Corvus Farm & Ranch is a small ranch on the coast near Ano Nuevo raising chickens, rabbits, quail, guinea hens and other niche livestock.
We follow organic practices and challenge industrial agriculture. A veteran-owned and operated farm serving local residents through farmers markets, delivery services, restaurants, and direct sales.
08/31/2023
Eggs!
Corvus Farm has 4 egg varieties: quail, chicken, guinea, and duck. Only duck eggs are missing in these pics (the ladies are broody, and I'm letting them hatch babies). Guinea eggs are my new obsession. About 2/3 the size of a chicken egg, they are pyramid shaped with thick shells. The inside is rich and flavorful. I thought quail eggs were my favorite until I had guinea eggs.
Not many egg ranches offer 4 egg types for sale. I'm proud of what I've got going on here.
08/29/2023
Corvus Farm is now one of the few guinea fowl hatcheries in the country! This rare game bird is a challenge to come by year-round, and expensive. We've been raising guinea fowl for several years now, and we've had to ship in day-old birds from Pennsylvania. This transit is expensive and stressful for the babies. Now they're hatched and raised right here on the farm. They are calmer and more robust, and hatching saves us thousands of dollars a month in costs of keets and air freight charges, as well as gas and drive time to pick up birds at San Francisco Airport.
Hatching our own means a continuous supply. And it also means you now can order hatching eggs, day-old keets, pullets, and adult birds for your own flocks and farms. And beginning December 1, Corvus Farm guinea will be returning to the menues of some of the country's finest restaurants!
This milestone is much-needed good news for the farm! Stay tuned for more!
08/06/2023
This may not look like much to the average person, but these images are the result of more than a year of hard work, doubt, uncertainty, anxiety, hope, and fulfillment.
This week, we prepared 80 pounds of ground lamb for the very special contributors to our Private Membership Association. Each person donated to the farm to help keep us afloat through our leanest months. And to express our gratitude, members get a monthly bag of goodies from the farm. This month, it's almost 2.5 pounds of fresh ground lamb, 3 varieties of eggs, quail, fresh par-baked sourdough bread, and potatoes, fennel, and onions from and ! I am so very excited to bring produce from our closest neighbors to our subscription friends.
Little by little, we are building a successful farm and more robust coastalag community!.
07/19/2023
06/18/2023
I love this kid. He will always be my little boy, even though he's all grown up now. Vino and Grappa sure do love him. We've had an incredible week camping out, working with quail, meeting pigs and sheep and new dogs, and even doing a little tree work for our friends. I'm grateful for a father's day with my son.
06/18/2023
Thank you, Dad. I miss you every day, and I see you in so much of my life. Nothing I can write will ever capture all my feelings. I love you.
06/09/2023
I have a little story to tell about the past year, and it starts with saying what should be obvious: Corvus Farm is still in business. But it's been a rough row to hoe the past year. Between a catastrophic winter and external challenges with partners, it's not been easy.
The road to recovery is more than what is going on in the fields. It's also about remembering what made Corvus special. We raise niche products and sell them to demanding customers, in kitchens ranging from some of the world's best to some of the most important in the homes of people who just love great, local products. We made our reputation on quality of service, customer care, attention to detail, and collaboration with cooks and chefs.
We took a calculated risk with an eye toward expansion, and in the process lost that personal connection that was so integral to the farm's success. We will forge new relationships and partnerships more in line with our own ethos. And we'll make certain our very special products will receive nothing but the best attention and care in getting into the market place.
Thank you to all those who have reached out to me via text, phone calls, and messages to check on me, the farm, and our animals. I look forward to visiting you all in person soon.
05/06/2023
Farming is hard work. It's emotional work. It's done in isolation most of the time, with a few people given access to what's behind the curtain.
The biggest challenge, far and away, is discovering who is really in the fight with you; who will match your passion and intensity and help you succeed. A lot of people talk about success and working in concert with you, but very few actually mean it.
The past 7 months have been a struggle for reasons I won't get into now. But it came to a head, as I knew it would, this past week. I'm down, but not out. And I am so very grateful to the true friends, patrons, and partners who are here right now and continue helping this little dream move forward.
04/20/2023
I was an endurance cyclist in a past life. And this spot in Baker, California, has a special nostalgia for those who rode a certain race every year. This is the gateway to the last stages of that race, and the entry to quite possibly the worst road in America.
