of Change “Vivid Picture Project”, Ecotrust.
- Sacramento Metro (2004). Crossroads Resource Center. Partner: “Vivid Picture Project.”
State of California Reports
- California Dept. of Food and Agriculture Reports
- California Dept. of Food and Agriculture, Organic Agriculture Publications
Yolo County Agriculture Reports
Capay Valley Geography, History & Agriculture
- Yocha Dehe
- Black History in the Capay Valley
- Capay Valley Vision
- Capay Valley Grown
- Capay Valley Farm Shop
COMMUNITY

- Full Belly Farm
- Riverdog Farm
- California FarmLink
- Kitchen Table Advisors
- Capay Valley Farm Shop
- Good Humus Produce
Local Agrarian Commons Documents
- Bylaws
- Articles of Incorporation
- Principles
- Lease Template
PARTNERS & ALLIES

California FarmLink
Good Humus Produce
Full Belly Farm

Riverdog Farm

EVENTS & OPPORTUNITIES

PRESS

Riverdog Farm
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- Riverdog Farm and the economics of exquisitely reared chickens, San Francisco Chronicle
- Good Eggs: The Health News that Vindicated my 25-a-week Habit, The Guardian
- Federal Funding Helps Capay Farmers, The Davis Enterprise
- Capay Valley Farms Get Federal Funding, Daily Democrat
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- The Agony and the Eggstacy, The New Yorker --a piece featuring Riverdog eggs
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- California Grown: An Exploration of Berkeley's Organic Growth, The Daily Californian
- California Grown Part 3: Riverdog Farm, The Daily Californian --a short video featuring Riverdog Farm
- Peter Jacobsen: The Chef's Farmer, Edible Marin and Wine Country
- At a Tomato Tasting, Notes of Pond and Paint, The New York Times -- featuring Capay Valley Farms
- Women in Ag Conference Talks Finance, Risks, The Wenatchee World --featuring Trini Campbell
- Chefs get creative with winter squashes, Portland Press Herald -- interview with Trini Campbell
- They're laying eggs at an Oakland restaurant, Los Angeles Times
- Jim Mills: Manifesting the Farm-to-Fork Goal, Edible Sacramento
- Sacramento's Best Weekly Fruit and Vegetable Boxes, CBS Sacramento
- Ban Sought on Animal Antibiotics as Human Resistance Grows, SF Gate