Build Community with Our 2025 Client Cohort
January 30th, 2025
[Read time: 5 minutes]
Transparency and honesty with customers, talents in fermentation, and decades working in agriculture: these are just some of the qualities that distinguish the farmers and ranchers in our 2025 client cohort. At KTA, we believe in investing in their vast expertise to support their ability to grow thriving businesses that impact surrounding communities and ecosystems. For us, the relationships we cultivate with clients and shared learnings of our advising work are integral to creating a more equitable and resilient farmer and rancher-led food system.
And yet, at the start of 2025, we recognize the shifting landscape on which small sustainable farmers and ranchers are operating. The economic, environmental, and social challenges and barriers are changing and worsening in many cases. However, these farmers and ranchers know what is needed to steward ecosystems, care for communities, and strengthen local economies. KTA remains steadfast in our commitment to meeting the evolving needs and creative visions of our farmer and rancher clients, to ensure that they have the resources they need to thrive.
Take a moment not only to meet the new clients in our 2025 cohort, but also go a step further and build community with them alongside us. Sign up for a client’s email newsletter, visit them at a farmers market, and then pass along this info to a friend. Because although the challenges and barriers can be consuming at times, we firmly believe that community, trust, and even some deliciously fermented foods are the seeds of a new future.
To learn more about our approach to 1:1 Business Advising, check out our Behind an Advising Relationship feature.
Our 2025 Client Cohort includes…
9
Farm & Ranch Businesses
15
Business Owners
10
Communities Impacted
142
Acres Stewarded
Yolo | Solano | Sacramento
Brown Sugar Farm
Farm owner: Nathaniel Brown
Location: Yolo & Sacramento Counties
Products: Citrus, peppers, flowers, value-added products, mushrooms
Fun fact: The farm name comes from Nate’s passion for fermentation: he enjoys combining plant products with brown sugar to make probiotic drinks and pest management concoctions.
Honest Fish Farm
Ranch owners: Elizabeth and Jeremy Fish
Location: Sacramento County
Products: Pork, chicken, turkeys, eggs, beef
Fun fact: Jeremy and Elizabeth are first generation farmers passionate about providing full transparency and honesty to their customers about what their food is and where it comes from — thus the name Honest Fish Farm.
San Mateo | East Bay
Simms Organic
Farm owners: Jennifer and Matt Simms
Location: San Mateo County
Products: Mixed organic vegetables
Fun fact: Jennifer and Matt’s farm sells to an aggregation pilot led by KTA client Brisa Ranch that services Bay Area food banks.
Pajaro Pastures
Ranch owner: Ryan Abelson
Location: Santa Cruz County
Products: Poultry, eggs, pork
Fun fact: Ryan offers private event catering as part of his business, partnering with his local chef friends to supply sustainably-produced and delicious food to special events in his community.
Central Coast+
Dulce Organic Farm
Farm owner: Antonia Vega
Location: Monterey County
Product: Strawberries
Fun fact: Antonia grew up in Mexico and began farming there. Now, running her own farm business, she hopes to expand her operation to at least 15 acres and support other local farmers by leasing out smaller parcels of land to them.
La Buena Tierra
Farm owner: Angeles Carrillo
Location: Monterey County
Products: Mixed vegetables and strawberries
Fun fact: Angeles discovered her passion for agriculture through her husband’s work in the field, and started her own business through ALBA in 2021.
Products from Paradise
Farm owners: Sal Sr., Silvia, Sal Jr., Denise, and Destiny Ruiz
Location: Stanislaus County
Products: Nopales, prickly pears, tomatillos, and strawberries
Fun fact: The business is run and owned by the entire Ruiz family, with each member contributing towards the business’ success. Together, they operate one of the largest nopales farms in California!
Lopez Organic Farm
Farm owner: Fermin Lopez
Location: Monterey County
Products: Strawberries, celery, broccolini, carrots, kale, lettuce, and other vegetables
Fun fact: Fermin has worked in the agricultural industry for over twenty years!
Fields Farm Produce
Farm owner: Chris Fields
Location: Fresno County
Products: Mixed vegetables and fruits
Fun fact: Chris farms on an African American demonstration site; the acreage was cultivated in 1997 for budding Black farmers to learn about agricultural practices and resources.
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Photo credits: Kelsey Joy Photography. Farmer client photos sourced from clients and KTA advising staff.