Meet the Farmer

Verónica and Cole Mazariegos-Anastassiou and Cristóbal Cruz Hernández started Brisa Ranch in 2018 as a side project meant to meet local demand for winter squash and dry beans, and supplement the work they were all doing on other farms. Cole & Vero each had been farming for 6+ years while Cristóbal had 30+ years farming experience under his belt. It didn’t take long before they decided to go all in and grow the business together, taking those first few crops to the over 45+ varieties they produce today. “As having our own farm business was a dream for all of us, we’ve grown Brisa each year since into a much larger operation,” reflected Cole.

Cascade Ranch Collab with Lunaria Flower Farm
Verónica, Cole and Cristóbal work closely with fellow Cascade Ranch tenant -- and KTA client farmer -- Gaby Lee of Lunaria Flower Farm, a partnership that first began to take shape during Cole and Gaby’s days interning and working at Pie Ranch. While Lunaria and Brisa may be distinct businesses, their shared place and day-to-day farming practices are based in collaboration and connection. From the field -- Gaby intersperses flowers and medicinal herbs plantings with Brisa’s vegetable crops, and they all share duties like irrigation and tractor work -- to a shared CSA, to thought partnership around business strategies, their collaboration is grounded in trust and a shared belief that small farms need to be in community with each other to thrive.