Martha Romero guides husband Salvador Prieto as he drives and dumps a load of mulch at their Hass avocado trees; she’ll then toss the mulch into place near the tree trunks and under the canopy, in Somis, CA, on Nov 15, 2018. All the while, they ensure the micro irrigation sprinklers are not damaged. Salvador Prieto grew up watching and helping his father grow corn and beans on a small farm in Mexico. The journey from bean fields to 20-acre orchard owner with his wife Martha Romero was not a straight and narrow path to Somis, Calif. In fact, it was music that brought him to the United States.
Martha Romero guides husband Salvador Prieto as he drives and dumps a load of mulch at their Hass avocado trees; she’ll then toss the mulch into place near the tree trunks and under the canopy, in Somis, CA, on Nov 15, 2018. All the while, they ensure the micro irrigation sprinklers are not damaged. Salvador Prieto grew up watching and helping his father grow corn and beans on a small farm in Mexico. The journey from bean fields to 20-acre orchard owner with his wife Martha Romero was not a straight and narrow path to Somis, Calif. In fact, it was music that brought him to the United States. Today the passion is agriculture. Similarly, Romero didn’t follow a career in agriculture to her beautiful and healthy avocado and lemon orchard. Romero grew up a city girl in the heart of Los Angeles. Now sharing this farm with her husband and two children, she quickly credits her success to the support and assistance from her family to navigate the learning curve. Constantly seeking improvement on the family’s orchard, Romero discovered the local Farm Bureau and the Ventura County Agricultural Irrigated Land Group (VCAILG) coalition. VCAILG put Romero in touch with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and the Ventura Resource Conservation District, for technical and financial assistance to implement conservation and management practices. NRCS California District Conservationist Dawn Afman, Soil Conservationist Elizabeth Keith, and Resource Conservationist Brooks Engelhardt, have all provided technical assistance and invested their time and expertise in helping Prieto and Romero incorporate conservation practices in their orchard. Prieto and Romero were immediately intrigued by NRCS’s efforts to improve soil health. “At first it was overwhelming, but many other farmers I know are members, so it is comforting to know that I am not alone,” said Romero. “We need to make a profit, obviously, but, for me, I want to do it while protect
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Keywords: agribusiness, agricultural, agriculture, communities, development, economic, education, empowerment, entrepreneurship, equality, family, farm, farm--table, farmer, farmers, farming, farms, female, food, gender, health, labor, land, leadership, management, organic, ownership, production, rights, roles, rural, small-scale, sustainable, woman, women, women-led, womens
