Greetings from OZ in ‘08!

Espaliered apple trees in winter dormant season at OZ Farm.

The wild, wet winter is upon us.  The Garcia river is rising, cover crops are growing, fields and trails are mucky and all the colors are soft muted browns and greens.  We humans are staying cozy by the fire, beginning to cook up plans for another great year.  

This past season was a productive one.  Two major building projects were completed: a yurt for staff housing and a staff kitchen.  We hosted a series of Field to Table dinners, a barn concert, and an inaugural OZ Chautauqua with help from the Occidental Arts and Ecology Center.  We kept our CSA and farmer’s market customers stocked with delicious local produce, supplied a bounty to our restaurant and store accounts, and had our biggest apple harvest season ever.        

Each winter we must say goodbye to good friends made during the previous season of hard work, farm-cooked meals and comraderie.  We wish to say a fond farewell to interns Max, Monica , Aerin, and Liz, to carpenter Curtis, and to former retreat and maintenance managers Rachel and Steve and their family.  We thank them for their contributions and friendship.

Changes in store: Patrick Cordrey, Shauna Boyd and daughter Willa, after having managed the farm for seven seasons, will be leasing the OZ business from owners John and Molly Hooper.  They are excited to be stepping into this new OZ role while simultaneously developing their own land adjacent to the farm.  They look forward to a full and fruitful retreat and farming season.

Our crew for ‘08 is starting to form.  We are adding an assistant manager to the farm operation: Jaymie, a former intern from the ‘06 season, will return to take on this role. We also welcome Rebecca and Abe and their two boys to OZ this year.  They will be helping out with maintaining the facilities and preparing for retreats.  Intern queries are coming in and we hope to have a full crew by springtime.

In ‘08, we will focus on expanding our CSA to nearly double its present member size, increase production for our other farm accounts, and work to extend our farming season.  We will offer a series of seasonal dinners and hope to host a few barn concerts and a Chautauqua again during the upcoming year.  Our retreat calendar is filling up with weddings, family reunions, and  yoga and tai chi groups (call or email us for availability).  It should be another bountiful year.

Oz Farm Field to Table Dinners
In August 2006 we launched the first in what will become a series of OZ Farm “Field to Table” dinners. It was such a great success that we hosted three dinners in 2007 -June 16, August 25 and October 21. Please click here for more information.

The Oz Farm Team
Pat and Shaunaare now running the day-to-day farming and retreat functions under a new lease management, while the owners concentrate on capital improvements long-range planning and forestry.

We hope to see you here at OZ this season and wish you New Year blessings.

Your Friends at OZ Farm