California has emerged as a leader in the field of sustainable agriculture with its focus on creating and maintaining healthy soils, and one small Bay Area farm is reaping the benefits.<\/p>\n
On a five-acre farm located at the southern tip of Silicon Valley, Sarah Miller and H\u00e9ktor Calderon-Victoria are busy picking the last of the tomatoes. The harvest will go to a local elementary school.<\/p>\n
“We’re normally trying to provide produce to our community members regionally,” said Calderon-Victoria, co-founder of Three Feathers Farm in Morgan Hill<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n He explained how the farm stands as a beacon of dedication to the Black, Indigenous and people of color – or BIPOC – communities in Northern California. The food grown here is culturally relevant to BIPOC and used in Mexican and Indian cooking.<\/p>\n The farm itself is located on the ancestral territory of the Muwekma Ohlone tribe<\/a>. The farmers here expressed a deep respect for the tribe and their ancestral land.<\/p>\n “We are guardians of this site, and we want to make sure that we can leave it for future generations,” noted Calderon-Victoria.<\/p>\n The mission of Three Feathers is to grow culturally relevant, organic crops by intertwining traditional farming practices with contemporary techniques. The farm was certified organic in 2024.<\/p>\n “Just looking at it, you can see the amount of biodiversity that is here. And it’s not just one single crop,” noted Miller.<\/p>\n For these farmers, and others around the state, California is lending a helping hand under the state’s Healthy Soils Initiative<\/a>. The program, run by the Department of Food & Agriculture, provides financial incentives and technical assistance to help farmers and ranchers incorporate new sustainable agricultural practices.<\/p>\n Three Feathers Farm received a grant, and many of these practices are on display.<\/p>\n “We compost about 32 tons of compost on our site,” Calderon-Victoria said.<\/p>\n Some other strategies include the use of cover crops, compost, and mulch to create and sustain fertile soil. The farm also planted several living fences, known as hedgerows<\/a>, that have multiple benefits.<\/p>\n “It creates a new habitat that we don’t normally have,” Calderon-Victoria said.<\/p>\n The hedgerows use native plants, including roses and milkweed. They control soil erosion and water runoff, nourish the soil, sequester carbon, and support pollinators and beneficial insects.<\/p>\n Also on the property are six beehives, with several hundred bees, maintained by two local beekeepers.<\/p>\n