PENN VALLEY, Calif. March 24, 2026 – Nestled just below Pilot Peak in Penn Valley, Feeding Crane Farm is owned and operated by husband and wife team Antonio Garza and Daylin Wade, and staffed by a small crew of employees. Feeding Crane began leasing the primary 9.5 acres farm plot towards the end of the 2020 growing season and in 2023, began leasing around 4 acres of farmland from AM ranch to expand the organic farm.
Garza, originally from Edinburg, Texas, grew up in the countryside and was homeschooled. He spent a lot of time outside and gardening, so it is no surprise he ended up averse to settling for a sedentary desk job.
After finishing college with a degree in Literature, Garza diversified his professional experience in different fields such as education, landscaping, and most recently land use planning. After a short stint in Bend, Oregon, Garza relocated to California, with his first stop in Roseville.
In 2009, Garza gradually reduced his time spent in land use management, and began volunteering at Soil Born Farm, a non-profit organization in Rancho Cordova. Later that year his volunteering transitioned into a formal apprenticeship and after 6 years in the Sacramento area, Garza moved up to Nevada County.
In 2016, Garza secured a position as the Farm Manager for RiverHill Farm. After a couple of years in this role, he ended up leading the farm operations until the owners ultimately sold the property.
Tapping into his community, Garza reached out to Sierra Harvest who connected him with Rich Johansen, the owner of the main farm plot Feeding Crane now leases. Prior to Feeding Crane, the land had always been farmed organically. It did not take long before Johansen and Garza started to discuss the potential of Garza’s involvement with the land. Garza planted his first official Feeding Crane crop in October of 2020, garlic!
In choosing a name for the farm, Garza knew he always wanted a crane in the name or logo, because his last name, “Garza” means crane in Spanish. His father, now retired, once had “Garza Pharmacy”, with a big crane in the logo. Needless to say, Antonio wanted to carry on that legacy with his farm.
During our conversation, Garza touched on some of the challenges of starting a new farm in the county such as establishing a new farm name, building trust with community members, and developing farm infrastructure. In addition to those logistics, the Foothills have many microclimates and changes in soil and weather based on exposure and elevation, Garza discussed becoming acquainted with the land he is now farming.
“All land is idiosyncratic here, even just the same field can be different half way down because of wet spots and what not. Being at the base of Pilot Peak, a lot of water drains down to the farm. There’s also more weather here because of the peak like rain and hail.”
One of his favorite things about being a farmer is being outside everyday and snacking on fresh produce. Garza mostly grows food that he enjoys eating, his favorite crop being peppers, “I love the crunch and flavor of fresh peppers, be they mild or spicy.”
For the 2026 season Antonio is looking forward to growing a new Turkish variety of pepper, and a new Japanese cucumber variety, “a cross of a persian and a japanese cucumber, called Unagi.”
This past year Feeding Crane planted 125 peach trees (yellow and white), however, we all must wait a few years to enjoy the fruits of this labor. When asked why peaches, Antonio noted, “It is an experience fruit, you cannot buy the experience of eating a perfectly ripe peach the moment you have it in your hand. Local ag can stand out for growing food for the experience.”
Another farm augmentation has been a big upgrade for produce distribution, a new temperature controlled delivery van, through a federal grant (RFSI.) With this upgrade, Garza is hoping to work with the other farms to streamline distribution in the area, “With the goal of having more of the farms collaborate and work together to distribute produce rather than all driving separately to the same accounts, though we do all love seeing each other.”
Feeding Crane produce isn’t available at the moment because they are in between seasons, but generally you can find it at the Briar Patch Coop, the Tahoe food hub, in local restaurants such as Three Forks, Heartwood, Petra, Communal cafe, and also of course the Nevada City Farmers Market and Truckee Farmers Market. Feeding Crane has also sold produce to the Nevada City School of the Arts, Interfaith, LFPA, and Nevada County Food Bank.
Something exciting, particularly for folks in Penn Valley, to keep an eye out for, Feeding Crane is hoping to start a farm stand at the AM Ranch plot, stay tuned!
Feeding Crane Farm will return to the farmers market in early- mid April, with early greens, arugula, mustard, radishes, turnips, and then rolling into the broccoli, cauliflower, fava beans, snap peas, (early-mid May) to summer squash, tomatoes, cucumbers, and then sweet corns and melons and all the other good things.
To stay informed on Feeding Crane Farm happenings and receive available produce lists and relevant recipes sign up for their email newsletter on their website: https://feedingcranefarm.com/
Bryn Sherwood grows grapes and makes wine in Nevada County. She moved to the area from the DC suburbs in 2019, and enjoys writing about agriculture and human experiences.