May 22, 2025
Good Humus Produce’s community mindset
Good Humus Produce is a small, family-owned farm located in the picturesque Hungry Hollow valley of Northern California.
Founded in 1976 by Jeff and Annie Main, the farm spans 30 acres of certified organic land and is dedicated to sustainable agriculture and self-sufficiency.
The farm, located in Capay, grows more than 200 varieties of organic fruits, vegetables, herbs and flowers and value-added agricultural products year-round. It also has a planted habitat for wildlife and is dedicated to farm preservation for future generations of farmers for local food production.
“Our love of growing food, living on the less-traveled path and doing something meaningful came from generations of strong-minded individuals,” Jeff Main said. “Cooperation, communities, social change, food movement and land stewardship have been our guiding beliefs in one form or another since the ’70s. We wanted to raise our children on a farm where working the land, growing food and marketing locally was where they could learn the essentials of what life is about.”
Along with their children, Zachary, Alison and Claire, the Mains pay tribute to their agriculture heritage by caring for the land with sustainable practices.
“At the end of a 12-year task, aided by essential partners including the Davis and Sacramento Food Co-ops and their members, we were able to place an affirmative agricultural easement on our property, containing binding legal provisions ensuring that this land would be available for farming in perpetuity,” Jeff said.
A helping hand
After graduating from UC Davis with respective degrees in renewable natural resources and civil engineering, Jeff and Annie farmed for eight years in Winters and Woodland before settling at their current location.
“During the subsequent 50 years of farming in Yolo County and over 40 years here in Hungry Hollow, we have dedicated ourselves to the tasks of providing food for the citizens of the southern Sacramento Valley while working to ensure the long-term preservation of the infrastructure, resources and systems supporting agriculture-serving the people of the region,” Jeff said.
To these ends, the family has been part of a small group that started the Davis Farmers Market and the Davis Food Co-op and have been producing partners with both for the last 50 years.
In 1993, Good Humus began providing food for consumers in Davis and Woodland through a community supported agriculture program. Their weekly subscription box program started with 10 friends. Today, their farm has 125 families that receive vegetables and fruit once a week for 48 weeks of the year. They also offer a flower share and bread share from Village Bakery in Davis.
“We have been working for the last 40 years to build from the ground up a family farm that provides food for people in our community,” Annie said. “We realize that it often takes lifetimes to develop a farm infrastructure — the buildings and processes that characterize a mature, viable farming unit. Through luck, help and hard work, we have been able to do much of the work of creating such a farm, but much is yet to be accomplished.”
With the help of a Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education Program grant, the family started a farm-to-school program with second graders from the Davis Unified School District as well as a week-long summer program for inner-city students to learn about the role farms play in the use of water in the state. The farm-to-school visits stopped due to the pandemic.
Thinking sustainably
In the summer of 2020, the Good Humus agricultural well started sucking air, and the pump had to be lowered for a second time in almost 40 years.
“Groundwater is how Good Humus is able to farm in the Hungry Hollow; there is no surface water available, and without access to water the farm will be reduced to possibly a garden at best,” Annie said.
Thanks to an agricultural easement on the property and with their children invested in continuing Good Humus, Annie felt like there was no choice but to be a voice for sustainable groundwater management in Yolo County. She is active in her Hungry Hollow neighborhood, learning what is happening to her neighbors’ wells and working with the Yolo Subbasin Groundwater Agency and California Alliance For Family Farms, county supervisors and other landowners in Yolo County impacted by groundwater decline.
The Mains understand that the needs of both the environment and community are key to successful farming practices. They have hedgerow, meaning that they dedicate a part of the land to native plants, trees and shrubs to have a place for habitat. They also use cover crop and crop rotation to ensure that the land receives the nutrients it needs.
“At ground level, we stay in tune with what is happening and are willing to not only look for change in our practices but also incorporate those changes in order to bring forth a better future,” Jeff said. “A good farmer means not being solely driven by money and not necessarily doing what everyone in their field is doing. By being innovative and thoughtful to the needs of the land, we will continue moving closer to sustainable agricultural practices.”
A family affair
The Mains are transitioning the farm to their children, with the first generation handing over most daily jobs and decisions to the second generation. In 2016, the Mains’ daughters Alison and Claire joined the farming operation, helping to manage fruit, vegetable, herb and flower production.
Most of the work is done by hand, but the family did recently purchase an orange and potato washing machine that has improved operations during the citrus season.
“The Royal Blenheim apricots are one of the favorites of the customers; we like to choose things that are flavorful and delicious,” Alison said. “Since we don’t ship our products and only use them locally, we have the benefit of being able to let things ripen on the tree to get their peak flavor instead of picking them too early so they last. We like to try new varieties of things, especially things we hear people want.
“When we find something that works well for us and the community likes, we tend to stick to it.”
Good Humus also grows its own vegetable transplants and finally purchased attachments for its tractor that automated transplanting operations, Jeff said.
“Right now, just finding balance and making it work is what we are focused on,” Jeff said. “We hope that this farm continues to grow food and provide local, organic and affordable food for the community. Community and support from them are what keeps us going.”
