Paul Hain finds niche markets for organic walnuts and oil,
heirloom tomatoes and cage-free chicken
By JULIE F. MORRIS
Pinnacle Correspondent
Forty years ago a conventional walnut grower farming 81 acres in
Tres Pinos could afford to support two families, send five children
through college and still have a little bit of cash left over.
Paul Hain finds niche markets for organic walnuts and oil, heirloom tomatoes and cage-free chicken
By JULIE F. MORRIS
Pinnacle Correspondent
Forty years ago a conventional walnut grower farming 81 acres in Tres Pinos could afford to support two families, send five children through college and still have a little bit of cash left over.
Paul Hain would know: his father was able to do just that. But as the local economy changed, so did many local farmers’ abilities to support themselves.
“It’s very difficult to farm in Central California,” Hain said. “I think the increase in land values and general cost of living all along the Central Coast outpaced the price we got for walnuts.”
Fast forward to 1993 when Hain realized that if he wanted to continue to farm for a living he had better make some changes in his business plan. Committed to carrying on his family’s long history of land stewardship, Hain and his wife, Leticia, decided to diversify their operations and do things differently.
“I used to think that if I wanted to make more money, I would have to get more acreage and grow more walnuts. But with that plan, expenses grew. Everything was costing more and I wasn’t making any more money,” Hain said.
That’s when he decided to diversify on his own land and grow a variety of more valuable crops. By maximizing the return on the land he already owned, Hain was able to turn around his business.
He planted one orchard with organic walnuts, using no synthetic pesticides or unnatural fertilizers. He concentrated on healthy soil, rather than fertilizers, to increase production.
“Feed your trees by building your soil,” Hain said.
When he shipped his first crate of organic walnuts to Tokyo and got a record price for them, $3.65 per meat pound, he knew he was on to something.
“It was the most I had ever been paid for walnuts,” Hain said. “That was the turning point for me.”
Gradually Hain converted all of his walnut orchards into organic. He now sells some of his gourmet walnuts to local customers under his own label and the rest to a larger local, exporter. He has also started his own walnut oil business and is working on a Web site and other marketing options.
“Organic walnut oil is not easy to find,” he says.
But Hain didn’t stop at walnuts. In the past two years he has expanded his business to include heirloom tomatoes and pasture-raised poultry. His customers include locals with an interest in knowing where their food comes from, such as those with the Slow Food group of which Dorothy McNett is a member.
“I never realized that there are so many people thirsty for something that is not grown according to the corporate model,” Hain said.
He sold 200 chickens from May through August, all raised on green pastures under his walnut trees. It’s a symbiotic relationship: the chickens are housed in a large pen that is moved around the orchard, when poultry farms raise them in fluorescent-lit cages. The trees benefit from the nitrogen of chicken droppings, something Hain used to pay for in pellet form and is now “getting for free.” It’s the way food used to be raised. The birds aren’t fed hormones.
“The alternative agriculture industry tends to expose you to things that are done differently than the status quo,” Hain said.
Although raising chickens under the trees of an orchard is not a new idea, it’s a contrast to conventional poultry farms. Hain said many of his customers are looking for humanely-raised animals and fresh, meat free of additives. He says his pasture-raised poultry is higher in essential Omega-3 fatty acids and other nutrients.
“I think the way food used to be produced is a lot healthier and humane for the animals, ” said Hollister resident Joy Law, a customer of Hain’s. “It’s healthier for the animal too. It goes against the grain to have animals in little cages never see the light of day. And the taste – there is no comparison. I thought it was a fantasy of mine that chickens would have crispy skin and be delicious. The other thing that appeals to me is that I’m helping someone in my own community to stay on their land and make a living.”
Hain’s organic, heirloom tomatoes are another venture he hopes will supplement his income and provide a product not easily found at the local supermarket chain. A recent gathering of Slow Food members – an international organization stressing the importance of locally-grown, non-processed foods – recently met at Hain’s ranch to taste more than 20 varieties of the tomatoes. Many of the varieties came from other local growers, such as Swank Farms and Phil Foster ranches, as well as Hain’s son, who grows next to his dad.
“We thought it would be a great idea to invite people and educate people that there is more one type of tomato,” said Linda Lusenskas, the leader of the San Benito County Slow Food convivium. “Paul’s farm was a great choice because he’s well known in the county, his family goes back to the 1800s here, and he has history with his family and his farm.”
By showcasing his tomatoes to an audience interested in gourmet foods, Hain not only raises awareness – and sales – about heirloom tomatoes, but his other ventures as well.
By keeping his land in production, Hain was also able to place his land in the Williamson Act – a California law that enables farmers to pay taxes on agricultural property based on its use rather than it’s development potential.
“Thank God for the Williamson Act,” Hain said.
Neighbors at the upscale Stonegate development on the other side of Tres Pinos pay three times as much property tax for a single home as Hain does on his 81 acres.
Like Law, many of Hain’s customers like the idea of supporting their local farmers.
“Buying from local farmers is healthy,” Lusenskas said. “We don’t need to see them disappear from the face of the earth where we resort to eating pills because there’s no more farms left.”
It’s that support that keeps Hain in business. By tapping into his customers’ search for good food and being open to new ways of doing things, Hain has proven that he can carry on his family’s tradition – even when the conditions around him change.
“If I want my children to continue farming, then I have to show them that you can do it and have a successful farm,” Hain said. “I’m setting an example for not only a desirable lifestyle, but a financially successful one too.”
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Meet and talk with Paul Hain and other local growers practicing sustainable agriculture at the Second Annual Harvest Fair on Sunday, Oct. 13 from Noon to 4 p.m. at the St. Francis Retreat Center in San Juan Bautista. Call Brother Keith Warner at 623-4234 for details. The event is co-sponsored by The Pinnacle.
