I believe farming to be a noble profession. It’s not a difficult argument to make; we can’t live without food, and while many of us could grow our own food, most cannot. I also believe that fresh produce from local farmers is best. Again, the arguments are easy to make. As soon as a piece of produce is picked, it begins losing nutrients and flavor, so the fresher it is, the better. In addition to losing flavor and nutrients, the further food travels, the more fuel is consumed and pollution produced, so buying local produce saves energy and results in less pollution.

I am fortunate enough to live next to a pesticide-free farm. It is 30 acres, owned by the Town of Halcyon near Arroyo Grande, and has an interesting past. Just over two years ago, the land was being used to grow conventional strawberries. The spraying of pesticides was creating health issues for the surrounding neighbors who approached the Town of Halcyon, and asked them to consider leasing the land to someone else. Halcyon listened and offered a lease to a farmer who would not use pesticides.

They selected Jerry Rutiz, a man who had been farming pesticide-free in the nearby Huasna Valley for many years. He has a commitment to the environment and to the community and has worked very hard over the last two years to make his vision of a community farm come true. A crucial part of his vision was to have a roadside stand so that people coming to purchase their vegetables would see where their food comes from. He grows over 50 varieties of vegetables along with herbs, fresh cut flowers and seasonal berries, which he sells at the farm stand and at both San Luis and Arroyo Grande Farmers’ Markets.

I caught up with Jerry one afternoon and he agreed to answer a few questions as long as we kept moving. While he fed his horse and loaded his truck for the San Luis Farmers Market, I satisfied some of my curiosity about farming.

Christine: What are the biggest challenges and rewards to farming?

Jerry: The challenges are financial. I’d love to have 10 workers out there to get all of the weeds and to water everything when it’s needed, but I can’t do that. The reward is when people come by the stand and tell me how much they enjoy what I do.

Christine: Why did you move from the land you were farming in Huasna to this piece?

Jerry: To get people to come to the farm. I want people to feel that this is a community farm, a noble experiment, to see if the community will support a family farm. The land in Huasna had rich, river soil and was easier to grow on than the sand here; however, it is remote and I couldn’t have a farm stand out there. That’s why I’m here.

Christine: What is the difference between organic and pesticide-free and why do you choose to be pesticide-free?

Jerry: The main difference is that being pesticide-free, I can use chemical fertilizer. When I first started farming this piece of land, I tried organic fertilizer, but it just didn’t work for me. First, I tried sea bird guano, but that is shipped up from Peru, thus using lots of fuel, and who knows how it’s being collected? Then I tried organic compost. I had 40,000 lbs of it trucked up from LA; again the fuel issue, and it smelled terrible. Next was an organic fertilizer called fidamin, which contains blood and bone meal from slaughterhouses. At about that time, the mad cow story broke in North America, so I thought it best to stay away from that. I use cover crops to keep the soil healthy and I use chemical fertilizer sparingly. Chemical fertilizer is very efficient compared to compost. A 50-lb. bag will fertilize the same amount of land as 1000 lbs. of compost.

Christine: What would you like to see in the future with your farm?

Jerry: More community. There are 20,000 people who live within a five-minute drive. I would love to see them all coming here.


Rutiz Family Farms is located on The Pike, between Elm St. and Halcyon Rd. in Halcyon. The farm stand is currently open Thurs. and Fri. from 1 pm until 6 pm and will be closed after Halloween. Harvest boxes can be ordered each week and will continue to be available after the stand closes for the winter. They are $10, and a sample week in Oct included: 1 lb green beans, 1 lb Yukon Gold potatoes, 3 ears bi-color sweet corn, 1 bunch carrots, 1 lb broccoli, 1 head lettuce, 1 lb. tomatoes, 1 lb cucumber and 1 lb sweet peppers.

Rutiz Family Farms can be reached at rutizfarms@sbcglobal.net.


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