Celebrate Seasonal Produce & Flowers with Full Belly Farm
Situated amongst the rolling hills of the Capay Valley, Full Belly Farm celebrates the beauty of organic produce, seasonal eating and California agriculture.
Dru Rivers, one of the owners of Full Belly Farm, was born in rural Vermont – but once she made her way to California, she fell in love and never left. Together with her husband, four children, and eleven grandchildren, Dru runs Full Belly Farm, a 400-acre certified organic farm in Northwestern Yolo County. Bolstered by a team of 80 full-time farm workers, the family grows about 80 different crops, along with an ever-growing assortment of cut flowers.
The secret’s in the soil at this farm
Healthy soil, as the team at Fully Belly Farm has always understood, is the foundation of a thriving farm. The farm has been certified organic since opening in 1984, long before conversations about regenerative agriculture and soil health became mainstream. “We have been certified organic for all 40 years. Farm worker health and safety was a really big important part for us. Also, soil is one of the most important parts of all farming and really taking care of our soil as organic stewards is important to us.”
The farm’s commitment to soil health extends beyond organic practices to include complementary sustainable measures to improve the long term health of the land. She explains, “Farming organically really makes us think hard about being sustainable farmers.”
At Full Belly Farm, those efforts include planting cover crops, spreading compost throughout the fields and maintaining hedgerows that attract beneficial insects and natural predators. “We’re always kind of trying to be very cognizant of how we can be really sustainable,” Dru says.
Celebrating seasonal eating
For Dru, and most other farmers, eating seasonally comes naturally. Smiling, she says, “Well, you know – that’s just when the peak flavor is.” While this might be blatantly obvious to farm families, that’s not always the case for consumers. The easiest way to make this case, however, is simply to get people to experience the difference – to taste locally grown, seasonal produce at its peak.
To do that Full Belly Farm has built a dedicated following at Farmers Markets, stretching from Sacramento and the Bay Area to Mendocino, and also offers weekly CSA boxes filled with fresh produce. However, the farm’s connection to the community extends far beyond the market stand.
From March through November, the farm hosts monthly farm dinners at their picturesque event barn. The night starts with appetizers and a farmer-led tour of the property. Then, guests settle in for a carefully curated meal, designed to showcase the farm’s freshest ingredients.
The dinners are so popular that they regularly sell out in advance – and even inspired a gorgeous cookbook (released in March 2026) featuring recipes from past dinners.
For a more casual evening visit to the farm, guests can attend Full Belly’s monthly pizza nights, featuring wood-fired pizzas topped with seasonal produce, garden-fresh salads and even homemade ice cream. Afterward, visitors can browse the farm stand for just-picked produce and favorites from the Full Belly Farm kitchen.
The importance of community
Dru believes that a farm’s value lies beyond food production, and sees events as an opportunity to further agricultural education and create a stronger community. In addition to monthly dinners and pizza nights, the farm hosts a bounty of classes and events – from field trips and group farm tours to wreath-making workshops and camping in the walnut orchard.
The biggest event of the season, however, is the Hoes Down Harvest Festival – a charitable event celebrating the beauty of agriculture and rural life. “We do a big festival in the fall called the Hoes Down Harvest Festival – we get a huge crowd,” Dru enthuses. The family-friendly event includes hands-on workshops, guided bike rides and tours, flower design classes, storytelling sessions, friendly farm animals, a silent auction and more. Last year, the festival raised 100,000 to benefit local and statewide organizations that support sustainable agriculture and rural communities.
What grows at Fully Belly Farm
With over 80 different types of certified organic seasonal fruits and vegetables, variety is the spice of life at Full Belly Farm throughout the year. Calling out a few customer favorites, Dru notes, “Some of our top crops are fresh tomatoes – heirloom tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, a whole gamut of tomatoes. Melons are one of our top crops, too. We probably grow 12 different varieties of really yummy melons all summer.”
One of Full Belly’s newer – and most popular – crops is organic cut flowers. Over 100 different varieties are sold at Farmers Markets, used at the farm’s flower design classes, and can even be included as an add-on to weekly CSA boxes.
In addition to fresh produce, Full Belly Farm offers a number of secondary products including jams, pickled and preserved produce, dried fruit, hot sauce – even organic yarn and sheepskins!
Visit Full Belly Farm
Dru and the team at Full Belly hope you’ll make the trip to their Yolo County farm. “It’s a beautiful rural area – and it’s just a glorious place to be.”
Ready to join the Full Belly family? Experience one of their unforgettable monthly dinners, celebrate the beauty of organic agriculture and rural life at the Hoes Down Harvest Festival, or simply request a farm tour.
Learn more about upcoming events at Full Belly Farm | Subscribe to the CSA program | Find Full Belly Farm at farmer’s markets
Email events@fullbellyfarm.com to request a farm tour
Women in Ag
Over the last four decades Dru Rivers has helped shape California’s organic farming movement through her leadership, stewardship, and innovation at Full Belly Farm. Her commitment to soil health, farmworker well-being, and sustainable farming practices has demonstrated that agriculture can be both environmentally responsible and economically successful.
Learn more about the ways that women are shaping the future of food
Visiting Yolo County? Check out a few of our favorite agritourism destinations!
Article and photography by Hilary Rance.