Farmstand Tour of Santa Ynez Valley

​The land here is fertile. Around every bend in the road, you’ll find a farm, an orchard, or a field of alfalfa. And there’s good reason for that—the history of agriculture in SYV dates back to the early 19th century with traditional agriculture like cattle, dairy, barley, beans, and sugar beets being grown here. 

Although the diary and sugar beet farms are long gone, (the last dairy farm on Baseline closed in 2003), you will still see plenty of produce stands sprinkled around the valley offering an abundance of fruits and vegetables.

On a recent Saturday, I toured most of the local farmstands to peruse their summer bounty. It was a lovely way to spend the day and an activity I highly recommend if you love to cook (like I do) and are always hunting for exceptional produce. This would also make a fantastic non-drinking activity in the valley. A lot of the attention in our area is so focused on wine tasting that it is easy to forget there’s plenty to do here other than drink.

So get out there and enjoy some just-pulled-from-the-dirt goodness and support our local farmers! 

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