Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF)

10/12/2026

Honoring Indigenous Peoples’ Day!

Despite the ongoing legacy of colonialism and displacement, Native and Indigenous peoples in California continue to steward their traditional foods and run food and farm businesses.

At the 2023 California Small Farm Conference, hosted by CAFF, California Native community members shared how they’re reclaiming their food and identity, what non-Natives can learn from them, and how to support this work.

We were honored to have these voices as part of the event, and we’re excited to invite more Indigenous voices to the conference next February.

Watch the recording: https://youtu.be/M-KN4w0TNTk

With:
Taylor Thompson, Intertribal Ag Council
Cheyenne Stone, Big Pine Paiute Tribe
Maya Harjo, The Cultural Conservancy
Annelia Hillman, Yurok Tribe Food Sovereignty Program

Despite the ongoing and lasting legacy of colonialism and displacem...

10/11/2026

🏆 Nominations are open for the 2027 California Farm Champions awards.

🌱 Do you know a farmer, advocate, or business that is building a stronger local food system?

Nominate them in one of seven categories: New Farmer, Legacy Farmer, Farm Advocate, Food Business, Ecological Farmer, Farmers Market Champion, or the Pete Price Farm Policy Champion. 🚜

📅 Nominations close November 1, 2026. Multiple nominations are welcome, so submit as many as you like.

👉 Nominate your champions at caff.org/awards or through the link in our bio.

🎉 Winners will be honored at the California Small Farms Conference in February.

10/09/2026

Join CAFF and your fellow farmers for a farm tour, dinner, and discussion on what policy change you’d like to see to better support your farm or ranch. We'll be gathering to hear your successes, challenges, and solutions for advocacy and action in Sacramento and beyond.

This event is free but open only to farmers, including farm owners, managers, and employees. Thank you to Justin at Twin Peaks Orchards hosting us!

RSVP at caff.org/events

10/08/2026

🚨 Community alert for the Central Valley farm community
Dozens of people have been detained in ICE traffic stops in Fresno and Madera counties over the past week, according to local advocacy groups. That includes a van of workers headed from Selma to jobs in Bakersfield, where everyone on board was detained. Advocates report agents stopping people near mini marts and other places farm and landscape workers frequent, and the Mendota mayor says the arrests are coming just as harvest season ends.

At CAFF, we believe these raids are devastating for local communities. They separate families and leave workers afraid to drive to work. They also threaten California agriculture and the whole food system, which depend on the people who plant, tend, and harvest our food.

If you're a farmer or farm employer: talk with your crew, know your rights, and have a plan in place.

If you're a farmworker or have family or coworkers who are: you have rights regardless of immigration status. https://caff.org/immigration-clearinghouse/

Read the full Fresno Bee report: https://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/article317514343.html

Please share this with someone in your farm community.

10/06/2026

🚜 Farmers need right-sized technology, and you might be the one to build it. The Small Farm Innovation Challenge is open to farmers, engineers, startups, and students with ideas that help small-scale farms compete, survive, and thrive.

💡 No innovation is too small or simple, and we accept ideas at any stage of development. A video recorded on your phone works great. 📱

🏆 Over $10,000 in prizes, plus the chance to present your innovation at conferences like the Small Farm Conference.

📅 Applications are open until December 31st.

👉 Learn more and apply at caff.org/innovation or through the link in our bio.

10/04/2026

Earlier this year, Food Access LA was named Farmers Market Champion of the Year for transforming farmers' markets into engines of equity and community resilience across Los Angeles.

Nominations are now open for the 2027 California Farm Champions awards, and we want to hear who's doing that kind of work in your community.

Do you know a farmer, organization, or advocate making a real difference for small farms and food access? Nominations close November 1st.

Watch the full video and nominate your champion at caff.org/awards.

10/03/2026

DO YOU WANT TO SELL YOUR PRODUCE ONLINE?!
Watch this interactive video, with content from the CCOF Marketing toolkit, to help you learn about different sales channels you can use to sell your agricultural products! In this video we will talk about online storefronts.
To learn more about different sales channels and marketing channels for selling your organic produce, please check out the toolkit on caff.org/toolkit

*A special thanks to Maria Gonzales of Green Thumb Farms for allowing us to feature their farm's website and storefront in this video as a way to share an example of a direct to consumer sales channel in action!!!! To learn more about their online presence and farm’s marketing follow them: .thumb.farms https://www.instagram.com/green.thumb.farms/

*CCOF created the toolkit content, CAFF is promoting the toolkit through a collaboration with CCOF. Funding for Marketing to Expand Economic Opportunity for Small and Underserved Farmers was made possible by a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the USDA.*

10/02/2026

🌽🍎 Calling all California farms and food hubs! 🍐🥕

CAFF will be at the California Farm to School Summit on October 15 and we want to feature YOUR farm or food hub at our table!

School nutrition professionals from across the state will be there, and we're encouraging them to buy from their local farmers. Let us help you get your products in front of the people planning school menus. 🍽️

Small to mid-sized family farms, farm aggregators, and food hubs: fill out our form by the end of the day on Tuesday, October 6 to be featured.

For more information and how to apply visit docs.google.com/forms/d/1S8J1WGCb1n1VIyWnW2L9h_kCo4uAz3aDoJ1G4XIm-Cw/viewform

10/01/2026

🌻 Mark your calendars: the program and registration for the 39th Annual California Small Farm Conference launch in November!

Our Future, Locally Grown. Stay tuned for details on workshops, speakers, and everything else that will make next year's conference one you won't want to miss.

More info at caff.org/conference