Santa Barbara County Farm Day returns Sept. 6 with its largest lineup yet, featuring 21 farms, ranches and agricultural sites opening their doors to the public.
From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, participating locations across the county will host visitors with behind-the-scenes tours, tastings, tractor rides and other family-friendly activities.
Organized by Students for Eco-Education and Agriculture (SEEAG), Farm Day aims to connect the community with the people and places behind local food production.
“This is your chance to go directly to a farm and ask questions and be curious and connect with people,” said Caitlin Paulus-Case, SEEAG’s executive director.
Farm Day is entirely free to attend.
“You can show up on the day of Farm Day without preregistering to any location,” Paulus-Case said.
While preregistration isn’t required, it offers perks such as event updates and a raffle entry for custom lino-cut art prints.
Paulus-Case described the event as a “100% self-guided choose your own adventure,” with attendees deciding where to go and in what order.
Farm Day’s website features an interactive online trail map that lets visitors select locations, arrange their stops and send the route to Google Maps.
“Definitely the trail map page is the best place to go for information that has all of the up-to-date (information) on exactly what’s being offered,” Paulus-Case said.
She said many locations offer guided tours at scheduled times, which are listed on the trail map along with site descriptions and directions.
New Locations
This year’s event includes nine new participants and, for the first time, offers locations in South County.
At Rincon Farms in Carpinteria, visitors can tour the ranch and packinghouse to see how avocados are grown, packed, cooled and shipped. Guests will also learn about the farm’s organic and conventional operations and its efforts to expand into other fruits such as cherimoyas, passionfruit and dragon fruit. Just a few miles away, Farm Cart Organics will have tours of its 10 acres of organic vegetables and flowers.
“We’ve worked really hard this year based on feedback we got from last year and just making the event more accessible to more people by decentralizing it,” Paulus-Case said.
In Solvang, Ballard Walnut Grove will welcome visitors for hourly walking tours among its 900 walnut trees and 600 Christmas trees. Guests can see harvest equipment from past and present and learn about the family’s journey into farming.
Nearby in Buellton, Sunrise Organic Farm will offer hourly tours where visitors can harvest carrots, strawberries and tomatoes and learn about organic farming practices. The farm’s storefront will also feature tastings of cold-pressed juice and other prepared foods made with its produce.
“No matter where you live, there is a location within 30 minutes of you,” Paulus-Case said.
At Reiter Affiliated Companies in Santa Maria, families can take a tractor ride through raspberry fields. Paulus-Case said all sites are open to all ages, but some offer more activities geared toward children than others.
Bonipak Produce and Allan Hancock College will serve as hub sites in Santa Maria, with vendors, displays and a larger SEEAG presence.
Staff from the nonprofit will be on hand at those locations, as well as at Ballard Walnut Grove and Rincon Farms, to share information about its programs and sell hats and T-shirts. Proceeds benefit SEEAG’s free agricultural education initiatives in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties.
Paulus-Case said the hubs are “a good place to start your day,” though visitors can begin at any of the 21 locations.
Farm Day is SEEAG’s largest community outreach program and is made possible through sponsorships and donations. Paulus-Case said keeping the event free reflects the nonprofit’s mission.
“We believe in the power of connection and free education, and that communities thrive more when we’re connected to how our food is grown and who grows it,” she said.
SEEAG will be hosting a similar event in Ventura County with its 13th annual Ventura County Farm Day on Nov. 8.