Loan For Regenerative Organic Family Farm

Tony Serrano, founder of JAS Family Farms diversified organic vegetable farm, understands the dangers of farming with chemicals firsthand. Multiple generations of Tony’s family were ranchers and farmers in Mexico. Looking back through his heritage, Tony says he’s “got dirt farming in his blood.”

At the age of three, Tony’s parents brought him and his five siblings to southern California so they could work as pickers in the industrial strawberry fields. Tony spent his childhood working long days alongside his family picking berries and weeds in fields that were regularly and heavily sprayed with toxic herbicides, pesticides, and insecticides. During his childhood, Tony nearly died on two separate occasions due to insecticide poisoning that resulted from working in such conditions.

Tony’s parents and family were eventually able to leave the industrial strawberry fields and start their own farm. In grade school, Tony worked as his parents’ translator, negotiating contracts and working with government regulatory agencies. He learned the business of farming, beyond the fields, at a very early age.

When he was old enough, Tony left farming. He transitioned through several other successful careers—in law, in trucking, in fashion, at a non-profit—until the lure of the land and the desire to grow food drew him back to farming. Tony knew when founding JAS Family Farms that the toxic agricultural chemicals that poisoned him as a child and created long-term health issues in his family would have no part in his own farming operation. Tony set out to create a thriving and healthy ecosystem that produced healthy food, created healthy farmers, and supported a healthy community.

Today, JAS Family Farms is a stellar example of stewardship. They have earned, and currently maintain, USDA Organic Certification, Regenerative Organic Certification, Food Safety Certification from PrimusGFA, and Fair Trade Certification. Tony and his team grow nutrient-dense diversified vegetables for national wholesalers and retailers on up to 400 acres of organically-managed land just outside of California’s Salinas Valley.

“My goal in this lifetime is to teach others how to do it,” Tony says. “We need to eat. I plan to farm for the rest of my life. Hopefully...that’s a long time.”

Use of Funds

This $1.54 million loan will enhance production capacity, maintain and improve crop quality, and strengthen marketing efforts for JAS Family Farms. This loan will bridge a cash flow gap until harvest and payment by funding critical operational costs, including labor, equipment upgrades, maintenance, and production, allowing JAS to meet demand from key national wholesale and retail clients.

Ecological, Social, and Economic Stewardship Practices

JAS Family Farms is first-and-foremost dedicated to passing the skills and knowledge necessary to grow food while caring for the land on to the next generation. To achieve this goal, the team at JAS Family Farms employs the following practices:

• Ecological Stewardship:

• All growing practices on the farm start with soil health, including at least yearly soil testing and continuously monitoring the impact of different practices on the health of the soil;

• JAS minimizes tillage as much as possible and never tills when the soil is wet or it is raining;

• Using dense population planting to reduce weed pressure and to maximize yields given they have established markets for the seconds;

• Using crop rotations that focus on pairing beneficial crops;

• Using drip irrigation on 95% of their land, with only 5% on a sprinkler system based on the type of crop and needs (i.e. cauliflower needs to be under sprinklers);

• Effectively using IPM strategies including: beneficial insects, interplanting plants like marigolds, nasturtiums and alfalfa to deter pests.

• Social Stewardship:

• Donating and contracting with a local food bank and other local organizations;

• Engaging with the local community through hosting school groups and promoting educational opportunities on the farm;

• Focusing on creating a positive work environment which includes: more frequent and extra time on breaks, paid sick time, and distributing food to employees throughout the summer;

• Economic Stewardship:

• Selling directly to wholesalers with the product maintaining traceability back to the farm;

• Tony is 100% sole owner of the farm and intends to keep ownership within his family.

Stewardship Statement

JAS Family Farms commits to the stewardship of their land, employees and local community by growing certified organic vegetables using regenerative methods that benefit future generations. Tony strives to run his business by the motto - “Be bold! Treat each other well. Live in harmony with the land.” Throughout the term of the Loan they are committed to:

• Keeping soil health at the forefront of all decisions on the farm including: yearly soil testing, minimizing tillage, and only using biological inputs and integrative pest management strategies on the farm;

• Maintaining USDA Organic, Fair Trade, and Regenerative Organic Certifications on all of their cropland and products