Ocean Mist Farms turns farmland into wetlands
Ocean Mist Farms turns farmland into wetlands
CASTROVILLE, CA -- As part of an ongoing commitment to sustainable agriculture, Ocean Mist Farms, a leading grower of artichokes and other fresh vegetables, has formed an alliance with an environmental group in Monterey County to convert farmland into wetlands.
The unusual alliance, called a "convergence of interests" by those involved, started in 2006 when Hugo Tottino and his partners, owners of Ocean Mist Farms, agreed to sell 183 acres of farmland to the Elkhorn Slough Foundation for much less than the land's market value for Salinas Valley.
The land, formerly known as the DeSante Ranch, is located along the main Elkhorn Slough channel and had been used to grow Brussels sprouts and artichokes since 1949.
Located at the center of the Monterey Bay coastline, today the former artichoke ranch provides habitat for hundreds of species of plants and animals, including more than 340 species of birds.
"It was in the interest of both Ocean Mist and the foundation to do this," Joe Pezzini, vice president of operations for Ocean Mist Farms, said in a March 10 statement. "We converted unproductive farmland into a rare opportunity for the Elkhorn Slough Foundation to restore diminishing coastal habitat and wetland functions."
For more information on the progress this project has made in the last two years, go to www.elkhornslough.org.
The unusual alliance, called a "convergence of interests" by those involved, started in 2006 when Hugo Tottino and his partners, owners of Ocean Mist Farms, agreed to sell 183 acres of farmland to the Elkhorn Slough Foundation for much less than the land's market value for Salinas Valley.
The land, formerly known as the DeSante Ranch, is located along the main Elkhorn Slough channel and had been used to grow Brussels sprouts and artichokes since 1949.
Located at the center of the Monterey Bay coastline, today the former artichoke ranch provides habitat for hundreds of species of plants and animals, including more than 340 species of birds.
"It was in the interest of both Ocean Mist and the foundation to do this," Joe Pezzini, vice president of operations for Ocean Mist Farms, said in a March 10 statement. "We converted unproductive farmland into a rare opportunity for the Elkhorn Slough Foundation to restore diminishing coastal habitat and wetland functions."
For more information on the progress this project has made in the last two years, go to www.elkhornslough.org.
