Well, are at full throttle at the ranch, Our citrus season just kicked into high gear. I can honestly say I struggling to keep up. Everyone else has been through this before but this is my first season. In as few words as possible,... its CRAZY!

Folks are calling from all over wanting product. Lisles phone, fax and email hasn't stopped. When I was told not to worry we would have more orders than product. Lisle wasn't kidding! We spent a large portion of the day yesterday testing sugars in the feild. The unseasonable hot weather couple with the few cold snaps has sweetened the the citrus up early. The acids are down and the fruit is INCREDIBLE!

Operations are beefing up. We are adding field staff as well as packers. Everything is running like clockwork. I'm in awe how quickly but also how smoothly everything has gone during this seasons start-up.

There are some mechanical items that will need to be addressed in the near future. We have a new packing line and bagger to bring online. I have to source air and a dryer for the new bagging system then we need to train on operations, maintenance and upkeep.

Being Organic we don't pick and refrigerate. We leave the fruit on the trees and pick to order. It's an awesome concept which guarantees only the freshest fruit possible will reach the end user.

Our Canadian partner, Thrifty Foods, introduced the concept years ago and we have adopted it as a standard.

Our fruit is brushed, not waxed. The sheen on the outside of the fruit is produced by the natural oils during respiration which aids in the appearance and presentation but also the taste. You have to only try our citrus to understand the difference.

Well, back to work!... It's gonna be a great day!

More later..... :-)

Satsuma Mandarins are ready!

Being an organic farm we leave the fruit on the trees and pick to order. Yesterday we made the decision our Satsumas were ready and let our customers know. Wow!.. The orders are pouring in. It's the first time I've ever seen a triage order situation. We will run out of fruit before we fill all the orders. I guess it's a good problem to have. Now through the end of April, according to my mentor and owner, Lisle Babcock, as soon as the fruit is ready to sell. We let the customers know and its pretty much a rush. We are the premiere Organic citrus supplier for Thrifty Foods in Vancouver Canada and their customers love Buck Brand Citrus! I still have a bit of a learning curve but I love what I'm doing...

Our Palestine Sweet Limes are ready!

Palestine Sweet limes Look like a lime, smells like a lime, but it's sweet flavor doesn't taste like a lime. A hybrid of unknown origin, this vigorous grower flowers and fruits throughout the year. Formerly listed as Citrus limon "Sweet Form."
We have about ten acres on the farm. They are high producers and we get a large yield every year. The owners o the ranch do not make any income on the limes. They grow them for humanitarian reasons. The limes act as a natural antacid and when the juice is consumed on a regular basis it reduces the acidity in your body. We send out cases for free to mostly cancer patients who are experiencing stomach nausea and discomforts caused by their treatment. Most of these folks report back that the juice from the limes had great affects on them and many attribute their success in dealing with the disease to these sweet limes. If you, a family member or friend ever need these just contact me here and we will get some out to them right away.

Our Naval Oranges are Ready!

This morning I was exposed to a very important piece of equipment for a Citrus farmer. It's called a refractometer or Brix meter.

Brix is primarily used in fruit juice, wine making and the sugar industry for measuring the approximate amount of sugars in fruits, vegetables, juices, wine and soft drinks.

For fruit juices, one degree Brix is about 1-2% sugar by weight. This usually correlates well with perceived sweetness.

Modern Brix meters are digital refractometers that calculate the Brix value based on refractive index.

Good sugar content is usually around 13 Brix. This morning we measured one at 18! One of the sweetest we've ever measured. It's going to be a great year for Navals.

The lull before the storm!

This is our packing shed at the farm. Today it's empty, waiting for the beginning of our season. Next week at this time it'll be bursting at the seems with citrus and packers getting the fruit ready for shipping!.. I can't wait $$$

Getting started....

I started this blog as a way to not only vent about my new venture but to share the gold nuggets I uncover along the way. I was hired by an organic citrus farmer about three-months as a project manager and eventually heir apparent to the General Manager role.

We presently farm roughly 57 different varieties of citrus on the ranch. Its ALL organically grown. That word "Organic" not insures the consumer that what they are putting in their bodies is clean and free of harmful chemicals and pesticides but also brings a higher price to the grower.

Its not easy. Organic farming, well... I guess farming period these days is fraught not only with mother nature trying to head you of at every turn but the legislative and regulatory requirements set forth are extremely daunting.

I'm starting to get a handle on operations. We have very capable staff that read the land, the fruit and the trees like books and act quickly to insure healthy trees and good wholesome crops. The owner, my new mentor, has been farming most of his life. A former school teacher in the sixties, he started farming roughly 35 years ago and is a walking encyclopedia of useful knowledge. He is sixty-eight now and needs to slow down... enter me stage left. I'm a semi-retired ex newspaper publisher and master of a little bit of everything, well master of just enough to be dangerous I guess.

Last week several of our customers alerted us that down the road they would be requiring us to have a Food Safety Program online and operational that met USDA and Canada GAP guidelines. So thats my new main project for the next several months. It's a HUGE task but at the end of it I'm convinced the farm will be positioned to set the pace for other growers our size. Also by being a smaller operation we will be able to move quicker, be more proactive and be able, I hope, to implement our program - go through the necessary inspections - and receive our certification in four-to five months.

Well, time to get busy. I'll keep you updated on my progress. Feel free to bounce any questions you may have about the industry. If I don't have the answer readily available I definitely know where to find it!