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Note from the CEO
Dear friends,
Like so many others, California FarmLink is experiencing the chaos and shock resulting from continual changes within the federal government. We have not been immune to the funding freezes in recent weeks. Along with colleagues and policy coalitions, we are working more closely than ever at both the state and federal levels to inform policy makers about how we are using public resources, and how important they are for our work to build strong, healthy communities and food systems. Our focus is on what’s most important: Protecting the people and communities we serve and continuing our programs and services with the support of trusted funders and investors.
As illustrated by this newsletter, the FarmLink team is out in the fields, and in the halls of power, to carry forward our mission to invest in the prosperity and well-being of farmers, ranchers, and fishers who have limited access to financial resources. As we navigate the chaos, we are showing up and supporting clients, colleagues, and partners. We are working to protect, for the long haul, what we have built together over the past quarter century. Thank you for being part of our work.
Warm regards,
Reggie
Table of Contents
How Access to Capital, Land, and Education Shaped Dulce Organic Farms
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For many small-scale farmers, land ownership isn’t just a goal, it’s the foundation for financial stability, self-reliance, and generational wealth. Yet, the dream of owning land is often overshadowed by financial hurdles and the uncertainty of leasing farmland year after year. But for Antonia Vega Gonzalez, these obstacles were not roadblocks; they were stepping stones. With perseverance, strategic planning, and the right support, she transformed uncertainty into opportunity, proving that farmworkers, too, can become farm owners.
Antonia and her husband, Jose Juan Pulido Garcia, spent more than two decades as farm laborers in California's strawberry fields, developing experience in every aspect of production while nurturing an entrepreneurial vision.
"I started at a very young age," Antonia recalls. "By the time I was 7 or 8, I was already working. My parents took me to work in the strawberry fields. That was the only work I knew."
Over the years, Antonia's experience evolved into something deeper: an understanding of strawberry farming practices and an ambition to build something of her own. She recognized that remaining a farmworker would limit her opportunities, so she began seeking paths toward agricultural entrepreneurship.
In 2018, Antonia enrolled in El Pájaro CDC's Women's Business Education Program, a 12-week course that covers the essentials of launching and managing a small business. Upon completion of the course, Antonia first learned about California FarmLink's lending services. Eventually, Antonia and Jose secured their first operating loan with FarmLink, enabling them to launch Dulce Organic Farms on leased land in Royal Oaks.
“The team helped me with the loan application process, and it was simple," Antonia shares. “That loan gave me the push I needed to move forward.”
Despite their extensive farming knowledge, the transition to farm ownership came with a steep learning curve. Antonia and Jose initially planted all ten acres of their leased land, unaware of the financial implications of managing such a large operation.
"I made mistakes," Antonia admits. "The weeds overwhelmed the strawberries, and we lost a lot of money that year. We had no idea how much it would cost to grow strawberries on one acre, let alone all ten."
Over the years, Antonia and Jose refined their approach and strengthened their operation. "By the fourth year, we finally understood how to grow high-quality strawberries," Antonia explains. "Now, we have the knowledge to produce better fruit in larger quantities."
By 2023, after five years of leasing and business development, Antonia and Jose were prepared for the crucial next step: purchasing their own land. California FarmLink played a pivotal role in this transition, arranging a joint financing agreement with the USDA Farm Service Agency that enabled them to purchase 23.27 acres in Royal Oaks — transforming Antonia and Jose from tenant farmers to landowners.
"Owning this land means we can focus on growing our business for the long term," says Antonia. "Before, we never knew if we'd be able to stay on the land from one season to the next. Now, we can plan for the future with confidence."
California FarmLink's commitment extends beyond financial support, and invited Antonia and Jose to participate in our El Resilerador™ program, a course designed for Spanish-speaking farmers to strengthen financial literacy and business planning skills.
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"The course was great for me and my husband," says Antonia. "The instructors have an incredible ability to break down complex topics into clear and understandable lessons."
