Peach al pastor challenge at Tacos, Brews & Jams

(above photo by Mike Oz)

Every month, Tioga Sequoia Brewing Company in downtown Fresno hosts Tacos, Brews & Jams – curated by journalist and local foodie Mike Oz. As the name suggests, the event is complete with food trucks, beer from the host brewery, and live music; plus several local vendors. The theme of this month’s TB&J was a peach al pastor challenge. Three local peach growers were paired up with three local food trucks to replace the traditional pineapple used in al pastor with something more representative of the Central Valley’s bounty: peaches. As a bonus, or perhaps the inspiration behind the theme, Tioga Sequoia brews Half Dome beer, which is made with local peaches. For this event, special Half Dome Beer Slushies were available for purchase – the perfect complement to tacos on a warm summer day.

HMC Farms was paired up with Gonzalez Taqueria from Fresno for the challenge, and the results were delicious! In addition to cooking the al pastor meat with peaches, Gonzalez Taqueria added slices of the cooked peaches to the tacos. Like icing on the cake, our peaches were also made into salsa to top the taco perfection cooked up by Luis Gonzalez. Our only complaint about the whole event is that we can’t eat those delicious tacos for dinner every day!

Keep an eye out for more collaborations between HMC Farms and local businesses this summer, we’ve got a few more fun pairings appearing in the coming months…

Cat Eye View Photography captured some great moments from the event (see below)

photo credit: Cat Eye View Photography
photo credit: Cat Eye View Photography
photo credit: Cat Eye View Photography
photo credit: Cat Eye View Photography

 

HMC News – June 26, 2019

Last week, a group of California State Senators and representatives from the California Fresh Fruit Association visited HMC Farms in order to get a behind-the-scenes look into what farming is like, and the difficulties that farmers in California face. We always welcome the opportunity to educate our politicians about the risks and opportunities we face as a farming business in California. Our guests included Senators Steven Glazer from Orinda (7th district), Melissa Hurtado from Sanger (14th district), Scott Wiener from San Francisco (11th district), General Richard Roth from Riverside (31st district), and Bob Wieckowski from Fremont (10th district).

Crop Update:

Harvest remains ongoing for HMC Farms peaches, nectarines, and plums. We are in the last week of bunch thinning in our table grape vineyards, which will essentially wrap up pre-harvest labor. Table grape harvest is still a couple of weeks away. A slight break in heat is in this week’s forecast, with temperatures climbing back up to the mid 90s by Monday.

UC Davis Professors Visit HMC Farms

This month, University of California, Davis professors hopped in two vans and took a road trip to visit HMC Farms. The visit was part of an ongoing relationship between UC Davis and HMC Farms that stretches back many years. On the trip, professors were able to get a well-rounded understanding of our specific commodities, farming practices, and the issues we face today.

By meeting with farmers and other employees who are working actively in the subject matter being taught at UC Davis, the professors had the opportunity to ask questions and gain knowledge from a different perspective outside the classroom. In turn, the HMC Farms team had the opportunity to become educated on current research projects and studies being conducted at the university which pertain to our particular segment of agriculture. As part of our sustained commitment to education, this meeting was a way to bridge the gap between what’s being taught in the classroom at UC Davis, and what is taking place every day at HMC Farms. We hope to continue hosting meetings like this on a regular basis in order to maintain an open dialogue with institutions like UC Davis, which are educating the future leaders of our industry.

 

HMC News – June 19, 2019

HMC Bunchkins Champagne grapes are now available! Also known as Zante Currants or Black Corinth grapes,
these naturally petite grapes are popular with consumers. The thin-skinned berries can be eaten individually or as a
whole bunch. Bunchkins are sweet, delicate, and have a narrow window of availability! Contact your HMC salesperson for more information.

Crop Update:

Harvest remains ongoing for HMC Farms peaches and nectarines. Plum harvest has increased to include both red and black plums. We are a few weeks away from table grape harvest. Hot and sunny days fill the forecast, with a slight dip in temperature at the end of this week before climbing back up to the high 90s.

HMC News – June 12, 2019

HMC Farms hosted a special visitor last week: Greg Ibach, Under Secretary of Agriculture for Marketing and Regulatory Programs. Under Secretary Ibach toured our packing facility in Kingsburg before participating in a round table discussion on current trade issues, explaining the administration’s position and allowing us to explain ours in return. We appreciate the effort to show that the USDA cares about farmers and understands that we are in an uncomfortable position. It’s exciting that top officials in ag are showing an interest in farmers, including US Secretary of Agriculture, Sonny Perdue, who visited HMC Farms last year and invited Harold to be a guest at the NYSE bell ringing earlier this year.

Crop Update:

Red plum harvest is slowly increasing, with black plums beginning harvest soon. We have completed approximately 2/3 of leafing and tipping in our grape vineyards. At this point, we are about a month away from grape harvest. It’s hard to believe that just a couple of weeks ago we were still facing heavy rain, and we are now in the midst of a stretch of hot and sunny days.

HMC News – June 5, 2019

It appears that the unusual weather period has passed, and we are now into hot and sunny days, which is typical of weather at HMC Farms in early June. The fairly sudden change in temperature has caused our tree fruit to begin maturing more rapidly, leading our farm management team to adapt to the changes while remaining selective in harvest to avoid any lingering issues from the adverse weather. We anticipate that things should be back to normal by next week.

Crop Update:

Plum harvest at HMC Farms should increase in the next couple of weeks and be in full swing in the second half of this month. The cool weather previously slowed down the sizing of our table grapes, but with the shift to warmer temperatures they are now beginning to size at a faster pace. We are leafing and tipping in our vineyards. Tipping involves trimming each bunch in order to obtain the best size, color, and flavor for harvest.