California Ag Network

Tag: Steve Dutton

  • Saving Money on Sustainable Farming with Sonoma’s Dutton Ranch

    Sonoma County farmers have been outstanding examples of moving towards new and innovative sustainable practices on their farms. Sustainability takes many forms though, and accounts for the health and prosperity of both the land and the steward. There are costs with implementing sustainable practices on the farm, but many of these can return savings to the farmers as well, such as apple and wine grape grower Steve Dutton’s recent investment in renewable energy. Watch this brief interview and read more about sustainable farming in American Vineyard and California Fresh Fruit Magazines.
     
    Please thank this video’s sponsor Suterra for their industry support.

  • The Future is a Return to Farm Bureau’s Mission

    Santa Rosa, Calif., (March 19, 2018) – In Sonoma County, our rich agriculture heritage is continually under attack from community members and elected officials who do not understand farming. There has never been more of a need for strong advocacy, education and communication on behalf of farmers. Sonoma County Farm Bureau’s board understands this and is making changes at Farm Bureau to provide leadership in defending and promoting local agriculture.

    For the future of farming, the board believes that it is critical for Sonoma County Farm Bureau to refocus on its core mission of protecting agricultural lands, promoting agriculture and its products, educating the public and uniting in support of local agriculture.

    Over the last year, we have been on a path to re-energize this mission. Starting with the grand opening of the new office and meeting space, Sonoma County Farm Bureau is becoming the go to place for ag groups to meet in support of local agriculture. This office space has been a vision of the board for the past few years and it is exciting to watch the space become a hub for conversations, meetings, workshops and even ag celebrations. And we are only getting started. More improvements are ahead that will support the collaboration of agriculture.

    We have also been making leadership changes to our staff. I am happy to share that the board has offered the full time executive director position to our Interim Executive Director Tawny Tesconi. On March 1, Tawny assumes the full-time position. Over the last 75 days as interim director, she has done more for our mission than the progress we saw in the last couple of years.

    Tawny’s extensive background includes being a Sonoma County native, growing up in agriculture, participating in 4-H and FFA as a kid and a 30-year career in fair management and public service. We are confident that she is the right leader at the right time for Sonoma County Farm Bureau.

    Under Tawny’s leadership, we have hired a new executive assistant / office manager, Samantha Piehoff, and Tawny has also been working with the current staff to ensure operating efficiencies, deliver better service and offer more value to Farm Bureau members. We are excited to see how Sonoma County Farm Bureau will thrive under new leadership and clear direction.

    Moving forward, we are fully committed to our mission and will stay focused on three key priorities:

    1. Advocacy – be the leading champion for policy that supports agriculture and our right to farm
      2. Education and Promotion – Deliver value to members through relevant workshops, access to influencers and communication that enhances local ag and supports farmers
      3. Unification – Work with the other ag organizations to leverage learning, support and create one ag voice for Sonoma County

    With the Board of Directors’ and Tawny’s great leadership, I look forward to a stronger and much more relevant Sonoma County Farm Bureau in the near future.

    Written By: Steve Dutton, President, Sonoma County Farm Bureau

    Steve Dutton

  • The Gravenstein Apple By Steve Dutton, President

    Santa Rosa, Calif., (July 10, 2017) – My father Warren started growing apples in Sonoma County in 1964 when he and my mother Gail purchased their first 35 acre ranch near the town of Graton. The ranch had 15 acres of apples and 15 acres of winegrapes. My parents concentrated their efforts on growing apples in the 60’s and 70’s, leasing and buying orchards to increase their acreage.

    Sonoma County apples, especially the Gravenstein, have been a staple here since 1883 when Luther Burbank advised Nathaniel Griffith to plant Gravenstein apples on his 78 acre ranch on Laguna Road in Sebastopol. With that, the commercial apple industry was born. At the beginning of World War II in 1940, Sebastopol had its high point of 13,875 acres of apples with 9,750 acres planted in Gravenstein. By 1950, the apple acreage was in decline with 10,874 planted acres, 7,465 of which were Gravensteins. In 1980, the acreage fell to 7,747 with Gravensteins accounting for 3,234 acres. Fast forward to 2015 and there were only 2,229 acres left of Sonoma County apples with 704 in Gravensteins.