Antonia and Jose have completed the course a few times, each time deepening their business acumen. "We feel much more confident now than the first time we took the course," she shares. "The strategies we've learned have given us the tools to manage every aspect of our business."
With secure land tenure and enhanced business skills, Antonia is not merely maintaining her operation, she's actively planning for significant growth. In 2025, she is growing mixed vegetables while preparing for transition to organic strawberry production, but her vision doesn't stop there.
"Our goal is to expand by another five acres," Antonia states confidently. "We've already mastered the process of growing and harvesting high-quality strawberries, so I think we're ready to increase production."
This planned expansion demonstrates how land ownership creates a foundation for farm owners to build upon, moving from survival to strategic growth. With stable land tenure, Antonia and Jose can now make long-term investments that would have been impossible during her years as a tenant farmer.
Dulce Organic Farms exemplifies what’s possible when farmers receive the right support. With access to capital, education, and land, they’re not only building their businesses but also shaping a more resilient agricultural future.
"We knew we could grow high-quality organic strawberries, but without stable land, our future was uncertain," Antonia explains. "FarmLink believed in us from the start. They gave us the chance to grow. Not just crops, but a business, and I can say in confidence that my business wouldn’t exist without California FarmLink."
By securing land ownership, Antonia and Jose are redefining who will sustain productive farmland in California. Their success highlights how targeted support for farmers contributes to a more resilient and equitable food system, where agricultural knowledge gained through years of labor can lead to business ownership and wealth-building opportunities.
As they enter their first full year as landowners, one thing is certain: this is only the beginning for Antonia and Jose. With their determination and the support they’ve received, the possibilities for growth and impact are limitless.
You can find Dulce Organic Farms produce through Coke Farms.
Impact Profile: Sheena Vaidyanathan and Tera Farm
The COVID-19 pandemic was a catalyst for new ideas on how people access food. Many years ago, Sheena Vaidyanathan, a recently retired middle school teacher, had started a backyard garden, harvesting fresh food for her family. In 2020, it was fresh, local food that connected her with friends and neighbors, ultimately resulting in Tera Farm, a nonprofit enabling small-scale farmers to sell organic produce directly to neighborhoods. The idea started with Sheena creating an online store for local produce, and reaching out to people who were intent on paying retail prices directly to farmers who had previously sold at wholesale prices. In this edited interview with Sheena we asked about her unpredictable journey.
Why did you get involved in local agriculture and sustainable food systems?
I would say that it was a series of fortunate events. I ended up acquiring land in San Juan Batista and decided to work on planting an orchard because a lot of orchards are disappearing in that area… and that was my deep dive into the world of agriculture.
I was lucky to meet enough people to help me understand that I need to start by planting a cover crop and building up the soil and what it means to be organic. I decided to lease out some of the land I had acquired to farmers, and had a whole ecosystem of people that I could learn from.
How have you been able to provide land access for small-scale farmers?
Basically when I started, I was only going to experiment on a small portion with my orchard, instead of giving it out to one farmer that would take the land. I was fortunate that I had met some people, including David Mancera [formerly] with Kitchen Table Advisors, and he introduced me to small farmers. He took me to ALBA and made me aware that there were these farmers who would need land, and because they were smaller family farmers, they would need smaller parcels. I got this idea that instead of leasing it to one person, I was going to connect with the people that I had met. That's how I decided to divide the land into five-acre parcels and provide access to farmers who were not only graduates of ALBA, but also clients of Kitchen Table Advisors. There was a community of support that I had going in.
And how did California FarmLink get involved?
I had the perfect three prongs that were coming together. There was ALBA, and I was talking to them about how they maintain logs to share the water at the well, and more; and the farmers themselves knew each other, which was wonderful. Kitchen Table Advisors was supporting the small farmers. At that time, I spoke almost no Spanish so it was helpful to get language support, too. FarmLink was critical because they helped me set up the leases, and it was wonderful to see how they were very much advocating and talking from the farmer's point of view, but also being very mindful and advising me, as somebody new to this, on what I should be looking for and what should be in the lease. I would not have been able to do it without FarmLink.
