Hamada Farms

FARMLAND: 235 farmable acres comprise 7 parcels in the Kingsburg area, about 200 miles from the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market.

PEOPLE: Yukio Hamada and his 3 adult children, Preston, Clifford, and Donna, along with 15 full-time 35 seasonal workers

FARM HISTORY/PHILOSOPHY: Yukio's father, Shotaro Hamada, arrived in San Francisco in 1901. After laboring in the construction of the transcontinental railroad over Donner Summit, he was employed by a farm in Lindsay where he developed expertise in growing oranges and strawberries. By 1921 he owned his first parcel of farmland. After Shotaro's son,Yukio, graduated from UCLA with a degree in business accounting,Yukio and his wife Yonki joined the family farming business, and managed it together for 47 years. Yonki passed away in 2003. To continue the tradition of farming within the Hamada family, Yukio recently transferred the ownership of the farm to his children. Although they are active in its day-to-day operations, Yukio has retained his role as farm manager.

SOIL: Cover crops, planted to cover bare earth, are tilled into the farm's white ash sandy loam along with purchased compost and steer manure from feedlots.

PEST MANAGEMENT: Integrated Pest Management including the calculation of degree days to estimate the hatching of insects, and carefully timed applications of synthetic pesticides or mating disruptors are used to control their populations.

WEED CONTROL: Orchards are mowed once monthly in the summer

WATER USE: Flood irrigation and fine-spray misters deliver water to tree roots.

ORGANIC CERTIFICATION: None