https://www.stonelandcompany.net/home daily 1.0 2022-02-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61f465ebc2d5967f754a3eae/9f0344cf-0c69-47d0-9297-c6a0bf5b8680/IMG_1862.jpeg Home - Stewards of the Land “Good farmers, who take seriously their duties as stewards of Creation and of their land's inheritors, contribute to the welfare of society in more ways than society usually acknowledges, or even knows. These farmers produce valuable goods, of course; but they also conserve soil, they conserve water, they conserve wildlife, they conserve open space, they conserve scenery.” ― Wendell Berry, Bringing it to the Table: On Farming and Food https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61f465ebc2d5967f754a3eae/36bc0bd4-3c04-4ba0-8afa-ce61f2a6afa1/Jack+Stone+Working.JPG Home - History of Stone Land Company We are a 4th generation family farm located in the most fertile land in the world: the San Joaquin Valley. Here is our story: https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61f465ebc2d5967f754a3eae/f5243dd0-9fc6-406b-874f-22b65077fda3/65299856092__A07A1816-30BE-4567-BB37-925F4860B6C0.fullsizerender.jpg Home - Down on the Farm All about what crops we farm. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61f465ebc2d5967f754a3eae/41ac1724-91ba-46dc-a464-d8a5525c2b22/Christmas+Tree+Raising.jpg Home - Community Outreach https://www.stonelandcompany.net/family daily 0.75 2022-02-23 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61f465ebc2d5967f754a3eae/ecbf82a6-ce05-432a-8bd1-9f921d315db7/doc01721620220208093247_001.jpg SLC Origin - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61f465ebc2d5967f754a3eae/398a3cf4-b7ad-48e6-b8a5-97fc2382adea/doc01720920220208092908_001.jpg SLC Origin - The Early Years Lawrence Melville (Stoney) Stone L.M. Stone was born in Michigan in 1888. He moved to Corcoran, CA in the San Joaquin Valley in 1913, as a land developer working for the Kings County Development Company. His role was to develop the land on the west side of the valley for agricultural use. He would drill wells for irrigation, plant an array of crops and set up demonstration farms to see what crops could be grown in the region. The main objective was to prepare the land to be sold as farmsteads. He had two children, Dortha and Jack born in 1913 and 1917, respectively. His son Jack would go on to create J.G. Stone Land Company. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61f465ebc2d5967f754a3eae/7110b8a9-f903-4092-a392-d28acf2ef69d/doc01718920220207110558_001.jpg SLC Origin - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61f465ebc2d5967f754a3eae/47d7f2db-2030-42e2-a7bb-40564c5e271c/doc01719420220207122949_001.jpg SLC Origin - Original Map showing the parcels for Kings County Development Company (red boxes). https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61f465ebc2d5967f754a3eae/465622dd-d6d1-4ea3-9f96-29a91a6308f0/doc01721220220208093118_001.jpg SLC Origin - Jack Stone-The Early Years Jack Stone was born on November 11, 1917. He went on to both University of California Davis and University of California Berkeley after high school to study engineering. After he finished his schooling, he began to farm in 1940 near the city of Five Points, CA. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Jack decided to serve his country by joining the army in 1941. After basic training, he went straight into the Engineer’s Officer Training School, eventually joining the Army Corps of Engineers. He was sent to France, where he helped build bridges, prisoner camps and a plethora of other infrastructure that was needed for the war effort in the European theater. He fought with General Patton’s 3rd army in the Battle of the Bulge, as it was all hands-on deck. After World War II ended, he retired from the military as a Major in the Army Corps of Engineers. He moved back to Kings County and recreated the J.G. Stone Land Company. