Steve Bains is a CCOF Foundation Organic Transition Grantee.
Steve Bains comes from a multi-generational farming family in Fresno County, California. Growing up on his parents’ ranch provided early exposure to the local food and agriculture industry. In college, Bains majored in Ag Business and Plant Science. His passion for agriculture deepened as he honed his skills on his family’s farm and pursued his own farming interests, including working as a breeder hatchery manager at a large poultry operation where he began organic chicken production for live bird markets.
Shortly after their marriage, Bains and his wife purchased farmland and began to work toward their dream of producing their own private-label products. They currently grow almonds, grapes, and citrus. “Our hopes are to transition all acreage that we farm [to organic] and will farm for years to come, and [hope] that our children continue to fulfill the dreams of healthy and sustainable living,” he says.
Although many reasons inspire Bains to farm organically, the most important are environmental, health, and economic factors. “The idea that we can go back to how our parents were raised and fed, just down-to-earth growing vegetables in the garden or on the farm, it’s a long-lost ideal,” he says. “I think starting this organic operation will be passed on and it will allow my children to also live in this healthy manner. Not only them, but their friends and future families will also benefit from living this [organic] practice.”
Bains recognizes that growing organically will benefit his family financially. “This will encourage my family to continue and expand our organic farming operation, as it will be a sustainable business that will make some profitable returns,” he says. “We live in challenging economical times that require proactive sustainable farming practices, and the only way to accomplish that is to stay ahead of the adaptive consumer demands.”
The CCOF Foundation is proud to support producers like Steve Bains with the Organic Transition grant, which provides three-year grants of $10,000 annually to farmers transitioning their land to organic production. Grantees receive multi-year funding, peer-to-peer support, and technical assistance with agronomy, business, financial literacy, marketing, and market development.
To learn more about supporting Organic Transition grantees like Steve Bains, please contact CCOF Foundation’s Donor Relations Manager Shawna Rodgers, srodgers@ccof.org.