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- NAFDMA Pre-Conference to Tour California Farm Markets
- The North American Farmers’ Direct Marketing Association (NAFDMA) conference will be held in conjunction with the California Farm Conference and the PlacerGROWN (Placer County, Calif. agricultural marketing organization) annual conferences. The conferences will take place Feb. 5-8 at the Sheraton Grand Sacramento Hotel in Sacramento, Calif.
Concurrent sessions will feature a variety of California speakers. Vince Scalise, market manager of the Pacific Coast Farmers’ Market, will set up The Farm Faire, a 6,000-square-foot educational display. Randii MacNear, market manager of the Davis Farmers’ Market and a NAFDMA board member, is coordinating a special session: “Wheelin’ it to the Davis Farmers’ Market.” This session will take place on Saturday during the conference. Rather than going to a meeting room, attendees will board a bus for the short ride to the Davis Farmers’ Market. Tom Haller, coordinator of he California Small Farm Conference, is working closely with NAFDMA’s central office to blend the two conferences together.
The 2004 pre-conference bus tour of the North American Farmers’ Direct Marketing Conference and Trade Show will be held Feb. 2-4. The tour will begin in San Francisco and end in Sacramento, site of the conference workshops, general sessions and trade show.
- Monday, February 2
The day’s activities include a drive through San Francisco with a stop to get a full view of the Golden Gate Bridge. There will also be a stop at Half Moon Bay, the self-proclaimed pumpkin capital of the world. Here tour goers will be able to see five different farm direct market businesses all within less than a mile walk. These stops include: Lemos Family Farm, Pastorino Gifts and Plants, Obester Winery, Repetto’s Greenhouse Florist and G. Berta’s Produce Market. After some sightseeing the buses will head south to Gilroy and Watsonville. This region contains arguably the most valuable and productive soils in the world. It’s home to vegetable, cut flower, herb and berry farms whose branded products are known throughout North America. Strawberries, raspberries, lettuce, artichokes, mesclun mixes, and garlic, top the list of more than a 100 rotational crops that are featured here.
Another stop is at Gizdich Ranch, home to one of NAFDMA’s founding members, Nita Gizdich, and the entire Gizdich family. The day’s final stop is in Gilroy at Bonfante Gardens.
- Tuesday, February 3
The first stop is Casa De Fruta in Hollister. This farm-turned-tourist destination includes a produce stand, gift shop, coffee shop, wine shop, sweet shop and petting zoo, train and antique farm equipment.
Other stops include the Double T Acres Ranch in Stevinson, a long-standing dairy farm that now produces organic milk and the Hillmar Cheese Company, the largest cheese and whey products manufacturing facility in the world. Afternoon bus stops include: Oakdale Cheese, Vella Farms, The Fruit Bowl, and Phillips Farm/Michael David Vineyards.
- Wednesday, February 4
The final day features a place where more than 80 apple orchards, Christmas tree farms, wineries and vegetable producers live together in near perfect harmony. Apple Hill in El Dorado County is that place. Barely 10 miles long by about three miles wide, it draws hundreds of thousands of customers every harvest season.
The final stop of the tour is at Bishop’s Pumpkin Farm in Wheatland, a seasonal destination for thousands of visitors each year. The town has nearly surrounded the farm, which continues to prosper in its urban setting.
For more information call Haller at (530) 756-5794; MacNear at (530) 756-1695; or Scalise at (925) 825-9090, www.nafdma.com, info@nafdma.com.
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