Jean Gaillard & Meg Brown are the co-proprietors of Cuyama Homegrown, a small-scale environmentally friendly farm providing “Farm Fresh Produce” to the Cuyama Valley and surrounding areas. Both Jean and Meg’s background [prior to moving to the Cuyama Valley] was already in agriculture. Jean, with a Bachelor’s Degree in Rural Engineering, and Meg [Jean’s wife and partner] has a Masters Degree in Agriculture Economics and is an ongoing agricultural consultant with USAID. When asked about the uniqueness of farming in the Cuyama Valley Jean said,
“When we started growing vegetables, people said ‘No way. You can’t grow anything on those hills. Nothing works.’ Or ‘Oh, you want to be a wannabe farmer?’ The major problem that you encounter is the weather conditions. I worked with Meg’s mother in upstate New York to learn about the [growing] conditions [here in the US]. The only thing you have is your green thumb and your will to do it, and the rest of the time you have to observe and see what problems you have. From 2005 to now, there have always been new problems and new solutions. You just have to observe the problem. You have to go to other local ranches and farms and ask how to solve those problems. You have to see what works for you and you also have to study. You have to communicate with other farmers here.”
March through December Meg can be found making jams with the plethora of fruit the farm produces and pickling the bounty of artichokes, beets, and other vegetables they grow. Meg’s inspiration for preserving was passed down by her mother who was always canning foods. Today, she uses her mom’s pickle book – a collection of family recipes – for making the wide variety of preserved products they offer, extending the harvest and building food system resiliency in the high (food) desert of Cuyama Valley.
