Fresh pickings at Ventura County farms attracts visitors
By Alex Wilson 04/23/2009
Ventura County farms are an increasingly popular draw for tourists and locals hungering to experience the outdoors and find fresh healthy food.
Ventura Visitors and Convention Bureau Executive Director Jim Luttjohann compiled an extensive list of more than three dozen places where people can see agriculture in action. It includes well known companies like Limoneira and Underwood Family Farms, as well as more obscure destinations like the Fillmore Insectory, where beneficial bugs are reared to combat ones that destroy crops.
Limoneira offers packing house tours, al fresco meals surrounded by trees, and even hot air balloon rides that soar over citrus and avocado groves.
Luttjohann had the opportunity to take a balloon flight. “The most impressive thing to me was the silence. When they’re not actually using the blower to fire the balloon, it’s pretty quiet up there. We were up there early in the morning when it was spectacular and quiet, and saw a beautiful view of our area,” says Luttjohann. “I was very impressed by the abundance of the greenery, and the geometry of all the rows of trees, and the interspersed field crops and the different shadows that they cast. It was sort of like looking at a giant pleated green fabric with different saturations of green.”
Luttjohann says chefs are also getting in on the act by making local produce another reason for visiting their establishments, and sometimes mention local farms on their menus. “Many of our restaurants are being operated by artisan chefs who chose to set up their operations here because of that locally sourced availability,” says Luttjohann. “They’re telling you subtly that this is locally grown. It may say, ‘Underwood Lettuce Salad,’ or ‘Ojai Olive Vinaigrette.’ ”
Craig Underwood is a leader in the drive toward farm based tourism at his Moorpark and Somis area properties that feature produce stands and animal exhibits. Visitors also pick their own produce including blueberries to feel closer to nature. “For this area, they’re exotic, and they’re easy to pick because they’re on a bush,” says Underwood.
They’ve also started a new community supported agriculture program where subscribers receive a box of freshly picked produce every week. “It varies from week to week, depending on what we have to offer, but it’s all farm fresh and it’s all seasonal,” says Underwood.
Ron Asquith owns Ojai Olive Oil Incorporated, which operates tours among the trees on Saturdays and Wednesdays. The olive growing property is in a secluded valley, and some of their Spanish Olives grow on trees planted in the 1880s. “We sit there and talk about the different varieties of olives, what the differences mean, when the olives ripen, how we harvest,” says Asquith. “Then we come inside where we have the olive press and explain how each piece of equipment works, what it does to the olives, how we extract the oil.”
Asquith says some of his customers appreciate that they’re buying locally grown food that’s not shipped from far away places like Chile or Italy to reduce carbon emissions believed to cause global warming. “It’s definitely a plus for the environment. Plus, you get fresher produce. Freshness is important in vegetables and fruit, and in olive oil,” says Asquith. “Here in Ventura County they’re placing much more emphasis on buying locally grown products. The popularity of farmer’s markets reinforces this. So I think it’s a trend that’s very positive.”
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