Comstock's magazine 0620 - June June 2020 | Seite 77

Special Promotional Section
“(With Pleasants Valley Agriculture Association,)
we finally have an umbrella to all work under and
cross-promote and establish some agritourism goals
for the region collectively, instead of each of us
working independently.”
Alexis Koefoed, co-owner, Soul Food Farm
fundamentals and regenerative agriculture,
and Sky Ranch Estate offers visitors
an Italy-inspired experience with a tour
through vineyards and olive orchards, and
wine tastings.
It’s a viable agritourism experience,
says Ribaudo, supported by trends celebrated
in the Capital Region like farm-totable
and the wine-country community of
Suisun Valley in Fairfield.
SMG looked to Suisun Valley Vintners
& Growers Association’s agritourism
program — established in 2003 and
marketed the region as a wine destination
— as a model Vacaville’s farmers could
adapt. In 2018, Vacaville’s small farmers
took SMG’s recommendation to organize
and formed the Pleasants Valley Agriculture
Association with a core of roughly 20
farms.
“We finally have an umbrella to all
work under and cross-promote and establish
some agritourism goals for the region
collectively, instead of each of us working
independently,” says Alexis Koefoed,
co-owner of Soul Food Farm.
PVAA facilitates coordinated events,
like the annual Open Farm Days, when
all the farms open to visitors on the same
weekend to experience farm life, see
where their food comes from and get to
know the farmers who produce it. PVAA’s
first Open Farm Days in the summer of
2018 attracted hundreds of people, and it
is adapting the event this year to be held
online due to the coronavirus pandemic
(see page 90).
“That’s the spirit of agritourism. It’s
supposed to be about people, communities,
gathering, so to be able to do that
in the scope of farms working together
makes sense,” says Koefoed.
With a culture of outdoor recreation
in the region, Visit Vacaville saw an
opportunity to merge that with the city’s
evolving agritourism program, coining
the trademark-pending term Agriventure
to market the city’s small-town feel but
grand adventure experiences, like the
Nut Tree Boulders, nearly 20 basalt rocks
of varying size and shape that attract
rock climbers at Browns Valley Open
Space, a 25-acre preserve. Hiking trails
wind through the hills with panoramic
views at the peak and similarly at the
314-acre Lagoon Valley Regional Park,
and bike trails that accommodate cyclists
of different experience levels traverse the
region too.
“The idea of being able to pick your
own fruits and vegetables and make your
lunch from what you’ve just picked, then
go on a hike, those things marry so well
together,” says Laughlin.
While PVAA’s collective events have
been met with community support and
success, efforts to grow the Agriventure
program aren’t without challenges.
Many of the PVAA farms are in the
vicinity of Pleasants Valley Road, which
is designated as an Exclusive Agricultural
zone, according to county zoning maps.
That designation limits the number and
kind of events farms can host without
a permit. In contrast, Suisun Valley’s
wine destination is in the Suisun Valley
Agricultural zone, which allows most
agritourism events.
June 2020 | comstocksmag.com 77