Debbie McIntyre: I’ve worked for Sierra Pacific for 20 years. My husband, Scott, has been in agriculture his whole life. His father had a farm management business and Scott convinced his dad and partners to open a branch in Southern California and then eventually he bought out his unit here in Temecula. I began working for the company when we were dating to fill in for someone on maternity leave and that was it, I never left!  I’ve taken breaks to have kids and such, but still going strong 20 years later.  There are many “best” things! It is our company so I get flexibility with scheduling my work around my life and my kids, but we try to offer that same flexibility to our employees. I actually do the books for our companies and I love numbers so it is a good match, but although it isn't the norm, working with my husband is truly a blessing. We are able to accomplish what needs to be done during the day, but when the day is over and it is quiet, we can plan, dream, set goals, and not have to bring each other up to speed on the subject.  It has been a wonderful partnership. I guess the other best thing is that it really allowed me to expand on my love for food, cooking, entertaining and such.

 

DMc: Sierra Pacific Farms, Inc is a farm management business. Our clients are avocado, citrus and wine grape owners and we are hired to farm for them. That entails irrigation, picking the fruit, fertilizing, weed abatement, pest control, and a myriad of other assorted items, but basically making sure the trees or vines are well tending to in order to produce a crop and be profitable to our growers.  We have also taken it upon ourselves to do research and development on different things, such as pruning and watering techniques.  We set up test plots on our own ranches and collect the data and if successful, we will apply it out in the field. One such experiment involved irrigation. Water is one of the most expensive items in farming today, and no relief in site.  We found a probe system that actually monitors the root system of a tree to watch it take a drink of water essentially.  It allowed us to see how much water was actually being taken up by the tree and about how long before we needed to water again.  We don't use this apparatus on every property, but we have one in each growing area, and different soil types, so we can have a good idea of the situation and act accordingly.  It doesn't necessarily save us water always, but at least we know we are giving the tree what it needs and when it needs it, which keeps up from wasting an important resource. Although I handle to books, but there is so much more to it... My husband and I are always researching and looking for the newest technologies and tools to help us be more efficient and improve our farming.

 

DMc: Yes, my husband is constantly asked to come out and give an evaluation of a piece of property and we would have clients wanting to sell something and ask us for help with it, so we just decided to cut out the middle man and offer to sell it for them. That way, we can provide historical information on the production of the property and give budgets that project its future. Let me just say, farming is not for the weak of heart, your partner is Mother Nature and first and foremost you must respect this and know that every year won't be a good one, but when handled correctly you can be profitable and successful. 

 

Our goal is to make our growers profitable, and to be honest, quantity is king as far as that goes, but you must do quality work to achieve the quantity result.  What I mean by this is in our industry, you are paid by the pound/bin/box, so the more you have the more you get. Prices will differ from season to season, but more is more. HOWEVER, the only way to create more is to treat your product, this being trees and/or vines with quality care, and sometimes that comes at a premium with regards to cost.  Watering correctly, fertilizing properly, watching for pests that could endanger your tree or crop, all these things can be costly, but well worth it if done correctly.

 

DMc: Sustainability is a big deal for us and we have been working hard at being on the cutting edge of this. First let me tell you what I think sustainability is, it is being a good conservator of the land you are charged with, but there is more to it than that. There are so many schools of thought on this and you can really get so caught up in the hoopla, and trust me I have read thousands of pages of research on sustainability and know there are many different approaches, but essentially, I feel as farmers, we must be responsible to the land, the future land use, the people that work the land, the environment and our community. So with that being said, here are some of the things we do specifically to accomplish those items.

 

We provide health insurance for our employees, pay fair wages, and we provide instruction with regards to safety issues. When replacing irrigation lines, we try to recycle the old ones. We provide restroom facilities and are very aware of food safety issues.  These may seem like small things, but they are not. When taking out old trees, we will make our own mulch for our crops. We are not huge proponents of organically grown produce because many times the process it takes to produce an equal product that may not be certified organic is not the most environmentally sound practice. We do try to use natural products, and never default to a chemical if there is a cost effective, environmentally sound alternative, but it is really important to view the situation as a whole.  As an example, we might think a situation thru like this. It is time to fertilize. How was the fertilizer processed, how much is needed to feed the tree what it needs, typically organic fertilizer needs much more of a quantity to provide the tree with the vitamins it needs as opposed to a conventional fertilizer, how much more labor are we now needing, do we need to apply by hand, machine, or thru irrigation, are we going to need more equipment, gas, emissions because of the increase.  These are all items that we must consider to be sustainable. It is basically looking at your crop and farm as a whole, not just the pieces, and trying to see if you can figure out the most effective, responsible way to farm.

 

I think the key elements of creating and maintaining sustainability is to view your plant and/or crop and its environment as a life of sorts.  It must be fed, nurtured and cared for and the regard is for the birth, the growth and the longevity of your plant and try to leave the earth as is you found it or better!

 

DM: In Southern California, it is not uncommon to find a citrus and/or avocado tree in a backyard.  Many years ago our whole area was planted in orange/avocado/grapefruit and lemon groves, so many times you will find various remnants in yards, but also our environment is a good one for the growth of these types of trees so yes many people have them.  Citrus is the easiest tree for a home owner to care for, they require very little attention to create a crop for a family. Avocados are more involved, they need more care and attention, it can be done, but not as easily.

 

DMc: Thank you as well!

 

Debbie McIntyre
dmcintyre@spfarms.com
www.spfarminc.com

http://www.thinkgoodfood.blogspot.com