Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
How a California Couple Transformed Dead Land into a Farming Oasis
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 6 years ago on
May 8, 2019

Share

MOORPARK — John and Molly Chester, a filmmaker and a chef, had made a decision that many urbanites only fantasize about: They decided to leave their life in Los Angeles and start a farm that would function in harmony with nature. Their family and friends thought they were crazy, but they were determined. They’d bought 200 acres of land 50 miles away from downtown LA, in Moorpark, and they’d found an investor to fund the adventure.

The only problem? The land was dead and they knew nothing about farming.

Eight years later, visiting the idyllic and suspiciously lovely smelling Apricot Lane Farms — where they grow over 100 types of vegetables, 75 types of fruit, from avocado to citrus, and raise animals including cows, sheep, chickens, ducks, guinea hens and a pig named Emma — you’d hardly know either of those things.

But the Chesters have pulled the curtain back on what it took to get there in the documentary “The Biggest Little Farm,” which opens in select theaters Friday. The film, which John Chester directed, does not gloss over the hardships, the doubt and the occasional death that came with their dream of not using chemicals on the crops or drugs on the animals in this intimate look at how they made a biodynamic farm out of nothing.

John Chester said it’s “life affirming” to go back and watch how far they’ve come. “It was about continuing to move forward in the presence of great failure and great embarrassment,” he said.

Things Started to Change: The Farm Was Working

They didn’t set out to make a film initially. John Chester had left the business behind, and, besides, he figured, they weren’t even experts. Still, being a documentarian at heart, he had the itch to film nonetheless and starting amassing footage of everything (mostly failures). But then five years in, things started to change: The farm was actually working.

“We saw the return of so much wildlife and we saw pest and predator relationships start to balance things out. … I knew at that moment that we had a very unique opportunity to tell a story.” — John Chester

“We saw the return of so much wildlife and we saw pest and predator relationships start to balance things out, and I was able to capture those things,” John Chester said. “I knew at that moment that we had a very unique opportunity to tell a story.”

The technique employed at Apricot Lane Farms is something known as biomimicry, which basically relies on the idea that any problem can be solved through nature. The secret to everything, they say, is in the soil and the cover crops that rebuilt the land and preserved the water.

“The food we grow truly is special,” said Molly Chester. “It’s very nutrient-dense and flavorful because we focus on soil development.”

The produce, meat and eggs from the farm are sold at local groceries and at various farmers’ markets, from Calabasas to Santa Monica.

They Hear the Same Question Often After Screenings

The Chesters have already seen a raised profile for themselves and the farm through film festivals like Telluride, Toronto and Sundance, and are readying themselves for even more recognition and interest as audiences meet the film’s stars like Emma the pig, the guardian dogs, Maggie the cow and others.

In fact, they hear the same question often after screenings of the film: “Is it real?”

“We’re not the first to do this. We’re mimicking many mentors who have done this far longer than we have. We’re just maybe the first in this neighborhood.” — John Chester

They do offer private tours, including some for children, but as a working farm, it’s not open to the public every day. And they’re renovating space that eventually will be usable for farm-to-table dinners and movie nights. John Chester said that the tours are a way to, “inspire people to support what we do and what other farms like us do.”

“We’re not the first to do this,” he said. “We’re mimicking many mentors who have done this far longer than we have. We’re just maybe the first in this neighborhood.”

As for whether or not they’d recommend following in their footsteps, both say yes, but with some caveats.

“I would recommend it on a smaller scale and not with 250 things,” John Chester said. “You can find as much joy in a quarter acre as you can on 200 acres. You have to design the farm and where it is based around the life you want to live. Learn from other farmers, volunteer, use their mistakes as your lessons. That’s something I wish we would have gotten to do more of. Less pressure, more time under somebody else’s dime.”

DON'T MISS

If You Want to Ski Affordably Next Season, Buy Now

DON'T MISS

Dog Found in Horrid Conditions Now Seeks Loving Home

DON'T MISS

Trump Takes Aim at California Six Times in 24 Hours

DON'T MISS

Elon Musk Sells X to His Own xAI for $33 Billion in All-Stock Deal

DON'T MISS

US Naval Academy Ends Affirmative Action in Admissions

DON'T MISS

Elon Musk Backtracks on a Legally Questionable Plan to Pay Voters

DON'T MISS

Appeals Court Clears Way for DOGE to Keep Operating at USAID

DON'T MISS

Trump Pledges US Aid for Asia Quake Despite Former Official Saying System in ‘Shambles’

DON'T MISS

Is Fresno Political Consultant Alex Tavlian Behind Election Attack Mailer?

DON'T MISS

Gronk-a-Mania Set to Run Wild Over WrestleMania Weekend

UP NEXT

Cal State Automatically Admitting High School Students With Good Grades

UP NEXT

California Democratic Lawmaker Exaggerated His Record as a Police Officer

UP NEXT

Utah Becomes the First State to Ban Fluoride in Public Drinking Water

UP NEXT

Wilmer Flores’ 3-Run Homer in the 9th Inning Propels Giants to Victory Over Reds

UP NEXT

Trump Challenges California on Transgender Parental Notification

UP NEXT

Fresno Mayor Praises a State Bill That Would Speed In-Fill Housing

UP NEXT

Feds Revive Funding for the Tiny Delta Smelt Trump Hates

UP NEXT

Will This Bill Be the End of California’s Housing vs. Environment Wars?

UP NEXT

State Audit: CPUC Needs to Boost Oversight of Energy Efficiency Programs We’re Paying For

UP NEXT

Democrats’ Popularity Plummets, yet Midterm Prospects Remain Strong

Elon Musk Sells X to His Own xAI for $33 Billion in All-Stock Deal

16 hours ago

US Naval Academy Ends Affirmative Action in Admissions

17 hours ago

Elon Musk Backtracks on a Legally Questionable Plan to Pay Voters

17 hours ago

Appeals Court Clears Way for DOGE to Keep Operating at USAID

17 hours ago

Trump Pledges US Aid for Asia Quake Despite Former Official Saying System in ‘Shambles’

17 hours ago

Is Fresno Political Consultant Alex Tavlian Behind Election Attack Mailer?

17 hours ago

Gronk-a-Mania Set to Run Wild Over WrestleMania Weekend

18 hours ago

Federal Judge Blocks Trump From Dismantling Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

18 hours ago

St. Agnes’ Newest Robot Promises Less Invasive Surgeries, Faster Recoveries

18 hours ago

California Food Banks Brace for Funding Cuts, and Not Only From the Trump Administration

19 hours ago

If You Want to Ski Affordably Next Season, Buy Now

While the slopes may still be open across much of North America, it’s time to think about next season. The major passes, including Epi...

29 minutes ago

29 minutes ago

If You Want to Ski Affordably Next Season, Buy Now

Punkin, a 1-2-year-old dog with a tough past of living in a hoarding situation, is looking for a patient, understanding home with another dog to help him adjust and thrive. (Mell's Mutts)
49 minutes ago

Dog Found in Horrid Conditions Now Seeks Loving Home

57 minutes ago

Trump Takes Aim at California Six Times in 24 Hours

16 hours ago

Elon Musk Sells X to His Own xAI for $33 Billion in All-Stock Deal

17 hours ago

US Naval Academy Ends Affirmative Action in Admissions

17 hours ago

Elon Musk Backtracks on a Legally Questionable Plan to Pay Voters

17 hours ago

Appeals Court Clears Way for DOGE to Keep Operating at USAID

17 hours ago

Trump Pledges US Aid for Asia Quake Despite Former Official Saying System in ‘Shambles’

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend