Babe Farms’ commitment to conservation a company hallmark
Babe Farms’ commitment to conservation a company hallmark
“Babé Farms grows a year-round variety of specialty vegetables including a spectrum of baby carrots, beets, specialty radishes, baby cauliflower, Romanesco, organic kales, specialty salads and a variety of specialty root vegetables,” said Ande Manos, marketing and new business development director for the Santa Maria, CA-based grower and shipper.
Babé Farms has been a premier grower, packer and shipper of specialty vegetables and gourmet salad blends for more than 25 years. It distributes its products throughout the United States and Canada under the “Babé Farms” and “Coastal Valley Farms” brand names. The retail clamshell displays the company’s gourmet greens beautifully, provides improved shelf life and has a unique safety seal.
“Babé Farms feel strongly about being good stewards of the land,” Manos said. “We are committed to implementing practices that preserve our natural resources, as well as producing safe, fresh produce for our 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 in a manner that avoids extended soil saturation and runoff,” she said.
She added that with efficient means the company is able to reduce its water usage with the use of drip irrigation, thereby allowing for better placement of water and fertigation. Sprinkler irrigation is only applied during early or late low-wind-hours. 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.
New products are regularly introduced at Babe Farms, which enables the company to be at the leading edge of its specialty category offerings.
“We recently introduced our ‘Coastal Valley Farms’ Organic Spring Mix item which is packed in a one-pound clamshell,” said Manos. “And we have also recently introduced a baby kale salad packed in a three-pound bag for the foodservice sector.”
The company also recently announced a staff member change. Manos said that Babé Farms’ Production Manager, Jason Gamble, recently assumed the role of general manager of production and operations.
Babé Farms continually trials new products in order to stay ahead of the specialty produce curve. “By remaining relevant and on-trend, Babe Farms continues to grow its volume of sales and case count yearly,” said Manos.
