The Farm that Feeds Us
Story by Kenise Adams
Photography by Ruby Wallau
Seeds of wisdom are being planted in the minds of a new generation by local farmers of City Farm SLO. Located off Highway 101 between Los Osos Valley and Prado roads, City Farm combines agricultural production with education about food production and how the system works locally.
The farm was created in 1994 at the public’s request. Two of the three then landowners donated 50 percent of their agricultural land to the City of San Luis Obispo to convert them to commercial use. The city designated these two parcels the Calle Joaquin Agricultural Reserve. About 15 years later, city leaders called for a non-profit to manage this reserve and by 2012, the city had signed a 20-year lease with the Central Coast Ag Network. The organization later rebranded as Central Coast Grown and held a groundbreaking ceremony in 2014, which was attended by many of the original proponents of the community farm 10 years earlier. By 2019, the leading organization was known as City Farm SLO and a farm box CSA program, educational garden and solar array all were key features. Today, the farm typically has six tenants, including farmers and educational operations.
One of those tenants is Nathan Ecret, who owns Aviator Acres Family Farm. As Navajo-Churro sheep graze peacefully, Nathan walks across the open land of City Farm, sharing his story of working on small-sized farms as a boy. “By 14, I was raising livestock like cows I kept in a rented field,” he recalls. Nathan began to create a lifestyle immersed in agriculture. His father, who worked ginning cotton, was a major influence; being around agriculture was the norm. This way of life was so engrained in Nathan that he forewent attending the West Point academy to pursue a degree in agriculture from Montana State University. He stuck with the major, remained committed to his vision and absorbed everything he could from his mentors in hopes of one day owning and operating a family farming business that grew fresh produce to feed his community. Over 28 years, that vision and commitment manifested in Aviator Acres.
His farm is a small company that, with help from City Farm’s 19 acres of prime farmland, has been spreading its love of farming all over San Luis Obispo County. Nathan and his farming neighbors at City Farm use the land to sustainably grow seasonal food, which has been feeding local families for over a decade. City Farm’s educational programs allow students to be immersed in curricula designed to “learn about growing things while getting their hands dirty,” says City Farm Executive Director Kayla Rutland. These students include Nathan’s children. They come to the farm to help grow produce that’s destined for local farmers’ markets, Harvestly.co (a farm-to-door service) and two small grocery stores — Caliwala in Santa Margarita and Paso Robles Health Food.
Lest we forget grandma. Nathan says that to carry out Aviator Acres’ mission of “a model like a home-based economy, where the whole family can participate in the economy,” his 80-year-old grandmother finds herself active in the market, readily awaiting the call to assist with future farming projects. Not a generation is left out in the shared visions of inclusion and longevity held by Nathan and City Farm.
Whether City Farm invites Nathan to share his ever-expanding knowledge of farming with the youth or he is educating his own family, the farm plays host to many meaningful conversations about pollination, the life cycle of plants, soil and soil parts, career paths and career readiness with a hands-on approach. Aviator Farms prides itself on being an intentionally small farming operation run by a family who’s dedicated to sustainable ethical farming practices. The operation is so small that, Nathan says “the seeds were placed in the ground by hand one at a time.” But don’t let the farm’s size fool you; it still yields a bounty of fresh produce — heirloom cherry tomatoes, snap peas, yellow squash, artichokes, cauliflower, peppers, kale, lettuce, arugula, garlic, radishes, beets, dinosaur kale, the list goes on.
The goal is to keep the farm small. Nathan mentions that the only major expansion is the “use of a transplanter to help put the seeds in the ground.” As for the expansion of City Farm SLO, Manager Shane Lovell is looking forward to achieving the goal of “sending 7,500 pounds of food to the food bank and focusing on educational events like field trips” for the youth.
Supporting Aviator Acres Family Farm, and SLO City Farm by extension, is not only an investment in local farmers, but also the future of local farming. “We want to invest in other people and show young people they have options to make a living besides getting a traditional job,” says Nathan. “They can make something with their hands and be successful.”
