Rancho Padre Farms

Rancho Padre Farms, located in Exeter, California, is owned and operated by Robert 'Bobby' Todd and his wife Jovita. Bobby transitioned from a seven-year career as a high school English teacher to focus full-time on the family farm, while Jovita works as a registered nurse. The farm is situated in the agriculturally rich Central San Joaquin Valley, a region renowned for its stone fruit and citrus production. The farm spans 27.5 acres, with 9.5 acres dedicated to certified organic summer stone fruit and over 18 acres to conventionally farmed citrus.

Rancho Padre Farms employs a split farming approach, maintaining certified organic practices for their summer stone fruit while using conventional methods for their citrus crops. The organic certification is provided by A Bee Organic, an accredited certifying agency of the United States Department of Food and Agriculture. The shift to conventional farming for citrus is necessitated by the threat of the Asian Citrus Psyllid, which requires the application of materials not permissible under organic standards.

Exeter, where the farm is located, is located along the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in Tulare County, about one hour northeast of Bakersfield and 30 minutes from Sequoia National Forest. Tulare County has recently become California's leading county in agricultural production, surpassing Fresno County. Bobby and Jovita Todd have three children: Robert, Danica, and Brandon.