Today you lease 40 acres to seven farmers, which includes a couple of subleases. What drives you to partner with those small farmers?
I would say they inspire me every day in how they work, how they face challenges, and how much they're able to get done with sometimes so little and in such an innovative way that I would not have thought possible. Every time I am with them, I can learn from them, it just drives me further, to [ask] what else can I do? What else can I do myself as a farmer? What else can I do in any indirect way to support them? So I think that's what drives me…the small farmers.
Now that you've established land access for the farmers, what learnings will you take forward?
Oh my gosh, what can I say? Farming is not easy. That's the first thing I've learned. It's even more challenging than I had ever thought, and sometimes it makes me wonder why we do it, and it also makes me worry because so few of us know how to grow our own food. I think the learning I get from that is how much more there is to learn. And as I learn more, I'm thinking: We really need to get everybody involved. You can't grow [all] your food, I understand, but at least learn where it comes from. And therefore, support it. Do your part. Go in and support FarmLink, ALBA, Kitchen Table Advisors and other nonprofits. Buy locally from your local farmer. If you can't grow your food, at least do your part to make sure the people who are growing our food are still there.
Tell us about Tera Farm, the nonprofit farm box service, and its purposes.
As I got involved with all these small farmers, I was seeing what they were growing, and that's when the March 2020 [shutdown] happened. And I found out that one of the small farmers couldn't sell his produce. Schools, restaurants, and wholesalers weren't buying as much. And I still remember I had a picture on my phone from seeing that harvest the day before and I'm like, “You mean all that wonderful kale is not going to get used?” So I ended up with this idea: Let me at least get two boxes from him, just buy some kale and hand it off to my friends. So I texted a bunch of my friends saying, "Hey, due to COVID…I'm going to drop it off. Would you like some kale?" And they responded, "Yeah, because I'm not going to the grocery store, but I just don't want it free. I want to pay that person." So I said, "Okay, put some money in an envelope and I'm not going to touch your money. I'm going to pick this up and send it back to the farmer." And they said, "I can't eat this much kale, but I'll tell my neighbors."
Basically I dropped it off to four or five friends and then they contacted their four or five friends. It was crazy because everybody was freaking out about things shutting down, my phone was just filled with messages saying, "Where did this kale come from? I've never seen something so fresh. And look at what I made, and here is this new recipe from The New York Times that you can use," and then, "Can I please get some more kale, and do you have anything besides kale?"
So I started sending those messages back through Kitchen Table Advisors, back to the farmer, and he's like, "I've never actually sold anything except to wholesale. I've never met a person who's actually used my product. And by the way, I do have celery and onions and chard." And so before I knew it, I was managing a lot of messages from people asking for different amounts of different vegetables. This is when I realized that I would have to set up an online store to make this work.
Can you share more about the beginnings of Tera Farm?
Going back to that whole idea that I put money in an envelope, I said, "I want to do it as a nonprofit so that the money never, ever touches me, it just goes straight to the farmer.” Not only was [the farmer] getting more money, he was getting cash on the spot, not six weeks later when the wholesaler closed the invoice.
Basically it was providing market access, and along the way, as things started opening up, we also started creating opportunities for people to visit the farm. "Where do all these boxes come from? Who are these farmers who are creating our farm boxes? Who is Bertha Magaña? Who is Mariana Reyes?" I had started communicating with newsletters, short emails, telling them, "The store is open, come and buy," because there's no subscription. They get to decide each week if they want to order or not. So I have to sell them a message every time. I started creating these little stories: Did you know how farmers work together, mother and daughter collaborating on the farm, what happened in the heat wave, or what happened with the rains this week. Basically market access and education were the two key parts of Tera Farm when it started.
Tera Farm has been operating for almost five years, what does its future look like?
