The Farmer Next Door

It was a typical day at Tara Firma Farms on the grey afternoon I visited.

A soft rain created puddles along the earthen path leading to an outdoor canvas covered event barn where a raucous children’s birthday party was underway. Roland, the ranch dog, was shaking mud on visitors, a few adults were walking between rows of vegetables while sipping beers, when suddenly, a flamboyantly costumed clown ran up to say that her car was stuck in mud up to the axles near the farm’s back gate. 

“It’s been that kind of day,” said Tara Smith with a grin. 

Smith and her husband Craig founded the pasture-raised and organic practices farm. They are coming up on their second anniversary as farmers on April 5. Inspired by back-to-the-land author Michael Pollan’s “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” and guided by rustic-chic guru Joel Salatin, the Smiths have been knee deep in an effort to follow their hearts--their stomachs leading the way, of course. 

“We are here to create a new food community," Tara Smith said. "We are showing people that you can grow healthy, real food without all the chemicals and agri-business practices. You can afford clean, good food. It’s doable." 

With a nearly Jeffersonian zeal for trying different growing methods, the Smiths have struck out as farmers on a 300-acre former dairy out on “I” Street extension. After spending most of their adult lives in board rooms within the long-term care insurance industry, Tara Smith traded in pumps for mud boots to raise vegetables, coo over fluffy chicks and manage the farm’s growing monthly food box subscription service. 

Her husband Craig Smith continues to work at his insurance brokerage firm, the largest in the country. 

“That’s what supports the farm as we are being established, as we refine our practices and grow our membership base,” said Tara Smith. 

Living in wine country where we cherish grapes and worship olives, and where the slow food movement took root, I think we can all relate to the Smith family’s green mission. It reminds us that sometimes the things you talk about at your own kitchen table are what compel you to strike out on a completely new and unexpected direction. 

“I always complained about food. Just read the labels… all the junk that goes into it. Sugar, chemicals, preservatives,” she said. “I complained so long, so loudly, so consistently, that one day one of my kids challenged me to DO something about it,” she recalled. “Maybe you should grow your own food, Mom.” 

Something about Tara Smith reminds me of the flinty-eyed women who settled the West. It’s easy to imagine her in a calico dress up to her neck, boiling bed sheets in cauldrons of lye, shooting a coyote, or baking a cherry pie. Heck, I could see her doing all three at once.

Because if Tara Smith is anything, she’s willing to do the work. 

Before Tara Firma Farms had anything to sell, anything to offer other than a vision, I noticed them out at local farmers markets. To me, it was "the Amish booth" because it was so pared down. An earnest young girl sat at a simple booth with a clip board sign up sheet – just to share information. I remember spending about 20 minutes talking to that girl about what was coming, what Tara Firma Farms would be. 

“That’s the thing so many people do wrong when they start a business. They do all the things that don’t need to be done first. The only thing we needed to do was tell people and invite them to come look,” said Smith.

That’s why Tara Firma Farms offers free tours on Saturdays and Sundays (10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the hour) and sells fresh eggs and in-the-ground-this-morning veggies inside a small store by the parking lot. They make it easy to find recipes and learn simple cooking techniques.

They also offer subscriptions to a food box program with farm pick-up or drop sites within Sonoma, Marin and greater Bay Area communities. In Petaluma, the most popular downtown pick up site is at 4^th and “C” streets. 

Teresa Lozoya of Cotati signed up because she likes the idea of being able to point to a location on a map to identify where her food was grown. 

“I like that if I want to, I can go out and see the animals for myself that they’re healthy and well treated,” said Lozoya, who's been a subscriber for eight months. 

For Donn Davey of Novato, a more recent subscriber, it’s about making healthy choices but also about supporting a small farmer, close to home. He grew up on a farm and is a fan of the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) movement. Like Lozoya he’s mainly interested in the meat deliveries. 

“I did a survey of all the CSA’s nearby – I made a spreadsheet - and I chose Tara Firma Farms because of the convenient location and I really liked what they were doing. Tara Smith has the right ideas,” Davey said. 

Weekly food box prices range from $30 to $100 or more for any combination of vegetable, fruit, eggs, butter, yogurt or pasteurized meat shares that include beef, chicken and pork. 

“If you really care about what you’re eating you can become part of the solution. I don’t expect everyone who takes a tour here to sign up for food boxes, and that’s okay. But I do expect them to think about what they’re eating,” she said.

Tara Smith does everything she can think of to make subscribing easy. There’s no membership fee, no long-term commitment and subscriptions can custom fit your family with weekly, bi-weekly or monthly options.

“Right now we have about 275 memberships. Our goal is 500. Once we hit 500, it will have to become a wait list process,” said Tara Smith.