When Nicole Montna Van Vleck left the family farm to
go to college and start her career, she didn’t think that
she’d return. Now she’s the president and CEO of Montna
Farms in Yuba City. The farm had passed hands from fa-
ther to son since the late 1800s, when Montna Van Vleck’s
great-grandfather emigrated from France to California.
“In many European countries, if you weren’t the oldest
son, there was no room for you on the farm, and his fami-
ly was no different,” she says.
After studying political science and international
affairs at UCLA and working for a few years at a law firm
in Sacramento “focusing on land use, environmental and
agricultural issues,” she realized she wanted to again
work at the farm — which grows 5,000 acres of medium-
and short-grain rice — and returned in 1994 as managing
partner while her father was still president. “I’ve worked
in every aspect on the administrative side,” she says.
About seven years ago, he passed the baton.
Montna Farms has an on-site drying and storage facili-
ty, plus a mill, American Commodity Company in Wil-
liams, which it co-owns with two other families. Montna
Van Vleck says she led the effort in becoming a vertically
integrated farm while she was still managing partner. “We
almost doubled our storage and drying capacity during
the decade after I joined Montna Farms,” she says.
Montna grows medium-grain variety Calrose, which is
sold nationally and abroad — “Japan, South Korea, the Mid-
dle East, Europe” — as well as a premium short-grain rice
called Tamanishiki, grown in partnership with JFC Inter-
national, sold internationally and to high-end restaurants.
“Having a high-quality product … is something I’m
extremely proud of, along with our conservation efforts,”
she says. The farm works with conservation organiza-
tions to provide wetlands for migratory birds by f looding
the rice fields and providing winter habitat. In 2000,
Montna Van Vleck says the farm entered an easement,
which protects the land from being developed in
nonagricultural uses indefinitely. “It allows the
ranch to continue on for the next future genera-
tions,” she says.
“I’m very fortunate that I have great support
(in my family),” she says. “For generations and
generations, women have been the backbone
often of the administrative side of family
farms, always doing the books, doing
the paperwork … but my dad
right away was very open to
having me (join) the fam-
ily business and pro-
moting me to being
very involved in
all the industry
activities.”
AGRICULTURE
Nicole
Montna Van Vleck
President and CEO / Montna Farms
by Shoka
March 2020 | comstocksmag.com
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