    Many people believe that the winegrapes pushed out the apples in Sonoma County. In reality, apples became a worldwide commodity in the early 80’s with at least 14 countries that produce more than a million tons per year. With that, the price per ton became so low that growing apples became economically unviable. Many growers resorted to subdividing their ranches, selling off small pieces, and many started the conversion process to winegrapes.

    Our father chose the latter. He removed acres of his own orchards and leased many acres of neighboring farmers’ land that he converted to winegrapes. But all along, he kept the best of our orchards in the ground and producing, always with a focus on Gravensteins. Through the late 80’s and 90’s, the winegrape income subsidized our apple income. In 2003, my brother Joe and I decided to start the organic certification process for our apple orchards.

    Today, we farm approximately 180 acres of certified organic apples, of which 100 acres are Gravensteins. We also planted Sonoma County’s two newest Gravenstein orchards in 2013 and 2015.

    The Gravenstein has become part of Sonoma County’s identity even with only 700 acres left in production. As diversified ag has become a hot topic in Sonoma County, it is becoming increasingly important to support the Gravenstein apple.

    In August of every year, Sonoma County Farm Trails puts on the Gravenstein Apple Fair at Ragle Ranch Park in Sebastopol. Fifteen thousand people will come to Sebastopol to support Sonoma County agriculture. Many businesses and agricultural groups including Sonoma County Farm Bureau will have a presence at the fair. I encourage anyone interested to attend the Apple Fair and enjoy the Gravenstein.

    If you can’t, then ask your local grocer to carry fresh Gravenstein apples from Sonoma County. Also look for apple juice and apple sauce that is branded Gravenstein, I guarantee it came from Sonoma County.

     

  • Steve Dutton Begins His Term as President of Sonoma County Farm Bureau

    Santa Rosa, Calif., (January 12, 2017) – The Dutton Family has been farming in Sonoma County for more than five generations. Steve and Joe Dutton, brothers and co-owners of Dutton Ranch, farm apples and winegrapes on their home ranch in Graton.

    The property was purchased by their parents, Warren Jr. and Gail, in the 1960’s, but the Dutton family’s involvement in Sonoma County agriculture starts long before then. Steve and Joe’s great-great-grandfather, Reed Dutton and his brother Warren, moved from Tomales to Santa Rosa in the late 1800’s. They began farming in the Roseland area, on what is now Dutton Avenue, and Warren worked with Luther Burbank to develop 20,000 prune trees which he grew on their 200 acre ranch.

    Reed’s son George and grandson Warren Sr. became gentlemen farmers each having long careers with Exchange Bank. Both generations maintained the family farm in Roseland, leasing the property to farmers or hiring people to farm the land.

    Warren Jr. worked on his father’s ranches in high school and quickly fell in love with agriculture. After graduating in 1962, he married his high school sweetheart, Gail, in 1963 and they purchased the first piece of Dutton Ranch the following year.

    Steve and Joe Dutton followed in their father’s footsteps developing a passion for agriculture at a young age as they worked on the family’s ranch. Steve Dutton said he’s been interested in agriculture for as long as he can remember.

    “I grew up loving farm equipment,” said Dutton. “As soon as I could figure it out, I was driving a tractor. As soon as I could get my driver’s permit, I was driving and hauling apples all summer long.”

    After graduating high school, Dutton attended UC Davis. A year and a half into college, he realized his passion wasn’t in going to school but rather working on the ranch and local agriculture.

    “After coming back from Davis, my dad put me on a tractor, and I drove a tractor for a month and a half straight every day. He thought he was going to get me to go back to school if he kept doing it,” said Dutton. “I started to count stakes and figure out how fast I was going. I started calculating how many miles an hour I was disking and how many acres an hour I was disking. Within a few days, he figured out it wasn’t going to work. I wasn’t going to get bored and go back to school – I liked farming too much.”

