Five Generations of Land Stewardship
There’s an anecdote about Nuss family patriarch Dave Nuss that effectively characterizes the family’s relationship to their farm.
“I have cousins who have said to my sons, ‘You know, when your dad was little, he was always in the backyard playing with his tractors, and he’s still playing with his tractors,’” Dave said. “I wanted to do what my dad and grandpa did.”
Like his father, Tim Nuss now upholds the family tradition of farming, extending Nuss Farms into its fifth generation of producing a variety of produce and row crops—from corn and basil to watermelons and garlic. The diversified operation allows the family to rotate crops and strengthen the quality of their land.
“By having crops in different plant families, it allows us to cycle plants and have complementary rotational pieces,” Tim said. “One crop might be a nitrogen fixer while another uses nitrogen. So, being strategic there to have natural rotations for what we’re growing.”
Dave agrees. “Any time you can do things to improve the soil, you could have this healthy soil, healthy food, healthy people concept, I think that makes a lot of sense,” he said.
Tim refers to the farm’s efforts as “stacking conservation practices,” combining conservative principles like no-till farming, cover crops and livestock integration to develop a balance of give-and-take with the land to ensure health and sustainability.
Value of a Knowledgeable Ag Lender
Their crop diversity means commodity values can vary widely. For Tim, having a lender who understands concepts like crop value is critical—which is why the family partners with American AgCredit.
“As we go from lower value crops to higher value crops, the cost to grow those crops goes up quite a bit,” Tim said. “A lender who understands that aspect and cash flow for a farm is super important. We’re able to get an increase in our line of credit to allow us to grow these high-value crops and become more profitable long term.”
The farm also uses Terrain, a free program for customers of American AgCredit. Terrain’s team of top economists and analysts provides farmers with information on how economic factors and trends affect markets and industries.
“I really think [the Nuss family] combine the best of California agriculture, taking a generational farm which benefits from the knowledge that’s passed down, but then also being incredibly innovative, whether it’s through the crops they grow or the different ag tech solutions they adopt on their operation,” said Matt Woolf, Ph.D., a specialty crops research analyst with Terrain.
As the family plans for the future, one thing remains consistent: their unwavering commitment to the land and to each other.
“Getting to interact with my boys and growing the things I enjoy growing, it’s the only thing I’ve ever wanted to do,” Dave said.
