Sonoma County Harvest Fair Honors Singing Frogs Farm for Excellence in Local Food Production

Flowers, animals, children and abundant healthy crops thrive at Sebastopol’s Singing Frogs Farm. Productive, profitable and healthy, these are the farm’s hallmarks—where the soil is never tilled yet produces a staggering amount of nutrient rich vegetables, herbs and fruits to feed families. The Sonoma County Harvest Fair is honored to present farmers Paul and Elizabeth Kaiser of Singing Frogs Farm with the third annual award for Excellence in Local Food Production.

At eight acres, Singing Frogs Farm is a small farm with a big name. The Kaiser’s have gained world-wide recognition by showing that no-till vegetable production is not only possible, but highly productive and profitable. Since beginning in 2007, their farm has quadrupled the organic matter and nearly tripled the total microbial life in its soils; increased bird and native bee populations and diversity; increased native perennial plant diversity and density; and dramatically reduced water usage per crop—all while producing over six times the state average of harvest revenue per acre per year.

“Singing Frogs Farm began as a living ecological experiment, but as we learned more about the science of soil, we realized the eminent importance of a no-till soil management approach to a healthy, resilient and economically prosperous agro-ecological system,” says Elizabeth Kaiser. “So far, we’ve learned three key things: Disturb the soil as little as possible, keep a diversity of living plants in the ground at all times, and keep the soil covered and protected as often as possible. By doing these, we’ve been able to produce more food that’s also more nutrient rich,” she adds.

In addition to being “no till,” Singing Frogs Farm is a dedicated ecological farm, which means no sprays, not even organic sprays. “As a result, our children can run through the fields eating whatever they want, whenever they want,” says Paul Kaiser.

Singing Frogs Farm feeds between 115 and 120 families each week with Community Supported Agriculture boxes of their farm goods. They also sell their food year-round at various Farmers Markets and to local restaurants. The Kaisers, who are passionate about the importance of healthy soil, also present workshops, consultations, and farm tours for individuals, schools and non-profit groups.

“We welcome the opportunity to share and inspire people and are honored to be recognized by the Sonoma County Harvest Fair for our efforts,” says Elizabeth Kaiser.

The Harvest Fair’s 2016 Excellence in Food Production award, recognizes Paul and Elizabeth Kaiser for their outstanding role in promoting local food, farming and sustainable practices; for their strong advocacy for Sonoma County agriculture; for raising the standard of farming through innovative techniques and practices; and for their dedication to educating consumers and supporting other industry members.

The Harvest Fair will celebrate all of this year’s award recipients during the Sonoma County Harvest Awards ceremony and dinner September 25 at Luther Burbank Center for the Arts. The celebration is open to the public with tickets available at HarvestFair.org or at the Harvest Fair Box Office located at 1350 Bennett Valley Road in Santa Rosa.

The 2016 Sonoma County Harvest Fair is September 30-October 2 at the Sonoma County Events Center at the Fairgrounds in Santa Rosa. The popular and prestigious annual event includes the World Championship Grape Stomp, wine, beer and cider tasting, food and wine-related seminars, workshops and much more. For information, visit HarvestFair.org or call (707) 545-4200. You can also follow "Sonoma County Harvest Fair" on Facebook.