Community members went behind the scenes of several Santa Barbara County farms on Saturday.
Organized by Students for Eco-Education and Agriculture, the eighth annual Santa Barbara County Farm Day ran from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Visitors explored 20 farms, ranches and agricultural facilities countywide, from Santa Maria all the way to Carpinteria, for free.
Among those farms was Santa Rita Hills Lavender Farm in Lompoc, run by mother-and-son duo Denise and Lucas Neumann.
Rather than a traditional food crop producer, Denise Neumann considers her location a “pollinator farm” because they provide chemical-free forage for local bees and wildlife without synthetic fertilizers and pesticides.
“It’s a great opportunity to help all of our pollinators in our community (with) something to eat and forage, and we need that to be able to produce fruits and vegetables mainly,” she said.
The farm grows over an acre of Grosso Lavender — which is primarily cultivated for essential oils — along with five varieties of culinary lavender.
Visitors learned how culinary lavender can add a subtle sweetness, which is primarily used in items like coffee, syrups, specialized sugars and salts, as well as shortbread cookies.
One of Santa Rita Hills’ major focuses is artisanal essential oil distillation, led by Lucas Neumann. According to him, Santa Rita Hills uses 95-99% pure dried lavender buds, as opposed to large commercial operations that harvest entire plants, which he said can result in heavy chlorophyll levels and gassy odors.
With the lavender distilled in a specialized copper still, the metal creates a natural chemical reaction that artificially ages the oil by six months. The process breaks down disinfectant-like camphor notes, leaving a pure, floral fragrance.
Another farm featured on Saturday was Ballard Walnut Grove in Solvang. Farmer Rich Morgantini said he was inspired to participate after taking his granddaughter in past years.
Now in their third year of hosting, the family on Saturday walked guests through the complete process of growing walnuts.
Morgantini spoke on the process of replacing the farm’s heirloom Payne walnuts with Chandler trees 25 years ago. The farm transitioned from using bare-earth cultivation to mowed centers and reduced chemical spraying. It also installed owl boxes to encourage natural predators to control gophers and other pests.
Those who visited Ballard Walnut Grove learned about the patience necessary for growing walnuts; bare-root nursery saplings can take eight to 10 years to reach full production, which will then produce walnuts for 25 to 40 years.
For Morgantini, Farm Day is a chance to educate the public on where their food originates, as well as highlight the county’s agricultural diversity.
“This is an opportunity to educate…trying to let people know where their food comes from and how it’s grown,” Morgantini said.
“Santa Barbara County has such a diverse agricultural heritage and industry. It’s just amazing that we have all this stuff, and a lot of people don’t know it,” he added.
Other participating farms were the chemical-free Sweet Wheel Farms in Summerland, the Allan Hancock Student Farm and Vineyard, as well as education stops like Solvang’s Growing Minds Farm Education and the Mark Richardson CTE Center.
