An EcoFarm tradition - Learn what these farmers do, why they do it, and what they’ve learned along the way.
Don Tipping
Seven Seeds Farm, Williams, OR
Seven Seeds Farm is a small, organic family farm in the Siskiyou Mountains of SW Oregon with rushing, spring fed creeks flowing through old growth forests and pine oak savannah. Since 1996 they have produced fruits, vegetables, seeds, herbs, wool, eggs, lamb and people. Lauded as one of the best examples of a small productive Biodynamic and Permaculture farm in the northwest, they make extensive use of Keyline pond water harvesting and distribution systems, multi-species perennial polycultures, rotational grazing and other whole systems approaches.
Seven Seeds helps to mentor new farmers through internships, mentoring and workshops, working with several non-profits to do so. The farm has produced certified organic vegetable, flower and herb seeds for over a dozen national scale seed companies and in 2009 they began Siskiyou Seeds, a bioregional retail organic seed company operated from the home farm. Founder Don Tipping is passionate about helping to advance the development of open pollinated organic seed through breeding, selection and education. Don helped to found the Siskiyou Sustainable Cooperative CSA, a seed equipment co-op, the Seed Academy training and the Family Farmers Seed Cooperative, a seed grower, marketing and distribution cooperative comprised of 10 western organic farms.
Guido Frosini
True Grass Farms, Valley Ford, CA
This land has been in Guido's family since 1867 and it’s that same test of time that now lies at the heart of what they do at True Grass Farms. The scope of that legacy has since expanded, reaching beyond four generations to inherit an even older wisdom: by nurturing unique natural cycles, we in turn are nurtured by the land—an understanding that reveals itself in the quality of the products as well as in the sustainability of their operation. Located three miles east of the Pacific coast in northwestern Marin county, they are part of the bioregional food source. He grows grass. The farm produces grass-fed and finished beef, pastured Guinea and Blackworth hogs, as well as cage-free heritage fowl and eggs. Pioneering a new wave of stewardship, Guido works the land by working with it, embracing a process of rotational grazing that balances the natural cycles of soil and grass with the movement of cattle, pigs and all of us whose futures depend upon restoring a healthier and more sustainable relationship with our food.
Joe, Doug and Anthony Perry
JE Perry Farms, Fremont, CA
The three generations of Perry’s are the last vegetable farmers on the tidal mudflats of the Southern end of the San Francisco Bay. Once a major vegetable and flower region, now overtaken by housing and industry, the mild climate and rich soils produce vibrant crops. The Perry’s farm 91 acres of organic lettuce, cauliflower, pumpkins, corn, strawberries, flowers and much more. They sell via a farmstand, wholesale primarily through Veritable Vegetable and direct to stores, and sell at farmers markets. They operate a popular pumpkin patch for school childrens’ field trips on the land, that is leased from the East Bay Regional Parks Ardenwood Reserve. Joe Perry began farming vegetables full time in Fremont at age 13 in the 1940s. He went organic in 1990. Son Doug, now 60, and President of the Alameda County Farm Bureau, returned to the farm decades ago, after a stint in industry. Grandson Anthony, 24, joined the farm full time 3 years ago. Let’s celebrate multi-generational urban farmers!
