Sustainable Rice Farming in Valley Home

Valley Home is a small farming community in the Central California, located in Stanislaus County. It was founded in the late 1890’s by German immigrates. My great grandfather who was German immigrate arrived in 1906, by way of Philadelphia. By the early 1910’s rice was being grown by several families in the area. The soils in the area have a very heavy hard pan layer which made farming most crops rather difficult and one of the early crops was clover which covered may miles of fields that was used by both the dairy cows and beef cattle. Farmers and ranchers in the town of Oakdale would develop the crop into Ladino clover which was very hardy and drought tolerant and grew well in the shallow soils of the area

At the same time, the Oakdale Irrigation District (“OID”) was being formed and acquired water rights to the Stanislaus River with an adjacent irrigation district. The first dam and canal systems were constructed and water was available by 1915. With the advent of more available water, farming expanded rapidly throughout the 1920’s, 30's and 40’s. Valley Home would become the center of the rice growing industry, with the first rice dryer complex being constructed in the early 1950’s. The rice dryer was located on the Union Pacific railroad line so access to the larger markets in the State was assured.

Valley Home is located in a small micro climate due to its proximity to the San Joaquin Delta, which provides cooling breezes most evenings throughout the summer months after the normal daytime temperatures ranging between 95 and 105 degrees. This cooling effect during the night time hours resulted in many fewer broken kernels and a much higher quality of rice compared to the rice grown in Sacramento Valley some 100 miles to the North. The quality was so much higher that by the 1950’s, most of the local production was being shipped to San Francisco for processing and packaging.

So when we talk about pristine fields or pure water, maybe now you will have a better understanding of what we are talking about. I have continued the traditions and practices, like my family members before me for more than 100 years. Stewardship of the land means farming not only for myself but for future generations. That is what I believe sustainability means.

So enjoy our rice, I truly believe you will notice a difference in quality and taste.