As farmers, we don’t try to bend the will of the land or reshape its natural slopes, grades, twists, and turns. Our role is to work in harmony with the terrain to grow the most wholesome and safest premium fresh vegetables in the most sustainable way possible. Yet the land – especially in our northern California growing region of Castroville and the Salinas Valley – often presents daunting challenges for both farmers and, most of all, the field crews who harvest the crops.
Take artichokes, for example. Harvested entirely by hand, they require crews to navigate furrowed rows on steep grades – many more aptly described as hills – often in muddy, slippery conditions. Each worker carries a canasta on their back which, when full, can weigh 80-100 pounds.
Once full, they return to the harvester, where their packs are dropped off and the field worker returns to the field with an empty canasta to do it all over again. And again. Artichokes are sized, tagged, boxed, and palletized right there at field level from the harvester platform.
What we do here extends far beyond our local ag communities and farming microcosms, whether in our northern or southern growing region. California’s contribution to America’s fresh food supply is unmatched: virtually 100% of the nation’s commercially grown artichokes, 80% of the broccoli and roughly 75% of its lettuce, leafy greens and celery are grown here. It’s no accident that as early as 1930, the Salinas Valley earned the moniker “Salad Bowl of the World” – a distinction it holds proudly to this day. (Celery seedlings being transplanted below.)
This is the essence of stewardship: working the land with care and respect, improving it where we can. For us, it’s more than a job – it’s a way of life. As fourth-generation family farmers who proudly celebrated Ocean Mist Farms’ 100th anniversary in 2024, we know that when we take care of the land, the land takes care of us, yielding the highest-quality crops to share with customers and consumers across the nation and beyond.
We have deep reverence for Mother Nature, in all her beauty and unpredictability, and profound respect for the people whose hard work and dedication ensure fresh produce reaches your local stores. From our breeders, food safety teams, farmers, and field crews – to cooler staff, packaging personnel, logistics experts, and truck drivers – it takes countless skilled and committed hands and hearts to deliver our fresh vegetables that feed our families and yours, nationwide.