    Dutton’s brother, Joe, graduated in 1987 and the two worked side by side on the ranch growing apples and grapes.

    After his two children joined the family business, Warren Jr. realized the small farm in Graton was going to have to transition from supporting one family to three families. Warren Jr. set out to lease additional land and increase the amount they were growing, slowly building up the size of the ranch.

    Dutton met Theresa Pizzella in the early 90’s. Pizzella was a recent graduate of Sonoma State University and working at a bank in Sebastopol. The couple married in 1993, and had two children, Jake and Jordan, in 1997. Jake and Jordan are both 19 attending Santa Rosa Junior College and UC Davis, respectively, studying in agricultural fields.

    Dutton, who is in his 30th year working on the ranch, said as the business grew, he kept taking on more and more responsibility, working his way up in the company. However, at the beginning of his career he wasn’t involved in agriculture off the farm, instead focusing his effort on the business and farming.

    When Warren Sr. passed away unexpectedly in 2001, both brothers stepped up and became more involved in the community. Dutton took his father’s seat on Russian River Valley Winegrower’s board and Joe took his seat on the Gold Ridge RCD’s board. 
The Dutton brothers bought out their mother Gail in 2008 and have continued to build the business. They now farm 1,400 acres – nearly 200 acres of certified organic apples and 1,200 acres of winegrapes.

    There was a time when the Duttons had more than 500 acres of apples, but over time the family has transitioned to predominantly growing grapes. Although they have fewer apples, Dutton said the apples are still an important and vital part of their business. 
The Duttons like the idea of being diversified, and Dutton said they’ve grown apples long enough to learn how to make them profitable. More importantly, the apples keep their labor force busy when there’s downtime in the vineyards. Labor is important to Dutton, and he wants to be sure he can always provide work. Dutton said in relation to wine, apples are easier to grow and less demanding.

    As Dutton sees his business continuing to thrive and grow, he also sees the ranch replanting some of their orchards. Now that the apple industry is organic, it’s making a comeback in Sonoma County and he plans to continue growing the same acreage of apples, if not planting more.

    Dutton has vertically integrated the wine portion of his business. Alongside his wife Theresa, the couple partnered with winemaker Dan Goldfield to start Dutton-Goldfield Winery. He liked the idea of having the ability to control the product all the way to the consumer. The 15,000 case winery primarily produces Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. 
Since joining the Russian River Valley Winegrowers board in 2001, where he has since served as President twice, Dutton has been actively involved in the community and agriculture off the farm. His involvement with the Russian River Valley Winegrowers led toLex McCorvey asking Dutton if he wanted join Sonoma County Farm Bureau’s board in 2004 which he has been serving on for the last 13 years.

    On the Sonoma County Farm Bureau board, Dutton has held both offices of First Vice President and Second Vice President. For the last four years, Dutton has chaired the membership committee, working hard to maintain Sonoma County Farm Bureau’s status as the largest agricultural association in the county. He was also responsible for the implementation of the successful Premium Membership level which now has 32 members.

    Dutton has also served on the board of Sonoma County Farm Trails where he held the office of Treasurer, and he is currently President of the Russian River Valley Winegrowers Foundation. In addition to his agricultural involvement, Dutton is on the board of Exchange Bank. He believes local banks are important, and by serving on their board, he can help direct the bank’s involvement in the community.

    Dutton began his term as Sonoma County Farm Bureau’s president on January 1st. Sonoma County Farm Bureau is important to Dutton because it’s the only entity fighting for property rights, farming rights, water rights and to protect agriculture in Sonoma County while representing all agriculture. Dutton said there is no other organization which goes to the extent Farm Bureau does.

    “I love growing things, and I just love working outside and working with the land,” said Dutton. “It’s important to me to keep Sonoma County as open space. It’s important to protect agriculture and protect the right to farm. What else would be out in the country if it wasn’t for agriculture? How could you afford to have this land?

    “This is where we’re from. This is our home; it’s been our home for five generations. I don’t see myself ever leaving or going anywhere. If it wasn’t us doing this, it’d be someone else.”