Yunuen Silva is a CCOF Future Organic Farmers Grantee.
Yunuen Silva is looking forward to running a regenerative organic livestock operation with her father, Juan Silva. Together, on 40 acres of land in Bradley, CA, they are in the process of creating Silva Family Farms. “I envision creating a strong family business that I will be able to pass down to future generations to come,” she says. “I also want this farm to be a prime example that it is possible to bring our earth back to good health by using regenerative and indigenous practices.”
In 2024, Silva enrolled in ALBA’s Farmer Education Course (a year-long, college-accredited program designed to help aspiring farmers gain the skills to start organic farm businesses), where she consistently ranked among the top students in the course. “My academic studies and trainings at ALBA will help me achieve my career goals by utilizing and implementing the methods taught and experimented through our [hands-on, large scale organic produce] field,” she explains. She also pursues studies at Hartnell Community College and Agriculture and Land-Based Training Association.
Silva has a detailed vision for the success of her family farm. “Our plan is to operate a regenerative organic farm by utilizing livestock on a rotational basis,” she says. “The goal of Silva Family Farm is to use regenerative and rotational grazing methods, specifically ‘Moving, Mopping, and Mowing,’ to increase our soil health and make an overall impact on the land. I will be involved with setting up the farm, from helping set up production systems to becoming our Director of Marketing and Communications.”
Silva is deeply involved in serving her community and has worked as an educator for the past decade. She currently works as a Community School Coordinator for the Foundation for Hispanic Education, where she successfully connected ALBA farmers to her school, helping students access organic produce while providing the farmers with new market opportunities.
Silva is also the co-founder of a 501(c)3 organization called Ayudantes de la Tierra, which aims to lessen the struggles of migrant fieldwork by providing tools and aid to farmworkers and their families. “It is such a blessing that [my father and I] get to contribute to the organic sector as part of the 4% of Latinos with landownership throughout the entire United States,” she says. “This farm is generational wealth.”
The CCOF Foundation is proud to support producers like Yunuen Silva with the Future Organic Farmers grant, which gives $5,000 scholarships to college and vocational students training for careers in organic.
If you would like to contribute to the success of Future Organic Farmers grantees like Yunuen Silva, please contact the CCOF Foundation’s Donor Relations Manager Shawna Rodgers, srodgers@ccof.org to learn more.