I started out in technology, which goes back to why I was able to set up an online store…and why I want to see what else we can do in terms of technology. And then 18 years ago I got into education. Working with middle school in particular has been my passion. Education is both the learning and the teaching.
With Tera Farm, I want to do more in terms of education. I think everybody should be involved with the food that we eat. We had an extremely successful pilot school visit last fall. We had two busloads of school kids, fifth graders…with teachers and parents, like a hundred people out on the farm. They were reading this book, Esperanza Rising, about a young girl who moves from Mexico to work on farms. We asked, where does their food come from and who grows their food? They met farmers who are from Mexico. The farmers talked about how their families have been involved. It was not just how food is grown, but who grows our food.
Recently, David Mancera who was on the Tera Farm board from the start has brought in his own initiative La Cultiva into the Tera Farm nonprofit and taken on the CEO position. He and I are working closely on expanding Tera Farm to support farmers with two distinct but connected approaches: For the consumers, access to local organic produce and education about the food we eat; and for the farmers, market access, and now land and capital access to grow and sustain their farm businesses.
To learn more about Tera Farm, and its delivery services from Berkeley to Carmel, visit the organization's website here.
Capitol Hill meetings in concert with other NSAC members
California FarmLink stands strong as a member of the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC), based in Washington, DC. In February, Gary Peterson, Director of Communications and Philanthropy, was joined by Antonio Garza of Feeding Crane Farm in Nevada County for meetings with Congressional staffers. They were part of coordinated action by NSAC member organizations from 32 states who visited 130+ Congressional offices, including all members of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees. Together they shared stories of the impact of the federal funding freeze on farmers and farm organizations and the importance of farmers’ access to credit and timely disaster assistance programs. Antonio expressed the business uncertainty he faced due to a funding freeze impacting the USDA’s Local Food Procurement Assistance (LFPA) program. Meetings were conducted with the offices of Representatives Salud Carbajal, Jimmy Panetta, Adam Gray, Kevin Kiley, Doug LaMalfa, and Senator Adam Schiff. Next month, FarmLink’s leadership will once again be on Capitol Hill engaging with Congressional offices.
New Resource Available: Tax Toolshed!
We’re excited to introduce the Tax Toolshed, a toolkit designed specifically for farmers, ranchers, and fishers. This resource will help you organize your documents and records for tax preparation and boost your confidence when working with tax professionals.
Available in both English and Spanish, the toolkit includes diagnostic tools to help identify which lessons are most relevant, along with short lessons featuring recordings, PowerPoints, and detailed notes. These resources are particularly helpful if you’re unsure whether you need to file taxes, have questions about income from federal programs, or live and farm on the same land.
The Toolshed also features a best practices guide for selecting and working with a tax preparer, plus a tax organizer workbook ideal for first-time filers or those looking for a better experience.
If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to Asia Hampton, Business Skills Advisor, at asia@cafarmlink.org! Check the Tax Toolshed in our Resource Library today!
Evaluating and Supporting Spanish-Speaking Clients course returns this June
Our "Evaluating and Supporting Spanish-Speaking Farmer, Rancher, and Fisher Clients" course is back starting this June! Designed for professionals who work with Spanish-speaking farmers, ranchers, and fishers, this course equips participants with the tools to better support their clients' business success.
The course will be held on Zoom on Wednesdays, from June 4-25, 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM. Business advisors, accountants, bookkeepers, tax preparers, Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs), and nonprofit organizations are encouraged to attend. Participants will have the opportunity to expand their professional networks and join a growing referral network connecting specialized business assistance with a diverse range of clients.
Past attendees have found the course invaluable in strengthening their ability to serve agricultural businesses. One participant shared, "This course gave me the confidence and resources to better support my farmer clients. The connections I made have been invaluable."
Help us spread the word! If you or someone you know would benefit from this course, we encourage you to share this opportunity. Fill out the interest form to join the next cohort and connect with a network of professionals supporting farmers, ranchers, and fishers.
