Longtime organic farm transitions to act as food hub

The mixed vegetable and berry farm organic growers Dale and Christine Coke started outside San Juan Bautista more than 35 years ago has morphed into a clearinghouse helping dozens of nearby small farmers market their harvest.

Their operation provides area farmers—some of them beginners working just an acre or so—with a cooler, boxes and access to markets that are open because of the Coke Farm's history.

"We are certified by California Certified Organic Farmers, and our certification number is 0001," said Christine Coke. "Coke Farm is not a farm anymore; we are a food hub for the local farmers."

She made her comments to busloads of small farmers and others from around the country who came to Coke Farm during a tour of San Benito County agriculture the day before the 38th Ecological Farming Association Conference.

"It became apparent to us that market access was critical for small farmers," Christine Coke said. "We provide market access and packaging supplies, help with crop planning every season, and help develop marketing and growing plans. Marketing takes a lot of time away from your farm."

The challenge of selling and growing at the same time became apparent to the Cokes over the years as they worked to develop a reputation for growing quality produce.

"I started with a quarter acre of strawberries in 1981 and had to market it myself," Dale Coke said. "Later I started selling spring mix, including extra vegetables I couldn't sell, processed in a washing machine I put on permanent spin cycle."

The products that came out of that old washing machine made Dale Coke an innovator in the salad mix category, but success also opened the door to competition with the capital to do things on a large scale.

"This business is a survivor," said Amigo Cantisano, the veteran organic crop advisor who has led the pre-conference tour every year for more than a quarter century. "All around here became salad mix operations and it was hard for the pioneers to compete. It's hard to be a pioneer and continue when everyone picks up your idea. Machines dropped the harvest cost from a dollar a pound to 20 cents."

Rather than compete head to head with the giants of the packaged salad sector, the Cokes devoted their energy to building an operation that helps their neighbors get their feet on the ground in agriculture.

"This business has become a real player in marketing for 50 other local farms," Cantisano said. "These folks are activists, not just farmers. They are helping so many other farmers get their products into the marketplace. This is an effort by a couple of people to really help the community."

There is an art to marketing for a diverse collection of growers with different-sized farms and levels of experience.

"Some of them are our alpha growers, and we know the quality of the crop that is going to come in; with others, we wait to see what they produce," Christine Coke said. "Part of the program is teaching growers who have an acre or two how to get up to speed. We do a lot of planning with growers so we know what's going to come in ahead of time. It's market-driven."

The Cokes charge their farmer neighbors 10 percent for marketing, storage and cooling.

"Coke Farm works with over 60 organic growers from in and around California's Central Coast," according to the company web site. "Our collaborative relationship with our growers allows us to offer a broad variety of products, while simultaneously opening up national markets to small and mid-size organic farms."

Serving as a food hub has grown even more complicated with the public's heightened awareness of food safety in recent years.

"It's a challenging thing to ensure food safety," Dale Coke said, recalling the 2006 spinach incident that shook the Central Coast vegetable sector. "We still don't know where the E. coli came from. It's hard to get people to realize there are different levels of threat. Now, we require growers to have food safety audits, and to follow good agricultural practices."

The Coke operation added to its grower services with a facility that washes potatoes, turnips and other root crops before they are packed for market.

"A lot of the crops we deal with are root crops," Dale Coke said. "Bins of root crops go into our washer, and then we pack them. This line cost close to $10,000, and some of it was used and some of it was repurposed. The charge to the grower is $1 to wash a 25-pound bag,"

For Dale Coke, the effort to help new growers break into the business of farming continues a family tradition in the state's agriculture extending back more than a century and a half.

(Bob Johnson is a reporter in Davis. He may be contacted at bjohn11135@aol.com.)