The farm processes more than 120
million pounds of vegetable ingredients
every year.
The fact that Nestlé Company uses
poblano peppers from GC Farms in its
Lean Cuisine frozen dinners got air time
on an ABC World News Tonight segment of
“Made in America” last year.
George’s passion for sustainable
agriculture led him to collaborate with
local scientist Mike Cox, owner of
Anaerobe Systems in Morgan Hill. Mike
has been working with George to develop
a process to capture hydrogen, organic
fertilizer and recyclable water from food
processing waste.
In 2015, GC Farms completed
its new 82,000-square-foot Hollister
facility to handle roasting, grilling and
IQF (individually quick-frozen) food
services. The move enabled a three-fold
increase in capacity to process IQF and
moisture balanced ready-to-eat vegetable
ingredients.
The Chiala family has a long history
of philanthropy and community involve-
ment, giving of their time and resources
in support of non-profit organizations
in South County. They have also been
tireless and effective advocates for the
preservation and innovation of agriculture
in our region.
Summer is BBQ time . . . If you haven’t
checked out George Jr’s recipes on the GC
Farms website, you’re missing out.
Andi’s Orchard
Andy’s Orchard specializes in tree-ripened
heirloom stone fruit including Bing and
Rainier cherries and Blenheim apricots
as well as sweet peaches, lush plums and
juicy nectarines. Some of the fruit is sold
fresh-picked. The rest is sun-dried on
vintage drying trays.
Andy’s Orchard is named for owner
Andy Mariani, a popular figure in the
community. “Our family owns about 55
acres,” Andy said. “It was vineyards before
our family came. We planted prunes and
apricots. When Turkish apricots hit the
market at about a third of the price of
our product, many consumers went for
the cheaper though much less flavorful
product. This influenced us to shift our
business and grow more cherries.
Andy Mariani
“Farming is a creative process, working
with Mother Nature. She brings drought,
then El Niño, which keeps us on our
toes.” Well, we’ve got good soil and many
of the trees in our orchards have been
lovingly tended for over 30 years, so they
produce the best-tasting fruit you’ll find
anywhere. These fruits are delicate, so
everything’s hand-picked. Experienced
pickers are hard to come by and we often
have to bring in people from as far away
as Modesto, Lindsay and Kingsburg. Some
of my crew has worked for me for 20 to
40 years. They know my orchards and
know how to pick.”
Andy is known as a good-natured
guy. But when it comes to the topic of
preserving agriculture he tells it like it is.
“Farm work kicks up dust, field equip-
ment makes noise. When we established
our farm decades ago there was no
development. Now we’re surrounded on
three sides. Neighbors and commuters
sometimes find our operations less than
convenient and they let us know about
it . . . like we’re the interlopers,” he said
with a laugh. Like other farmers, Andy
has seen the gradual impacts of climate
change and urban development, and
hopes the County of Santa Clara and local
cities will maintain open space, a green-
belt, to preserve our ag lands.
While the bulk of Andy’s business
is wholesale and worldwide, customers
GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN
JULY / AUGUST 2016
can place orders on his website, and his
Morgan Hill store allows him to offer
his products direct to the South County
community. Every year, Andy’s Orchard
hosts a holiday open house with fruit
tasting, which Andy likens to wine
tasting. Customers not only rave about
the fruit but also the specialty food items
– from handcrafted chocolate covered
nuts and fruits to local honey, olive
oil and jams – all of which make great
holiday and housewarming gifts. Andy’s
face always lights up at feedback from
happy customers, something he never
gets tired of hearing.
Christopher Ranch
In the mid to late 1900s, Christopher
Ranch got America excited about garlic
and put Gilroy on the map as a garlic
mecca. Today, Christopher Ranch pro-
duces some 70 million pounds of its fla-
vorful Monviso heirloom varietal. While
garlic is the mainstay crop, there is no “off
season” at Christopher Ranch. Each garlic
harvest is followed by the planting of bell
peppers, corn and specialty onions.
According to Bill Christopher, “We’ve
been growing garlic here for 60 years and
we’d like to continue to grow our business
here. But agriculture needs to be treated
differently than other industries, because
it is different. The county’s ag industry
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