Just after 7am, the rising sun peeks over the top of the Sierra Nevada mountains, filling California’s Central Valley with golden light. Adelina Rivera González has just dropped her daughters off with the school bus and turns her attention to the misty expanse of her 15 acre farm. Moving between rows of mandarin trees, she lifts branches, inspects fruit. “I’m always checking my trees,” she says, walking row after row, catching a low-hanging branch, heavy with fruit, that needs support.
When González bought the land in Reedley, California, two decades ago, nothing grew here. The first year she planted her Tango mandarin trees, they almost froze. “I was about to cry because they were just shriveled,” she says. “I thought, oh no, they didn't make it.” But miraculously the tiny trees survived, and today, her orchard is thriving. “I thought, boy, someone was really watching out for us!”
At the heart of her approach to farming are ecological practices that support the health of the soil, build climate resilience, and nurture local biodiversity. “We're a conventional farm,” she says, “but we try to put in as much as we can in ecological practices and regenerative farming.” She credits her partnership with the nonprofit Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF) for helping her implement these approaches – steps that not only support a healthy planet but also improve the quality of her crop and save money.
Since 1978, CAFF has supported farmers through advocacy and on-the-ground programs. Today, the organization works with more than 7,000 small and mid-scale family farms across the state. CAFF’s Ecological Farming Program partners with farmers, policy makers, researchers, and local technical assistance providers to promote, improve, and better understand the implementation of ecological farming practices and accelerate their adoption statewide.
“Farmers are dealing with the impacts of climate change now, and have been for years,” says Sara Tiffany, CAFF’s Director of Ecological Farming. But farmers, Tiffany argues, are uniquely capable of understanding and adapting to these challenges. “There's a saying that the farm field is the original laboratory,” Tiffany says. “They're seeing what works and what doesn't work every single year, and they're adapting.” CAFF’s Ecological Farming Program centers farmers’ perspectives through peer-to-peer learning programs and direct support.
For González, that meant helping her win a Healthy Soils grant from the California Department of Food and Agriculture to use compost, reducing her reliance on expensive synthetic fertilizers and saving her thousands of dollars a year. Next, she plans to work with CAFF to further improve the soil by adding cover crops. Growing between rows of mandarin trees, these plants will help the earth retain water, store carbon in the soil and plant biomass, and provide a habitat for important pollinators like bees.
“I hope to one day be able to transition completely to organic farming,” González explains. Through their Ecological Pest Management work, CAFF has helped her reduce the use of pesticides through organic processes like introducing beneficial insects to control harmful bugs. In partnership with CAFF, González hosted a field day for local citrus farmers to come learn about the process, sharing best practices and building community at the same time. CAFF even helped her control the troublesome voles that nibble tree bark, destroying healthy trees. “Them helping us with these processes has made a world of difference,” González says. “It's just heaven sent that they're here to help us.”
For CAFF’s Ecological Farming program, success is multifaceted. First and foremost, Tiffany says, the goal is to “keep farmers farming.” Supporting small and mid-size farms has an immediate impact, especially as they adopt more sustainable practices. “Just keeping farms as farms is making a huge impact in terms of climate mitigation.” Other aspects of the program’s impact are harder to quantify, but equally meaningful. “We’re planting seeds for these communities to build around sustainable agriculture,” Tiffany says, “this amazing nexus of environment, people, food, and stewardship.”
For González, the work is its own reward. “I really find joy just seeing the whole process of the cycle of life of a tree. It just feels really great to know that I'm helping by providing nourishing food for somebody.” She hopes her daughters will grow up to love farming and cherish the land she’s worked so hard to cultivate. “It brings joy. It brings peace. I just want to keep doing it.”
Learn more about our grantee partner, Community Alliance with Family Farmers.
