Staff Report
The 2nd Annual Santa Barbara County Farm Day will take place Saturday, Sept. 19, in the Santa Maria Valley.
On Farm Day, the public will have the opportunity to visit farms, ranches, wineries and nurseries to experience a day of agricultural activities and tours, as well as meet the farmers who grow the food they eat. Farm Day is free to attend.
Farm Day visitors travel at their own pace as they drive themselves to the farms they select. Each location is unique, but all feature multiple activities, such as educational tours and free produce sampling.
Participating farms are Babé Farms, Bonipak Produce Company, Innovative Produce, Driscoll’s, Engel & Gray, Inc., L&G Chavez Family Farms, Main Street Produce, Plantel Nurseries, Primus Labs, Rancho Laguna Farms, Reiter Affiliated Companies/Union Valley Ranch, Riverbench Vineyard & Winery, and Tres Hermanas Vineyard & Winery.
Santa Barbara County Farm Day is organized by the nonprofit Students for Eco-Education and Agriculture (SEEAG), whose mission is to help children understand the farm origins of their food through classroom agricultural and nutrition education and free farm field trips.
“Our first Santa Barbara County Farm Day was a huge success,” said Mary Maranville, SEEAG founder/CEO. “Visitors were able to enjoy a day in the valley’s beautiful agricultural lands. Farmers loved the opportunity to tell the public about all that goes into growing, packing and shipping their products to market.”
Sponsors include Reiter Affiliated Companies, Driscoll’s and Plantel Nurseries. Additional sponsorship opportunities are available and listed at www.santabarbaracountyfarmday.com/supportfarmday. Sponsorship deadline is May 1 to receive full sponsorship benefits.
Prior to Farm Day, SEEAG will be hosting the Farm Day kick-off culinary and wine fundraising event at Presqu’ile Winery on Aug. 2 in Santa Maria. The event will highlight the flavors of Santa Barbara County through the culinary creations of five local chefs who will use local ingredients supplied by participating Farm Day locations.
For information, visit www.SantaBarbaraCountyFarmDay.com or call 805-901-0213.
