Brisa de Año Ranch and the California Wildfires
By Maddie Scher
As devastating wildfires engulf pockets of California again this year, we are reminded that the survival of our farms is not only essential to our cultural and industrial ecosystems, it is an increasingly difficult feat in the face of climate change. The Covid-19 crisis has wrought additional challenges, which continues into its seventh month, shutting many of the local businesses who buy from our farmers, and the impact is exponentially catastrophic. Meet one farm that is tenaciously meeting this moment and learn how you can support them and the network of farmers affected by the most recent bout of wildfires in the region.
Brisa de Año Ranch is a small 8 acre diversified organic farm located in Pescadero, CA. It is owned, operated, and worked by Cristóbal Cruz Hernández, Verónica Mazariegos-Anastassiou, and Cole Mazariegos-Anastassiou. They grow over 50 different crops and provide produce to families on the coast and in the Bay Area through their CSA program and to a number of independent groceries, restaurants, nonprofit organizations, and corporate kitchens. Brisa de Año Ranch is part of the Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF), a California-based nonprofit that builds sustainable food and farming systems through local and statewide policy advocacy and on-the-ground programs in an effort to initiate institutionalized change. SF New Deal spoke with Cole Mazariegos-Anastassiou recently to gather his perspective on the impact of recent events on Brisa de Año Ranch.
Have the recent wildfires and air quality affected your crops and overall production? If so, how?
Our farm was hit very hard by the recent fires. We were able to build firebreaks as a perimeter around our farm, but we lost about $40,000 worth of tools, infrastructure, equipment, and lost revenue. Most of the wildlands that surround our farm have been completely destroyed. While the fire break we created protected our field and our homes, the heat and embers from the fires significantly damaged a number of our more sensitive crops like cucumbers and zucchini.
How have these circumstances impacted you and your team?
After spending about a week of doing nearly nothing but actively fighting the fires near our farm, we had to scramble to rebuild and create makeshift systems for irrigation, refrigeration, etc. to keep our farm going for the remainder of 2020. This time of year is normally incredibly busy for us with 90+ hour weeks common, but these wildfires have made this time far more hectic.
Do you anticipate a change in revenue due to the wildfire climate?
We lost a very significant amount of revenue due to the fires that hit us this year, likely well over $25,000 to date when you factor in the weeks that we were unable to harvest or sell and all of the crop damage from the heat and embers.
What would you like people to understand about farming in the last 6 months of Covid-19 and California wildfires?
Our farm was able to successfully pivot our market channels away from restaurants and towards our CSA when the COVID-19 crisis started. We also have been able to get back on our feet and in stride to finish up the remainder of the 2020 season after being hit by wildfires. As such, we are very fortunate. Many farms are not going to be able to survive all of this, however. The state of farming in this country was already in a crisis well before COVID-19 and the wildfires, with the median farm losing money each year for the past 7 years. Even without the crises of 2020, it is extremely challenging to survive for another season in agriculture these days. This year is sadly going to be the final nail for many farms. We as a society need to fundamentally reimagine our food system if we want to make agriculture more viable and to frankly survive.
All photos for provided by Brisa de Año Ranch
How can San Franciscans support your farm right now?
San Franciscans can support our farm by signing up for CSA at our website www.brisaranch.com. Our CSA offers members a weekly subscription to an array of organic produce we grow on our farm. Pickups are available each Thursday by 3pm at a convenient location in one of the following cities: Belmont, Half Moon Bay, La Honda, Pacifica, Palo Alto, Pescadero, San Francisco (Mission), San Mateo, & Santa Cruz.
Although traditional safety nets do keep many farms afloat in periods of economic hardship, we see that some farmers are more likely to be excluded from government assistance programs due to systems of historic inequity. During this moment it is essential that we focus our support efforts towards farmers of color, immigrant farmers, and undocumented farmers, as we continue to advocate that government agencies broaden the scope of their programs.
CAFF has re-launched its California Family Farmer Emergency Fund, which offers direct support to its agricultural community impacted by disaster, in particular farmers who have been historically marginalized.
Donate to the Emergency Fund here: https://www.caff.org/2020firefund/
Farmers may apply for funding here: https://www.caff.org/fire-fund-application-2020/
Esp: https://www.caff.org/aplicacion-agricola-incendios-2020/
Subscribe to Brisa de Año Ranch’s CSA box here: www.brisaranch.com
