What a record setting visit! Thursday's farm visitors to M Three Ranches were treated to some very high winds. Photographers were not deterred though and enjoyed challenging themselves with the shaky blooms.
Saturday was our first ever sell out farm visit with 75 people registering! It was so uplifting to see record participants on Saturday. Thank you to dear Art & Ag friend Frank Muller for being so welcoming and allowing expanded access to the Corn Field and Walnut Orchard. I am so grateful for your support!
M Three Ranches had another year of gorgeous sunflower crops for us to explore. Frank, Neil, and Colin Muller invited us to soak in the beauty of fields upon fields of sunflower blooms that stretched over a third of a mile and 80 acres along Road 95.
As our annual visitors know, Frank takes special note of the plant growth cycles to find us the perfect sunflower bloom dates. This year, the magic weekend was the 11th and 13th of June!
These sunflower fields are adjacent to M Three’s main office, which houses a shop, tractors and other large equipment, seasonal tools, and farm junk.
The Muller’s farm several thousand acres in both Yolo and Sutter counties. In the fields, you may notice, “There’s a couple of rows of what we call a male variety that will produce pollen for a female variety adjacent,” said Colin Muller. “So you’ll see a pattern of, sometimes, six female plants and then two male plants, six female, two male, et cetera.” The pattern ensures the bees pollinate the female plants with the correct pollen to produce the hybrid that the seed companies want. Most of the sunflowers are grown and harvested each year for their seeds to be used for their oil or in various culinary uses.
M Three Ranches is a partnership between Frank and his two sons, Neil and Colin. The Muller family have been farming for three generations, over 50 years, in the Sacramento Valley, and are recognized as being a lead grower of tomatoes, peppers, garlic, seed crops, olives, walnuts, and almonds. Frank Muller is a stellar Art & Ag committee member, and you may recognize him as the party host for the Art Farm Harvest every year!
Speaking of Art Farm, this year the shindig will be on October 17th, so mark your calendars now! Don’t forget to drop your artwork entry off by August 26.
It was great to see you all in the blooms!
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