George Kibby has been running South Coast Farms with his wife, Rebecca Kibby, since 1996, providing a local option for fresh produce, especially strawberries.
But lately, due to unprecedented inclement weather, a recent move and the lasting effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the farm is looking a bit different this year. It’s had to downsize tremendously, both in crops and employees. South Coast Farm, as it grapples with financial struggles, had to lay off a third of its employees in Dec. 2023 for the first time since opening over 25 years ago.
Situated in San Juan Capistrano off of Ortega Highway, the farm specializes in strawberries for the community. Most of South Coast’s harvest is typically sold at farmer’s markets across Orange County and at a stand in Dana Point. These operate in the spring and summer months.
Because strawberries can’t grow in the cold, the farm typically closes during the winter and reopens in February, said George Kibby. However, this year, the farm may not open again until the summer.
“We are limping through this with the hope all farmers have of a better year to come,” said Kibby. “Our losses these past few years, losses due to bad weather and bad decisions on my part, have really eaten into our cash reserves and threatened our ability to continue farming.”
South Coast’s harvest has been delayed by about 45 to 60 days compared to other farms, mainly because of colder weather patterns in the area, Kibby said. Unlike many other Orange County farms, South Coast does not have the benefit of alluvial soils, which is extremely fertile soil that is typically found closer to the ocean. Due to South Coast’s location in the Santa Ana mountains, the soil is rockier and freezes easier.
Last winter and spring, Southern California experienced a very unusually wet year. Freezes in late winter “wreaked havoc” on the Kibbys’ strawberry crops, he said, costing about $180,000 in losses.
And then there was the flash flood in…
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