Fresno County ranch growing organic and ready to learn from a distant land

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- The organic section of the grocery store is growing with more farmers around the country and here in California growing organic.

The fields at Terranova Ranch on Fresno County's west side are full of growing vegetables and seeds. From the outside, they all look the same, but some of the fields are part of the ranch's expanding organic operations.

"We started in 1993 with 15 acres and now we're up to 560 acres," said Don Cameron, Terranova Ranch - General Manager.

Cameron has watched the change over the years. Currently, the ranch is expanding its organic fields by another 70 acres. It's a process that takes about three years.

"We're market driven, and if the consumer wants organic food, we'll do our best to grow it," said Cameron.

Terranova grows a variety of organic items including onions and tomatoes used for canning.

Some of their products can be found in Amy's Organic Frozen Food or organic pasta sauces and pizzas.

Cameron says it's more risk, but the reward is attracting farmers,

"Growers that haven't grown organically in the past are giving it a try. I have friends on the west side that are growing organic tomatoes for the first time ever this year. It's a change in how you farm and how you think."

The USDA has seen a growth of organic farms around the country and 20-percent of them are in California.

Meanwhile, Cameron said monitoring their water is a constant concern.

On Friday, Cameron will join agriculture leaders from across the state for a trip to Israel.

"I'm really excited to go because of the new exposure to the new technology that's available for irrigation and salt tolerant crops."

Cameron will be the only Valley grower there as a part of the field trip to gain knowledge from those who farm in desert conditions.

Cameron's trip to Israel will wrap up next week. He hopes to bring that knowledge back to the Valley for conventional and organic farmers.