Santa Maria, CA-based grower and shipper, Babé Farms Specialties, reached a milestone in March with the celebration of its 30th year in business.

The company was founded in 1986 by Will Souza in conjunction with partners, Frank and Judy Lundberg and Greg and Cherrie Pedigo.

While in Europe in the early 1980s, Souza, who is an avid traveler, noticed the popularity of delicate salad greens called “mesclun” and mini baby-size vegetables. An innovator by nature, he returned to the family farm to capitalize on the idea of growing the European lettuce varieties and mini baby vegetables.

Babé Farms was one of the first companies to introduce packaged European salad mixes, or mesclun, hand-selected specialty greens and a colorful array of baby vegetables into North American markets.

“Over these past 30 years, Babé Farms has grown dramatically, both in terms of product variety and overall scale of production,” said Ande Manos, director of marketing and business development. “Today, Judy Lundberg-Wafer, her son Jeff Lundberg, and their production team manage the farm’s 1,600 acres of specialty and baby vegetables.”

With over 600 SKUs and growing, Babé Farms is one of the busiest specialty vegetable farming operations on the West Coast.

Its vegetables continue to be transformed into culinary works of art by some of North America’s most creative chefs and cooks.

“We see pickling vegetables as a growing trend for our range of brilliantly colored vegetables,” explained Manos. “Chefs are offering ‘pickle platters’ on fine dining menus. And they are utilizing specialty vegetables like watermelon radishes, baby beets, celery root, all colors of baby carrots, baby cauliflower, Romanesco and so much more.”

Baby artichokes, Manos pointed out, are now in season, and the company has beautiful baby red and green artichokes available for the balance of spring.

“These are mini globe-shaped chokes that are tender and completely edible,” she said. “We’re also offering —in limited quantities — the Fiesole baby purple artichoke. This artichoke is tulip-shaped with a deep red wine colored exterior. All baby artichoke varieties are packed in 10-pound loose cartons.”

Babé Farms feel strongly about being good stewards of the land. It is committed to implementing practices that preserve natural resources, at the same time producing safe, fresh produce for its discerning end-users.

“Due to the water regulations that have been put in place, we have successfully implemented irrigation water management that encourages the application of water in an amount that meets the need of the growing plant but in a manner that avoids extended soil saturation and runoff,” said Manos. “With California still in drought conditions, Babé Farms is reviewing better ways to utilize our resources efficiently. In the fields we’re using more drip irrigation when appropriate. At our shipping and processing facility, Fresh Venture Foods, we’re in the process of implementing new green technology to become more energy efficient.”

In addition, all irrigation water on Babé Farms’ ranches is tested monthly by a third-party lab to ensure safe water quality. It also practices crop rotation with a variety of other vegetables, which helps to suppress diseases in the fields.

Manos also announced a new staff member, Matt Hiltner.

“Matt is a recent college graduate, and the son of our sales manager, Loren Hiltner,” said Manos. “He will be handling social media and marketing for Babé Farms Specialties.”