Deep Roots FARMER BUILDS A LIFE ON DELTA LAND
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Ron Kelley Photo by Aniko Kiezel
on Kelley resides in the Pocket, but his roots run deep in the Sacramento delta. Kelley is a fourth-generation farmer and operates R. Kelley Farms on 60 acres near Scribner Bend Vineyards. For more than 30 years, R. Kelley Farms has supplied local restaurants with seasonal produce. He’s open to the public and you can harvest food straight from the fields or from an onsite produce stand. “In the summer, lots of visitors come to pick melons and summer veggies. They can tour the farm to learn more about local agriculture,” Kelley says. Kelley worked for years as an agriculture production consultant and pest control adviser to farmers. He started his farm to become a better adviser to growers and small family farms. The delta is known for crops such as tomatoes, peaches, pears and grapes. But few farms in Northern California grow produce specifically for southern cooking. So, in the early 1990s, Kelley leased 2 acres with a goal to fill the niche. He planted okra, black-eyed peas, melons and tomatoes. His great-grandparents and grandparents were sharecroppers in Texas and Oklahoma. In the early 1950s, his parents moved the family from Blythe to Courtland. Kelley was 3 years old. He attended Courtland schools, participated in Boy Scouts, Little League and Future Farmers of America. He spent summers working on local farms. “My parents raised nine kids. I’m in the middle. They instilled in us the value of sticking together as a family,”
CM By Corky Mau Pocket Life
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