Courtesy image.
SANTA MARIA — The third annual Santa Barbara County Farm Day, set for Saturday, September 18, will feature two wineries. Farm Day gives the public the opportunity to take part in free, in-person, tours of farms in the Santa Maria Valley region.
Visitors will learn about the agricultural work behind wine production and how lack of rain could affect this year’s harvest.
“Santa Barbara County has over 14,000 harvested acres of wine grapes generating $93 million of economic value to the county. Wineries are an important part of the farming story in Santa Barbara County,” says Mary Maranville, founder and CEO of the nonprofit Students for Eco-Education and Agriculture (SEEAG), which puts on Farm Day each year.
Participating wineries are Riverbench Vineyard & Winery in Santa Maria and Zaca Mesa Winery (offering a free flight tasting) in Los Olivos.
This year’s Farm Day theme is “Meet The Hands That Feed You.” The public can use an online Farm Day Trail Map to build a custom itinerary to travel between growers and curated tour routes. Tour hours are from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
In addition to wineries, more than 10 other farms, growers and agricultural entities are participating with free tours, tastings, and fruit and produce giveaways.
Santa Barbara County Farm Day sponsors include the Santa Barbara Foundation, JB Dewar, Rancho Laguna Farms and Reiter Affiliated Companies.
SEEAG’s mission is to help children understand the farm origins of their food through classroom agricultural and nutrition education and free farm field trips.
For information about participating farms and to access the Farm Day Trail Map, go towww.SantaBarbaraCountyFarmDay.com or call 805-901-0213. Also, mark your calendars for the ninth annual Ventura County Farm Day taking place November 6.