Local Growers
Fresh fruits and vegetables have a personal and distinctive place of origin.
Independent & small scale family farms contribute to our regional abundance and landscape with a wide variety of fresh, peak of season produce.
Check out some of our notable farmer profiles to see who’s growing your food.

Baker Ranch
Chuck Baker is a 5th generation family farmer who grows luscious California pears in the Sacramento River Delta region (Sutter Island). The Baker family has been farming on 700 acres of prime pear orchards (from Courtland to Ryde) since the early 1860s – the original land grant deed is dated 1854 (Hustler Ranch and Hustler pear label).
Many of the existing old growth trees are at least 140 years old and still producing some of the best eating fruit grown in the state. California Bartlett pears are the main crop for Baker Ranch with cherries and pear varietals like Bosc, Star Crimson, Seckels and Forelles balancing out the harvest.
In addition to overseeing his family farm, Chuck Baker also oversees many of the pear orchards that grow for AllState Packers, a premier fruit packer and shipper in Lodi. You know their fruit under the labels Rivermaid, McCormack, Golden Glow, Party and Hillside. Stewardship of the land and time honored growing practices by Chuck Baker and family are apparent in the wonderful fruit they lovingly produce!