Why do I call myself The Artichoke Evangelist?
Why am I linked with chain saws?

Let's start at the beginning...

I graduated from Stanford and then went to UC Davis and studied viticulture and ecology. After a job Sonoma Vineyards, I went to Santa Barbara looking for a vineyard. I got diverted. With my brother and sister, I bought a vegetable farm in Lompoc. I married Trish shortly afterwards, and started a family.

Barry was born in 1977. He graduated from Occidental College in 2000 with a degree in Music History and Philosophy. After graduating, Barry taught English in Romania and Istanbul, Turkey. He is studying international business law at Brooklyn Law School.  

Monica was born in 1979. She completed her masters degree at Stanford in 2002. After serving the Peace Corps in Cameroon, she is teaching school in Nambia in the world teach program.

Trish helps at Baroda Farms. In 2001, she was awarded Lompoc Valley Woman of the Year for her volunteer work.

In 1984, my brother and I introduced a new artichoke. We were the first in the world to produce a commercially viable artichoke grown from seed. It had a purple color. Buyers complained. I said it was not a birthmark, but a beauty mark like a "Purple Blush." I spent years promoting the artichokes with trips back east. We eventually did a long-term deal with Dole.


Santa Barbara County has been trying to clear the Santa Ynez River for flood control. The City of Lompoc discharges its sewer effluent into the normally dry Santa Ynez River. The willow forest downstream reduces the flood capacity. We would flood an average of once a year. The county got frustrated with the bureaucracy of Fish and Game, and Fish and Wildlife. The board of supervisors held a meeting on my ranch and voted unanimously to mow the willows because of the emergency. A few friends and I went to the river with our chain saws. The sheriff threatened to arrest the Fish and Game if they interfered. Fish and Game cited me, went to court and lost.

I have been farmer; Agri-Businessman of the Year; a Board Member for the California Artichoke Advisory Board, grower-shipper, and farm bureaus; an active member of Rotary; and the Boy Scouts of America Council Vice President. I helped build a new Babe Ruth baseball field, and continue to farm 1,200 acres in the Lompoc Valley.