Swallow Valley Farm Tour

Sebastopol, CA Resilience
Adam Taggart
By Adam Taggart on Tue, Jan 1, 2013 - 11:56pm

This will be a tour of Swallow Valley Farm given by its owner, Ben Colby. He'll explain the design of the farm, how its operations work, and offer demonstrations of several key farming practices.

We'll meet at Swallow Valley Farm at 10am. Feel free to use the Comments section below to arrange carpooling.

Event Details
Date: 
Saturday, March 23, 2013 - 1:00pm - 3:00pm EDT
Location: 
Swallow Valley Farm
100 Valley Ford Freestone Road
Valley Ford, CA 94972
See map: Google Maps
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Cost: 

Free

Contact Information
Name: 
Adam Taggart
Email: 
adam@peakprosperity.com
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10 Comments

Wed, Jan 2, 2013 - 1:57am
#1
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kevinoman0221
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I am definitely in!

Looking forward to it!

Thanks for having us over!

I could pick up 1 or 2 people on the way from Santa Rosa if needed.

Wed, Jan 2, 2013 - 8:38pm
#2
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sounds great!

i'll put it on my calendar, thanks for having it on a weekend!

susan

Sat, Jan 5, 2013 - 5:10pm
#3
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Adam Taggart
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Recording the farm tour for those who can't make it

I've had a few requests from folks who can't make this farm tour to record it.

I plan to bring my digital camera to capture photos.

It would be good to capture some video, as well, if possible. I have an old camcorder, but I've never figured out how to upload video to my computer successfully. Anyone have expertise here?

And someone should write up the key learnings from the day. I think others outside of just this group will appreciate reading this summary, so it will likely be featured on the home page of PeakProsperity.com. I'll do the write-up if no one else volunteers - but if someone would enjoy doing it, the glory is all yours.

Looking forward to this tour!

Thu, Jan 10, 2013 - 5:10pm
#4
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jar
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Farm Tour

You can count Dianne and myself in for the tour. Looking forward to it.

Jeff

Thu, Feb 7, 2013 - 8:41pm
#5
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Daniel Judy
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Farm Tour

My wife and I would love to go, too! We drive by there frequently and it would be a great experience to see the farm up close.

Wed, Mar 20, 2013 - 2:00pm
#6
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Adam Taggart
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Reminder: Swallow Valley Farm Tour this weekend

Don't forget: our tour of Swallow Valley Farm in Valley Ford will happen this Saturday, starting at 10am PST. Address and other details above.

I just spoke with Ben, who owns the farm. He's excited to have us come over.

He passed along a few tips:

  • For those of us coming from Sebastopol, take Bodega Highway (Rt 12) west out of town. Immediately past Freestone, take Valley Ford road. His farm is down the road, about half way to the town of Valley Ford.
  • When you turn onto his properity, look for Farm number #1108. Follow the signs for #1108, as you can't see the house immediately from the main road.
  • Wear boots, as it's pretty muddy from the recent rains.
Ben's farm is in the middle of changing its management and its farm plan. Ben will explain why, shedding light into the lessons one learns when embarking on a farming life.
 
Current operations on the farm include: eggs, a few hogs, cheese-making, milk & meat sheep, pond installation (planning to stock with fish), plans to put solar on the property (it already has geothermal). Ben will happy to talk in-depth about any of these practices that folks have interest in.
 
We'll be in very good hands, as Ben has designed the farm to be learning center for farm work. He has a farming library there, and conducts research on sustainability. The farm is also quite involved in producing biochar, and is planning some innovative ways to use the waste heat commercially while improving its soil layer.
 
I look foward to seeing you all there! If anyone from Sebastopol would like a ride, just email me.
 
cheers,
Adam
Sat, Mar 23, 2013 - 2:00pm
#7
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Couldn't find it

Sorry we didn't make it. We tried but couldn't find the farm. Hopefully everyone else had a good time and I hope to see some videos or read some descriptions.

Sat, Mar 23, 2013 - 2:05pm
(Reply to #7) #8
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also couldn't find it!

I couldn't find it either!  After a few wrong turns, I found the road, but no #100.  I also hope to see pic's and/or a write up. 

Susan

Sun, Mar 24, 2013 - 5:54pm
#9
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The address of the farm was 1100 and 1108

Sorry - don't know how the address came out as 100. The name of the farm, (to look up on the internet) is Swallow Valley Farm.

Nick

Benjamin Nick Colby
bncolby@uci.edu
Swallow Valley Farm
PO Box 466
1100 and 1108
Valley Ford, CA 94972
www.swallowvalleyfarm.com
707-876-1803

Sun, Mar 24, 2013 - 5:56pm
(Reply to #8) #10
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Location of Swallow Valley Farm

You are welcome to come by some other time.

Nick

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