K & J Orchards

FARMLAND: 104 acres in Winters, about 67 miles from the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market

PEOPLE: Kalayada Ammatya and James Beutel along with 12 full-time and 30-40 seasonal workers. Kalayada has 2 daughters -- Aomboon ("Booney") and Onanong ("Ona") who live with them on the farm in Yuba City. Members of their extended family help on the farm and with sales at farmers' markets.

FARM HISTORY/PHILOSOPHY: Wife-and-husband team Kalayada and James ("K" and "J") have been farming the same land since 1982. James is a retired Professor of Pomology, the branch of horticulture that is concerned with the study and cultivation of fruit. He grew up on an avocado orchard in Orange, CA. Kalayada was born and raised in Bangkok, Thailand and is a registered nurse.

SOIL: The farm's Yolo loam is amended with cover crops, manure, mowed sod, and organic fertilizers.

WEED CONTROL: Mowing and discing. Minimal synthetic herbicides are used to prevent weeds from competiting with trees for nutrients.

PEST MANAGEMENT: Integrated Pest Management including pheremone disruption. Minimal pesticides are also used. K&J uses antibiotics in the spring to treat and prevent fire blight in their Asian pear orchards.

WATER USE: Micro sprinklers, drip, and flood irrigation

ORGANIC CERTIFICATION: None