Hidden among the trees, up a small gravel road overlooking a
vast canyon in Morgan Hill live five recent college graduates who
willingly get up before the sun for one purpose: farming.
Hidden among the trees, up a small gravel road overlooking a vast canyon in Morgan Hill live five recent college graduates who willingly get up before the sun for one purpose: farming.
Among two sheep, dog Sadie and 4-month-old puppy Mina and their 75 hens is an acre and a half of land called “the Bowl” sprinkled with bright-yellow sunflowers that grows just about everything in season for the summer: squash, cherry tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, chard, radishes and much more.
Coyote Canyon Farms is a Community Support Agriculture small-scale farm started by Stanford University grads Simon Neely, 22, Briana Swette, 23, and Eli Lictenstein, 21; a Skidmore College grad, Zubin Mobedshahi, 22; and Whitman College grad Chris Barton, 22. Coyote Canyon Ranch is the name of the land that the one and a half acre farm sits on. For the past 15 years, it has been owned by Mobedshahi’s family, where father Manou lives with the other five recent additions that moved in at the beginning of June.
The farm opened for business a month ago, delivering its fresh veggies and eggs to customers in Morgan Hill and as far down as the mid-Peninsula twice a week on Mondays and Thursdays. The team rises before the sun to harvest the best of their labor the morning of deliveries and create boxes to be dropped off to their customers by 7 a.m. Customers can opt for a small box designed for two people for $20 a week, or a family sized box with up to 10 varieties of vegetables for $25 per week.
Coyote Canyon Farm has a very simple goal, said Neely: bring a connection from the small-scale farmer to customers.
“What we’re doing is putting out newsletters to talk to our customers. We’re trying to build good and personal relationships with people,” he said, as puppy Mina brought over a dead lizard and two spotted sheep skittered away from being chased by Sadie.
He said that farming for Coyote Canyon Farm, is not just about the growing the food.
“Our goal is to be out there and ask ourselves, how can we put in a field of vegetables in such a way that’s a healthy and viable part of that landscape and the entire life cycle,” said Neely.
Being small-scale, and hoping to reach about 45 customers this year, the question of profit comes up: how will they survive in this economic climate?
“The other side of the coin here is that life is long and short and nothing is certain, so we acknowledge that this is a wonderful risk and gamble we’re taking,” said Mobedshahi.
“We really believe that growing vegetables for the community, that’s going to be as economically viable to our community and for California as it is to put so much resources into agriculture,” said Neely.
The CSA model allows customers to experience the growth of the farm, literally every week, said Mobedshahi.
“Another thing about a CSA that stands out from a farmers market is that the produce is even fresher, and it’s what the farm has fresh from that moment,” said Mobedshahi. “You get to experience the season specifically, by getting a box every week.”
“This model tries to break down the barrier between the farmer and consumer, and the food even. Have them share in the experience and creating a sort of small community and participate in our food growing,” said Neely.
Coyote Canyon Farm currently has 25 customers, two-thirds of whom are in Morgan Hill. Although rejected by the Morgan Hill Farmers Market due to lack of space, the farm will start selling on weekends at the Palo Alto Farmers Market. The farm is also in the works to sell its produce to local restaurants in Morgan Hill, including Ladera Grill.
Becoming certified organic farmers is a process, said Mobedshahi, and a question the farmers commonly get from their customers. Although they do not use any pesticides or synthetic fertilizer (just regular horse manure), they cannot “use the O-word at all” said Mobedshahi, until the certification process is complete.
Being farmers doesn’t come without unexpected issues. This past month, the farm experienced its first predators: mountain lions. Several have taken a liking to their hens, which make plenty of clucking noises in their handmade coop on a small hill near the orchard on the property. Neely said they had to relocate the chickens for a couple weeks, hoping the mountain lions would lose interest.
