BrennerRanch

Brenner Ranch The Brenner Ranch represents what’s right in local farming, according to Nancyjo Riekse, Placer County’s Agricultural Marketing Director. “For the past 30 years, the Brenners have been innovators and a model for the continued survival of family farms in the county,” says Riekse. In 1976 Jim Brenner’s parents purchased 51 acres on Highway 193 and moved there with their six children. At the time it was planted mostly with plums, apples, persimmons and chestnuts. Jim took charge of the farm, originally planning to continue growing plums. The first year changed his mind in a hurry. “It was hard work,” he says, “we were up on ladders in these huge plum trees. Your feet hurt from standing on the rungs, and you waste a lot of time.”

So he looked to kiwis, which require little upkeep and, most importantly, no ladders to pick them. Over the years, he has continued to experiment with a wide variety of fruit crops – from peaches to pluots and apricots to mandarins – to make modern-day Brenner Ranch a model of agricultural diversity with crops being harvested throughout the year. Although his kiwis are the only crop that is certified organic, Brenner hasn’t used pesticides on any of his crops since 2005.

The Brenners have forged strong links with their fellow farmers. Jim is a member of the county Agricultural Commission and Karen serves on the board of PlacerGROWN, a growers’ marketing organization. PlacerGROWN’s board unanimously named the entire Brenner family “Farmer of the Year” for 2007.

Profile adapted from www.placergrown.org