Arata Farms
![Two people, including Mike Arata, pose behind crates of pomegranates at Arata Farms' stand at Foodwise's Ferry Plaza Farmers Market in San Francisco.](jpg/arata-farms-pomegranates-1000x667.jpg)
People
Michael Arata and 1 full-time employee
Farmland
30 acres in Byron, about 60 miles to San Francisco
About
Farmer Mike Arata has been farming for over 50 years. He now owns and manages Arata Farms in Contra Costa County. Both of his grandparents immigrated from Italy and began farming in 1918, making Mike a third-generation farmer. Mike practices conventional farming while integrating organic practices when possible. From the warm-summer Mediterranean climate of Byron, California, Arata Farms brings a variety of fruit to the farmers market, including plums, cherries, and their longest-standing offerings of figs and peaches. Some of their peaches were picked from trees that were planted over 50 years ago.