How We Grow
For more than 100 years, our family has cared for the same land in Reedley, California. We believe that growing exceptional fruit and protecting the environment go hand in hand. While we are not yet a Certified Organic farm, we are committed to farming responsibly by minimizing unnecessary inputs, conserving natural resources, and continually improving our growing practices.
Every season, we make management decisions with two goals in mind: producing high-quality fruit and leaving the land healthier for future generations.
Our Sustainable Farming Practices
We use a variety of practices to reduce our environmental impact while maintaining healthy orchards and vineyards.
Water Conservation
California's water is one of our most valuable resources. We have transitioned from traditional flood irrigation to drip irrigation, which delivers water directly to each tree or vine. This significantly reduces water use while improving irrigation efficiency.
Precision Nutrient Management
Healthy plants begin with healthy soil. We regularly analyze our soil and leaves through certified agricultural laboratories to identify exactly which nutrients our crops need. This allows us to apply fertilizers only where necessary, reducing waste and minimizing excess nutrients entering the environment.
Drip irrigation line in our lemon orchard
Integrated Pest Management
Rather than spraying on a fixed schedule, we work closely with licensed Pest Control Advisors (PCAs) to monitor pest populations and determine the most effective course of action. Whenever possible, we use targeted products that control specific pests while minimizing impacts on beneficial insects and the surrounding ecosystem.
We also incorporate non-chemical pest management strategies, such as pheromone traps, which disrupt the breeding cycles of certain insect pests by mimicking their sex pheromones and luring them into sticky traps.
Biodiversity
We believe diversity strengthens our farm. We grow numerous species of fruit as well as many unique varieties within each crop. This diversity supports healthier ecosystems, reduces production risk, and allows us to offer customers a wider selection of exceptional fruit.
Pheromone trap to fight worms in our peach orchard
Disease-Resistant Rootstocks
Many of our newer orchards and vineyards are established using specialized rootstocks that naturally resist soil-borne pests and diseases, tolerate drought and temperature extremes, and improve nutrient uptake. These improvements help reduce the need for chemical inputs while creating healthier, more resilient plants.
Natural Mulching
Each year, we prune and hedge our orchards to keep our trees healthy and productive. This process generates a significant amount of trimmings and loose plant material. Instead of treating this material as waste, we shred it and return it to our fields as mulch. Over time, the wood chips decompose, which enriches the soil with organic matter, improves water retention, and naturally recycles nutrients back into the ground. This reduces waste and the need for chemical fertilizers while helping maintain healthy, productive soils.
Newly grafted stone fruit tree
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you use pesticides?
Yes. Protecting our trees and vines from insects and diseases is an important part of producing healthy fruit. Rather than applying products routinely, we work with licensed agricultural professionals to determine when treatment is truly necessary and select the least disruptive option that will effectively solve the problem.
We also follow all label instructions, including required pre-harvest intervals, to ensure that products are used safely and responsibly. Our goal is always to use the minimum amount of intervention needed to protect the crop while maintaining the long-term health of our orchards, our employees, our customers, and the surrounding environment.
Are you Certified Organic?
Not yet—but we're excited to begin that journey. In 2026, we began transitioning portions of our farm toward Certified Organic production.
We recently grafted eight acres of new orchards with the intention of growing peaches, nectarines, and plums under organic management as we work toward certification. We view this as a long-term investment in both our farm and our customers.
Why weren't you organic before?
For most of our history, we sold nearly all of our fruit through wholesale packing houses that supplied major grocery stores. Those markets require fruit with very high cosmetic standards. Even minor blemishes caused by insects, weather, or disease can make otherwise delicious fruit impossible to sell.
At the same time, protecting the long-term health of our orchards and vineyards has always been one of our highest priorities. Some pests cause only cosmetic damage, while others can significantly reduce future harvests or even kill the plants if left untreated. For example, thrips leave scarring on the skin of citrus fruit that makes it difficult to sell, while mealybugs feed beneath the bark of grapevines and produce a sticky honeydew that encourages the growth of sooty mold and attracts ants. If severe infestations are not managed, they can weaken trees and vines and reduce fruit production for years to come.
Like many family farms, we have historically relied on conventional farming practices to manage these challenges. Rather than spraying on a routine schedule, we work with licensed Pest Control Advisors to monitor pest populations and determine when treatment is truly necessary, using targeted products and other management strategies whenever possible.
As we expand into farmers markets and direct-to-consumer sales, we have greater flexibility to grow fruit using different production methods. At the same time, improvements in organic farming techniques, research, and government support programs have made organic production more practical in recent years than it was for previous generations. For this reason, we are beginning our transition in 2026.
Why does transitioning to organic take time?
Transitioning to Certified Organic farming is more involved than simply switching products. Farmers must complete a three-year transition period before newly planted acreage can be certified organic, during which they must follow organic production standards without yet being able to market their crops as Certified Organic.
Organic production also comes with additional costs: farmers must pay certification and annual inspection fees, and many organically approved pest-control products are more expensive than their conventional counterparts. Moreover, these organic products often need to be applied more frequently or at higher rates to achieve similar levels of pest control. In addition, organic farming generally requires more labor for activities such as weed management, monitoring, and recordkeeping.
For a small family farm, these additional costs and risks can make the transition challenging. In the past, we simply could not afford the financial uncertainty that came with changing production methods. Today, however, advances in organic farming, improved research, and government cost-share programs have made the transition much more achievable. We are excited to begin that journey while continuing to provide our customers with high-quality fruit.
What are your goals for the future?
Our long-term vision is to expand our organic acreage while continuing to improve the sustainability of our farming practices. We plan to implement cover cropping, build more owl boxes, introduce natural predatory insects, and start keeping beehives.
We know that no farming system is perfect, and we don't claim to have all the answers. Instead, we strive for continuous improvement by consulting certified advisors, following the latest agricultural research, and adopting promising new technologies.
As the fourth generation prepares to lead Ibara Farms into the future, our goal is simple: grow outstanding fruit while leaving the land healthier than we found it and remaining transparent with our customers about how we grow our fruit.