Riverhill Farm

Riverhill Farm is a family farm in the California foothills of the Sierra Nevada just outside Nevada City. We sell fresh produce picked that day at the Saturday Nevada City Farmers' Market, at the farm's farmstand, and at BriarPatch Natural Foods Coop. Riverhill Farm had its start in 2001. Thanks to tremendous support for our endeavors from our community, today our farm produces a diverse mix of organic vegetables and fruits on ten acres, including many heirloom and specialty varieties. Many of our customers appreciate the farm for the beauty of the place itself, the last level terrain before a 1500 ft. drop into the canyon of the Yuba River. Riverhill Farm is a new farm but, as those who visit us at the farm come to appreciate, it is a place which has a long history of human use. There are Native American grinding rocks used to process acorns from the abundant native oaks, and many features of the landscape reflect the work of the Italian homestead farmers who inhabited the farm between the mid- to late-1800’s and the mid-1900’s. There’s a great deal about the place that inspires respect. Apart from enjoying the seasonal fruits (and vegetables!) of our labor, those of us who work here come to enjoy the place itself. The farm occupies a vital niche between and among habitats-oak woodland and chaparral, pine forest and grassland, seasonal creeks and north slope Yuba River environs-making it a vibrant landscape full of life. We mark the seasons most of all by the passing over of great flocks of Sandhill Cranes that bring us to stop our work in the fields to delight in the sound of their calls. We’ve come to appreciate that Riverhill Farm is not just a place for human use, as evidenced by an abundance of mountain lions, bears, coyotes, bobcats, foxes, skunks, raccoons, hawks, herons, kingfishers, geese, ducks (and gophers). Riverhill Farm is a community-based farm. We sell most of our produce within ten miles of the farm. We are currently farming on 10 acres, with plans for additional acreage in the coming years. At the center of the farm is our farmstand, the hub around which most of our farm’s activities revolve. It’s an inviting structure that provides shade for our produce and for our customers, and is a welcome spot to sit and visit when you come to the farm. Riverhill Farm is marking a transition. To everything there is a season, and with farming the transition from one farmer to the next is one of those periods of renewal. The farm was created and stewarded by Alan Haight and Jo McProud for many years, and in 2017 they decided that it was time to move on to other pursuits. Antonio Garza and Daylin Wade have taken up the reins as operators of Riverhill Farm. Antonio worked closely with Alan as Farm Manager begining in 2016, becoming immersed in the community and the land in preparation for this transition. Daylin works part-time on the farm and leads the Wednesday Farmstand while tending to her own endeavors (www.taprootbotanicals.com). Alan and Jo have worked tirelessly to create an amazing farming legacy on this land, and we are honored and grateful to be entrusted with the stewardship of Riverhill Farm. We appreciate the opportunity to serve our community with the highest quality, freshest and tastiest produce. We are endeavoring to build and maintain a farm that will serve this community for generations to come. We strive in our farming practices to balance production that will make Riverhill Farm an economically viable farm with maintaining and enhancing the natural environment in which the farm exists. Our production system includes growing and marketing over 30 different crops; annual crop rotation; using fall-planted cover crops that fix nitrogen and provide organic matter for the soil; a fertilization and soil building regime that seeks to provide the best possible basis for healthy plants, healthy food and a healthy environment; practicing a diversified marketing strategy; drip irrigation for water conservation; and planting and maintaining habitat areas for beneficial insects and wildlife. Riverhill’s products are sold both retail and wholesale. We sell at our farmstand at the farm and to local restaurants. We sell at local Farmers’ Markets and through the BriarPatch Coop. All of these efforts combine with our goal of connecting local consumers with the land on which their food is grown, and encouraging a strong relationship among members of our community.