Connecting Farm & Nature

Today the farm spans 234 acres of countryside in Moorpark, California, just 40 miles north of Los Angeles. Apricot Lane Farm grows more than  200 varieties of fruits and vegetables, and humanely raise sheep, cows, pigs, chickens, and ducks on pastures and within the orchards. The farm carries three certifications: Organic, Biodynamic, and Regenerative Organic. Several of their restored habitat areas of the farm are Certified Wildlife Habitat, and the animal program is Humane Certified. Witness the Chesters’ adventure, trials, and tribulations in the critically acclaimed documentary The Biggest Little Farm.

The most unique aspect of Apricot Lane Farms is its purposeful integration within an intentionally reawakened ecosystem. The marriage between farm and nature is how we maximize the flavor of the food we grow and regulate the immune system of our land. And ultimately it all starts (and ends, and restarts) with the soil. The relationship between the health of our planet and everything that lives on it is regulated by the stability of microbially diverse soil systems. As John likes to say, “Whether we eat a cow or a carrot, it is only as nutritious as the soil that feeds it.” And healthy soil is built from the top down, which means every decision we make above it matters. In short this is why ecologically regenerative farming methods that restore biodiversity above and within the soil (cover cropping, compost application, managed grazing, etc.) create some of the most nutrient-dense and flavorful food that only nature can provide.

“The regeneration of our soil is the only true path to sustainability - and it's beautiful"