IFKYK
04/19/2023
Put a price on these lives.
Sheep. Quail. Chickens. Pigs.
Tell me their value in dollars. Is it per pound? Is it per life? Imagine raising them, caring for each of them for months, investing time and energy and love into them. Does your price change? Seriously. Does it go up or down with that investment?
Now imagine someone, many someones, saying "I'd buy your eggs/quail/lamb/pork/etc., but can you give me a deal on your price?"
Would you be insulted?
I am.
Tell me where you'd like me to cut costs on my operation to make it possible. Would you like me to lay off my workers? Not feed my animals? Not pay my rent, or electric, or water? What corners should I cut to help YOUR bottom line?
I wouldn't go into any store and say "I like your product, but not your price. Lower it." None of my chefs would let a patron come into a restaurant and say "I love this dish, but it's just pasta and cheese. I'll pay you half what you're charging."
They're my animals. They're alive. I raise them. Start to finish, I am here with them. Don't tell me you would love me to kill an animal for you, but only if it's 25 cents cheaper. The audacity. It doesn't insult me. It insults and devalues the lives of these beautiful creatures. Their lives have a monetary value, yes. But don't think for a moment that they are here to be haggled over.
My prices are more expensive than some, and less expensive than others. This is my livelihood and my joy and my passion. It also is my job. If you are more concerned with getting a bargain, then Costco is waiting for you. My farm, most certainly, is not.
03/25/2023
Yes, that's real. No, it isn't edited.
In between what seems like non-stop storm systems, I catch small glimpses on the farm that remind me things WILL settle down. I love my farm and the animals who live on it. When it is wet and muddy and miserable as it has been the last several weeks, it's easy to feel like a failure: you can focus on all the storm damage and trash and repairs and losses and unaccomplished tasks.
We are bracing for the next storm system Monday. But for today, there is sun.
Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Corvus Farm & Ranch posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.
A certified-organic, veteran-owned, and independently operated farm serving local restaurants and communities. We also provide CSA subscriptions starting in the Spring of 2018. Corvus Farm & Ranch began in 2011 as a small homestead. But the animals we raised, the eggs we gathered, and the produce we grew quickly came in high demand. So in 2017, we made the decision to move to beautiful Corralitos on the Monterey Bay. We moved onto a small ASCO-certified organic farm and vineyard, where the land owners have lived and worked since the mid-1990s. They were looking for a farmer to come onto the property and take their production to the next level, and the opportunity was simply too good to pass up.
In October of 2017, Corvus Farm & Ranch officially moved onto Deja View Farm and Vineyard, and we got to work under the mentorship of the owners. We brought rabbits, chickens, and ducks with us. And before long, the greenhouse was planted with seedlings ready for transplanting into the 8-acre garden area. A cover crop of vetch, clover, peas, beans, and mustard are all doing their winter jobs in fixing nitrogen and getting us ready to to plant.
What can you expect from Corvus Farm & Ranch?
First, a full market garden. Some of the produce you can expect to see include staples like cucumbers, tomatoes, squash, and peppers. But you also will get some interesting fruits and vegetables other farms don’t offer: African Horned Fruit, litchi tomatoes, Feijoa (Pineapple Guava), ground cherries, and some other surprises.
Second, we are adding to our flock of laying hens. If you’ve never had farm-fresh, pastured eggs, then you probably don’t know what an egg really tastes like! The coop and run were the first permanent installations on the property, and the ladies enjoy a huge building all to themselves, and have a 2400-square-foot run to scratch in when they aren’t able to be out on the full property. With coyotes and raptors, they need a lot of adult supervision!
Third, we are slowly and steadily repopulating the rabbitry. While meat production isn’t the primary purpose of the farm, we do believe there is a place for ethical breeding and raising on the farm. Rabbits and value-added products will be available on a limited basis.
Fourth, we are partnering with local restaurants in the South Bay where we can partner with chefs and owners as passionate about food as we are. In fact, some of the things we are growing, like red currant spoon tomatoes and Russian River Merlot Amaranth, are being grown specifically for a chef requesting them.
Finally, 2018 will give everyone an opportunity to see what an amazing space we have here. We will be joining a local farmers market to bring our produce directly to you, as well as offering a CSA for those wanting a weekly subscription. We look forward to welcoming you to the farm for both CSA pick-up as well as special events and farm dinners, or just to see how a small organic farm and vineyard work. We look forward to growing for you soon!
