Dixon Ridge Farms Winters, CA (select a grower) Brown Boy Onions Busalacchi Farms Bybee Produce Castoldi Farms Dixon Ridge Easterday Farms Foppiano Farms Frank Jr. Farms Hansen Produce Hartley Produce Inaba Farms Judel Farms Nevada Onions Park Ranch Patterson Onions Rasmussen & Sons Sun Basin Onions Snyder Wada Farms Dixon Ridge Farms is a privately owned company, owned by Russell and Kathleen Lester. Both 1977 graduates of the University of California at Davis, Russ and Kathy have farmed in the Winters, California area since 1975. Russ and Kathy reside on the farm, in the rural Northern California town of Winters, where they have raised their five daughters: Sarah, Jenny, Christine, Amy and Summer. Their farm is an organic walnut farming operation. They raise, hull, dry, shell, sort, store, package and sell organic walnuts. Russell and Kathleen have raised walnuts organically since 1989 and sold their first certified organic, shelled walnuts in 1992. Walnut production and sales have increased by about 40% per year from 1992 to 2002. Photo Album: DIXON RIDGE FARMS Russell Lester standing in front of walnut trees from the Lester’s Dixon Ridge Farms organic walnut farm operation near Winters, CA. Their organic farming practices eliminate the use of chemical pesticides and herbicides, and use natural fertilizers such as compost and cover crops in place of chemical fertilizers. Their farming operation holds the following certifications: Japanese Organic Certification -- JAS; International Federation of Organic Agriculture-- IFOAM; California Certified Organic Farming -- CCOF; USDA National Organics Program. Adding compost to the walnut orchard soil is a vital part of ensuring the ground has the sufficient nutrients to grow quality yields of walnuts. Composting also helps to improve the texture of the soil, a factor which further enhances the quality of the walnut crops grown. Growing quality walnuts requires proper levels of ground moisture during the critical spring and summer growing seasons. The California climate is ideal for growing walnuts, however, supplemental irrigation is required to maintain walnut quality during the hot. dry summer months before fall harvest time.  The irrigation pipes pictured are connected together to provide the flow of water for supplemental crop, irrigation when needed. A worker from Dixon Ridge Farms prepares to unload a trailer load of harvested walnuts for hulling (removing the natural covering that surrounds the walnut shell as it grows) and for sorting for walnut size and quality. A close up view of harvested walnuts in the trailer. The Lester's only grow and process organic walnuts. They also maintain control of the product at each stage of the operation - from growing and harvest to hulling, sorting and packaging. These walnuts have been hulled and sorted, and are now ready for packaging. The Lester’s Dixon Ridge Farms organic walnut operation has received the following awards & recognition: California Association for Family Farmers Achievement Award; Yolo County Model Farm; BIOS (Biologically Integrated Organic Systems) Founder and Consultant, Model Farm; California Ag. Leadership Program Class Fellow; Farm referenced in "Scientific Journal" - Earthworm studies - Robert L. Buggâ™ articles. Return to TOP of page. About | Recipes | Homegrown Shopper | Growers | Contact | Links The HomeGrownGoodness.com web site is provided as a service to consumers by Onions, Etc. Inc. Copyright © 2004 by Onions, Etc., Inc. All rights received Telephone (209) 943-3600 FAX: (209) 943-3610 U.S. Mail: P. O. Box 55267  Stockton, CA  95205 e-Mail: dksr@onionsetc.com