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How the Farming all began

Natalie had his first son, Bernard Bertagna, who followed in his father's footsteps and acquired a natural green thumb and a passion for farming. Lil' Ben started volunteering to work in the almond orchards of neighboring farmers at the early age of 14. By the time he was 17 years old he had earned and saved enough money to buy his first piece of land. He had committed his whole life to the laborious yet rewarding livelihood of tending and farming his almond orchards, striving to save and invest in more acreage with every opportunity that came forth.

Meanwhile, Ben and his wife Carmen started their own family. Having three strapping boys, Ben Jr., (Maisie Jane’s father), Nick, and Andy. These three boys started working the orchards with their father the day they could walk. In fact Ben, the oldest son, can remember driving tractor long before his feet could reach the pedals, “My dad would just stick wood blocks on the pedal to work as extensions of my short legs”. Teaching these strong work ethics to Ben Sr's., three sons paid off, as all three of them eventually joined their father in the newly formed family farming corporation, Bertagna Orchards, Inc.

Today, the family farming legend lives on! Maisie Jane & her husband Isidro, and Maisie Jane’s brothers, Berton and Jason continue on with their father Ben in almond farming, managing more than hundreds of acres. Four generations deep and the family farm survives!

Sustainable Farming Practices

Bertagna Orchards has a strong philosophy in using sustainable agriculture. This means that we use farming practices without depleting the earth’s resources or polluting its environment. For example, we use organic fertilizers versus synthetically chemically made ones. We also use IPM, (Integrated Pest Management) systems that monitors and uses insects as beneficials, in other words trying to create a biologically balanced environment where nature will take care of itself. We believe in as minimal an impact on the environment as possible while farming and harvesting our orchards. In order for us to continue the family farming business for future generations, it’s important to keep the soil, trees, and the farmers as healthy as possible.

Organic Farming Practices

Along with using sustainable farming practices we use Certified Organic farming practices as well. This means that we have been recognized and are monitored by an organic certifier, whose standards have been set by the USDA, (United States Department of Agriculture). We are given and follow strict guidelines on all farming practices. For example if we use chicken manure for a fertilizer, it must come from a certified organic chicken ranch. Farming organic almonds requires more manual labor and the crop yields are much smaller than non-organic almonds. This is the reason for a higher price for organic almonds. By supporting and purchasing certified organic almonds, you are guaranteed a quality product that is not only healthy but also helps reduce water pollution and conserves our natural resources.