It’s hard to believe it’s been over 10 years since Art & Ag last visited Full Belly Farm. Lots has happened since then. They now have a certified kitchen and a new event center, for example. But some things remain the same. Full Belly continues to be a busy, working 400-acre gem of a farm in the Capay Valley and one of the first in California to use organic practices, having achieved that designation back in 1985. They continue to integrate farm production with longer-term environmental stewardship and plant habitat areas for beneficial insects and wildlife. (Photo by Charles Vincent McDonald. L-R: Jan Manzi (photographer), Lee Rue (painter), Dru Muller, Paul Muller, Benjamin Wu (painter), Melissa Wu)
Dru Rivers is one of six owners with her husband Paul and now two of their children –Amon and Rye — along with Andrew Brait and Jenna Muller. With the help of about 80 employees the farm produces an amazing diversity of vegetable, herbs, nuts, and fruits throughout the year. And they have increased their flower production “due to the huge demand for organic flowers,” says Dru. (Left: Mark Jones; Right: Mary Neri King, Acrylic on canvas)
Artists explored the natural beauty of Cache Creek which runs through the eastern end of the property, and strolled through the many fields with a wide variety of crops. (They grow and market over 80 crops.) Of course, the major draw is the signature flower fields, where a multitude of flowers including calendula, ranunculus, snap dragons, larkspur, and delphinium were in bloom. Artists also caught glimpses of a brood of chickens foraging, and sheep grazing in and among the walnut orchards. (Left: Lee Rue, Oil on canvas; Right: Photo courtesy YoloArts)
After almost 4 decades on the land Dru still can’t decide which is her favorite time of day. ‘Both mornings and evenings are beautiful,” says Dru as she looks out over the picturesque setting and working farm that she and her husband started from scratch 38 years ago. (Zhiwei Tu, Oil on canvas)