¡Congratulations, 2025 Resileradores!
We celebrate the 2025 graduates of El Resilerador™, a group of Spanish-speaking farmers, ranchers, and fishers who have taken a decisive step toward business success. Over the course of seven weeks, these graduates have strengthened their business vision, learned strategies to build wealth, and shared knowledge within a supportive community.
El Resilerador is a free, Spanish-language course designed specifically for agricultural business owners with over two years of business experience. It covers key topics such as business structure, accounting, taxes, credit, and regulatory compliance. Beyond knowledge, course graduates also gain exclusive benefits, including personalized technical assistance, accounting courses, and interest rate discounts when applying for financing with California FarmLink.
Congratulations, Resileradores! Your commitment to resilience and growth will continue to strengthen your businesses, your communities, and the future of agriculture.
Land Access Partnership in Sonoma County
For many years, California FarmLink was headquartered in Sonoma County, including 20 years when community discussions centered on winegrape acreage replacing Gravnstein apples and other land use pressures. Fast forward to 2025, and we’re thrilled that the Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District (SCAPOSD) has formed its Buy-Sell-Protect program to help farmers and ranchers who are seeking their own small to midsize agricultural properties. We’re grateful to have been one of the partners helping to advise SCAPOSD in developing this new program. SCAPOSD outlines that they “...aim to make land more affordable by buying a farm or ranch property, protecting it with a conservation easement, and then selling the conserved land to a qualified farmer or rancher.”
On February 20, Liya Schwartzman, Senior Program Manager, Equity and Conservation on Working Lands, and Brett Melone, Chief Credit Officer, attended the district’s Buy-Protect-Sell Finance Resource Fair to outline the land tenure and financing assistance programs that FarmLink makes possible. We are excited to potentially be part of the solution for farmers with limited resources to benefit from SCAPOSD’s initiative, which they hope can result in the farm sale under the program before the end of 2025. To learn more and access an important bilingual study they conducted on land access, inspired in part by FarmLink’s prior work, visit their website.
Financial Well-Being for Fishermen
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Accessing capital for your fishing business can be challenging, but innovative solutions are making a difference. This week, Noah Strouse, Senior Loan Officer and Strategic Initiatives Manager, joins Hugh Cowperthwaite from Coastal Enterprises, Inc. (CEI) in Maine for a bicoastal discussion on how Community Development Financial Institutions are bridging financial gaps for fishers and seafood producers.
Hosted by Megan Waldrep of Partners of Commercial Fishermen, this insightful 70-minute conversation explores loan options, business resources, and the crucial roles that FarmLink and CEI play in strengthening the fishing industry.
The episode is available on Apple, Spotify, and 20+ streaming platforms. Don’t miss this deep dive into financing and technical assistance for the seafood sector! Tune in and share with your network!
2024 Impact Survey – Thank you for your feedback!
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Every year, we ask a simple yet powerful question: How can we better support farmers, ranchers, and fishers?
Through our Annual Client Satisfaction and Impact Survey, we received over 190 responses this year, each providing critical insight into the challenges, needs, and opportunities shaping the future of agricultural businesses. By sharing your experiences, you help us shape programs, advocate for change, and ensure that our resources truly meet the needs of those who sustain our communities.
A special thank you to everyone who took the time to participate, and to Jeremy Ginsberg and Francisco Yanez, our data and impact team, for their dedication in gathering and analyzing this critical information. Your insights ensure we keep learning, improving, and making a greater impact.
Stay tuned as we share key findings and use them to drive meaningful change.
We’re Hiring – Join Our Growing Team!
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California FarmLink is expanding, and we’re looking for dedicated professionals to join us in supporting farmers, ranchers, and fishers across the state. We’re currently hiring for:
If you’re passionate about making a difference in California’s agricultural and fishing communities, we’d love to hear from you!
To apply, email your resume and a thoughtful cover letter detailing your interest in the role and our mission to humanresources@cafarmlink.org. Please include the job title in the subject line.
