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| CGF members and guests gather for Farm Tour 2008. |
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| Each participant received a Farm Tour event packet and bright purple shopping bag. |
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| Farm Tour guests pause for a quick photo. |
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| Matt Burrows, CGF Board Member, chats with tour attendees. |
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| Brian Schmidt, CGF Legislative Advocate for Santa Clara County, assisting guests. |
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| (l. to r.) CGF's Executive Director Cynthia D'Agosta, Meridith and Jeff Segall. |
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| (l. to r.) CGF Board Members Jim Foran, Sue LaTourette, guest and Pete LaTourette. |
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| CGF's Mary Davey (c.) with Farm Tour guests. |
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| Get on board! |
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| Once underway, Brian Schmidt provided an overview of the day's itinerary. |
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| Local grower Andy Mariani (r.) welcomes Farm Tour 2008. |
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| Tour attendees sampling a variety of Andy's Orchard fruit. |
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| (l. to r.) Craige Edgerton, Tom Jordan and Mary Davey. |
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| Andy explains his method for growing fruit to perfection. |
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| Farm Tour guests were invited to pick and eat fruit directly from the tree. |
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| Andy's philosophy is to let nothing come between his fruit and your taste buds. |
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| Ripened to perfection, peaches like these drop easily into ready hands on daily picks. |
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| Under hazy skies, the Tour's next stop was near Carneros Creek off Hwy 25. |
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| A stroll through Mission Organics' produce fields in southern Santa Clara County. |
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| Dan Solomon, Mission Organic's Ranch Manager welcomes Farm Tour 2008. |
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| Craige Edgerton, Silicon Valley Land Conservancy, emphasizes the need to preserve farmland as an essential part of our valley's landscape. |
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| CGF's Brian Schmidt spoke of the spread of urban development and its threat to farmland. |
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| Bob Siegfried, Santa Clara Valley Water District, emphasized the importance of efficient use of our valley's water resources. |
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| Dan spoke of the challenges faced by local organic growers. |
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| (l. to r.) Dan Solomon, Brian Schmidt, Craige Edgerton. |
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| Dan with CGF's Mary Davey and other Farm Tour guests. |
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| Mission Organics' Robby Long invites guests to help themselves to a truckload of produce. |
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| Farm Tour's next stop was in the southern foothills of Santa Clara County. |
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| Lark Burkhart of the SCC Open Space Authority welcomes Farm Tour 2008. |
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| On OSA's Doan Ranch preserve, Farm Tour attendees line up for lunch. |
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| Pat Congdon, OSA's General Manager, spoke of the need to preserve ranch land as an intregal part of our valley's open space. |
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| Third-generation cattle rancher Don Salacci shared his life-long work to preserve his family-owned ranch in Santa Clara Valley. |
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| (l. to r.) Bob Siegfried, Don Salacci, Ed Tewes. |
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| OSA's Pat Congdon and CGF's Brian Schmidt. |
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| After leaving OSA's Doan Ranch preserve, our Farm Tour route continued through an area explored by De Anza during his visit to Santa Clara Valley in June 1776. |
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| Our final stop was at the family-owned Thomas Kruse Winery. |
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| Farm Tour arrivals nibbled on fruit and crackers along with their wine tasting. |
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| Smiling staff member invites guests to sample a variety of Thomas Kruse wines. |
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| Tom Kruse asks for a show of hands of those who enjoy a glass of good wine with dinner. |
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| Tom emphasized that the economic pressures on family-owned vineyards are equally as great as those faced by our valley's small ranchers and growers. |
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| So after a few glasses of Tom's excellent wine, several Tour guests helped increase his share of local revenue by buying bottles and cases of Thomas Kruse wine. |
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| Meridith Segall with a glass of Thomas Kruse. |
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| A final toast at the close of a most memorable day. Special thanks to Committee for Green Foothills for hosting Farm Tour 2008. |
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