Farming 101

Salon’s Pha Lo wrote earlier this month about her personal experiences growing up as a Hmong child gardener. In her article, “When Eating Organic Was Totally Uncool,” the former Sacramento native recalled being embarrassed by her refugee parents, who, like others in the community, farmed to feed their family.

Perhaps her poor farming family and others like hers could have used some help from the Yolo County Agriculture Department. Friday morning, the department will be holding a workshop to assist new and future farmers and help them be more successful. Topics include financial planning, intergenerational farm transitions, conservation and marketing.

“It is a very exciting time to be a farmer,” said Yolo County Agricultural Commissioner John Young, through a written publicity statement. “Consumers have developed a more sophisticated palate. In turn, this has generated interest in many different varieties of locally grown produce.”

It’s just the sort of interest new farmers can capitalize on.