Our Mission
What makes Tara Firma Farms different?
In 2009, we set off on a mission to create a source of food produced with the highest integrity, that brought the community together. Here, the community learns where their food comes from, how they can be accountable in the process, and what choosing between conventional, organic, and/or local means. Our valued members hold us accountable by demanding the highest quality food produced in the most sustainable and ecologically sound way. Through our farm's production, and our network of family farms throughout Sonoma and Marin counties, we are able to provide pasture raised beef, pork and chicken to families in California along with an array of organic products, including fruit, eggs, cheese, and vegetables.
Our History
The Beginning of the CSA: 2009
A historical dairy farm up until the 1950s, Tara Firma Farm's now rotationally grazed pasture land was purchased by Tara and Craig Smith in part with a grant from the Sonoma County Agricultural and Open Space District in 2009.
Growth & Vision: 2009-2016
The CSA grew from a couple dozen local families to a few hundred throughout the Bay Area over the course of seven years! During this time, the Tara Firma Farms Institute was founded, events like Pumpkins on Pikes became local tradition, and our vision for a sustainable, community driven CSA became a reality.
New Stewardship & Mission: 2016-Present
The Squire-Eldridge family purchased the farm from Tara in 2016. Since that time there has been a strong focus on holistic farming. With a background in natural, organic and GMO free food sources the Squire-Eldridge family have brought a strong focus on using farming practices that are even better for the animals, the land and the environment. Following the advice or Marin Carbon Project we farm in a way that mimics nature. This method actually removes carbon from the atmosphere. Through the use of Holistic Management and Holistic Planned Grazing, and creating closed loop systems that utilize organic food waste and locally sourced compost, the farm is at the forefront of regenerative agriculture.
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Chicken
Day old chicks arrive in the early morning hours and enjoy a warm cozy brooder with room to flit around and build leg muscle. At three weeks old they head out to the pasture to roam the fields all day while being safely tucked into a predator proof house at night. Omnivores themselves, they keep pastures clean of bugs, dig for worms, and will go after the occasional small rodent. This stress free management allows the chickens to never need antibiotics and is key to their overall health. Living its life as it was meant to, the chicken provides the soil with the needed fertilizer and food for humans that is healthy and tasty.
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Eggs
Tara Firma Farms keeps a flock of a couple hundred hens consisting of over 15 heritage breeds. These chickens produce eggs for us! Our mobile hen houses enable us to frequently move the flock to fresh swaths of pasture. This provides a diverse nutritious diet of insects, grubs, and grass, mimicking that of their ancestors, the red jungle fowl. This also allows the hens to thrive and produce eggs that are always rich in nutrients. Our hens are fed supplemental non-GMO soy free, organic feed and our eggs are CCOF certified organic.
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Pigs
We take great pride in raising many different breeds of heritage pigs: Gloucester Old Spots, Red Wattle, Tamworth, Hampshire and Berkshire. Our breeding herd of eight sows graze and wallow in pastures of Timothy and Rye grass between Oak trees. Our ‘Market Herd’ is a group of 2-6 month old pigs being rotated in 1-5 acre paddocks. They spend the wet season grazing rich, low lying pasture and spend the hot, dry months staying cool in the Oak hills across I St. fattening up on acorns and grubs.
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Cows
We raise predominantly Black and Red Angus beef cattle year round on the lush rolling hills of southwest Sonoma County. Using low stress stockmanship techniques, coupled with management intensive grazing practices, our grass-fed cattle thrive without the use of grain or pharmaceuticals. Organic alfalfa is the only other feed these cows receive. The cattle play a key role here on the farm, converting grass into fertilizing manure that contributes greatly to the microbial ballet taking place in the pasture each day - increasing the nutrient density of our pasture and improving the quality of our land.
