Meet Dan Bozzo!  Dan is a third generation plum and kiwifruit farmer in Gridley, California. We caught up with him and chatted about making prunes on his family farm!

CA GROWN: What are you doing today? 

Dan: During this time of the year, I manage the fields.  And today, we are actually harvesting our prunes. We have someone who harvests the prunes by shaking them off the tree, collecting them in a bin, and then brings them to our prune dehydrating plant.  Tomorrow, the prunes will be dipped, washed, and then further dehydrated to give them those adorable dimples.

CA GROWN: What do you grow?

Dan: Plums and kiwi-fruit.

CA GROWN: What is your favorite thing about farming?

Dan: I am my own boss, and I also like the ability to work outside.  You know what else?  The commute isn’t bad either.  My family was in agriculture, and I majored in it at school.  It was natural for me to go in this direction.

CA GROWN: How do you contribute to the community?

Dan: We hire seasonal employees.  We will hire about 40 people to help us out throughout the season.  So I guess you can say that we create jobs for the community.  We also buy everything locally. From our cleaning supplies to our fertilizer and our equipment – it is all bought locally from our community.

CA GROWN: What drew you into the farming profession?

Dan: I was fortunate enough to grow up in the farming community with a farming family.  My brother and I are actually third generation prune farmers.  We went to school, and when we came back; we decided to stay in the business and continue operating the family farm.

CA GROWN: When you are not farming, what are your hobbies or pastimes?

Dan: Finding downtime is always a struggle when you are farming!  However, when I have the time, I really like to fish.  I have two grandsons now and I enjoy fishing with them.  I also enjoy traveling with my wife.  We do not travel as much as we would like, but we hope to eventually turn this operation over to the next generation, so we will have more time to travel together. 

CA GROW: What advice would you give to someone who wants to become a farmer?

Dan: Well, farming today is much more complicated.  You need to be more well-rounded.  For example, the regulations are tough, and the record keeping is complicated.  My advice is to be prepared to handle the business side of things if you want to become a farmer.