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61f465ebc2d5967f754a3eae/1f730f0d-43d4-4b5f-bd82-0abdc91aaae4/doc01720820220208092812_001.jpg SLC Origin - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61f465ebc2d5967f754a3eae/1ad5f557-1d3d-41fb-ba95-87285cb57a6b/doc01722320220208100654_001.jpg SLC Origin - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61f465ebc2d5967f754a3eae/c8673550-91d7-405c-824e-696bf3ea11e7/doc01721420220208093202_001.jpg SLC Origin - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61f465ebc2d5967f754a3eae/9afdf1e9-3221-4fdd-b980-6bd64438698a/doc01722120220208100120_001.jpg SLC Origin - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61f465ebc2d5967f754a3eae/9f483e67-bcdc-4a7c-aa79-aa87c7bf7581/doc01722520220208102659_001.jpg SLC Origin - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61f465ebc2d5967f754a3eae/2c755027-c010-4fc8-b59f-4f1345c20501/doc01721520220208093226_001.jpg SLC Origin - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61f465ebc2d5967f754a3eae/39988f32-e4a9-4c40-b45d-c740ff06e8aa/doc01722620220208102838_001.jpg SLC Origin - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61f465ebc2d5967f754a3eae/57b2cef7-7b80-486a-9eae-632a01e734c1/doc01719020220207110650_001.jpg SLC Origin - Stone Land Company is Born In 1946, Jack began to farm in Kings County and he called it the J.G. Stone Land Company. He married his wife Hilda and had his two sons Bill and John in 1946 and 1947, respectively. He took some advice from his father and found some good ground that needed a lot of work. He was up for the task and took it head on. The early years were far from profitable. The amount of leveling that needed to be done was intense. He farmed mostly grains and cotton at this time, solely off well water. He purchased his home ranch of 400 acres in 1951, all rangeland for cattle. Shortly after, times were tough and he had to sell one of his properties on the west side of the valley in order to make ends meet, he would eventually repurchase that property in 1974. The 1970’s is when the ranch started to turn things around. Due to the restriction on the amount of cotton acres one could farm, he purchased a property along the Kings River in Lemoore, CA to increase his cotton acres. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61f465ebc2d5967f754a3eae/528061d7-72c6-4ef3-8613-d63bfd09f02c/IMG_0658.jpg SLC Origin - Central Valley Project-Game Changer In 1963, the aqueduct was created in the region. Jack was able to lay a pipeline to the aqueduct and start to use some of the surface water, which greatly increased production. After graduating from Cal Poly University, Bill joined his dad on the farm with his brother John following the same path after a year in the National Guard in 1971. He later passed away in 1976 in an aviation accident. By 1970, Westlands Irrigation District was able to put the infrastructure in to allow water from the Central Valley Project to be used across all of his acres out at our current location. It changed how farming was done altogether, now with both good quality water and great soil, it allowed the farm to diversify. It also helped that the grain price greatly improved during this period. Stone Land began to grow crops for seed such as lettuce, eggplant, peppers and watermelons. The addition of his sons to the farm allowed Jack to get involved with a number of different committees. He was president of the Westland’s Water District and president of the National Cotton Council. He was also a president of the Western Cotton Growers Association. He became instrumental in fighting to help farmers. By this time, he was convinced that the ranch was going to be a truly family run operation with longevity, so in 1982, he dropped the J.G. and began to call it Stone Land Company. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61f465ebc2d5967f754a3eae/e06895b0-7f43-427d-ac87-3b96fe4f25c8/IMG_2187.jpg SLC Origin - Stone Land Company - To Present Bill Stone married his wife Ann and had four daughters: Amie, Sally, Christy and Jackie. He continually worked besides his father to expand and grow the business. In 2000, Tony Azevedo who is married to Bill’s oldest daughter Amie, began helping out on the farm. He had helped start a spraying business that had expanded into airplane, helicopter and ground rigs: Blair. In 2005, Tony took over as the ranch manager and helped drive it into diversification and advancement in farming technologies such as GPS guided tractors and drip irrigation systems. His wife Amie, and her sister Sally continue to run the office portion of Stone Land. Currently Bill has fourteen grandkids, many of them having remained interested in continuing the family’s farming legacy. https://www.stonelandcompany.net/communityoutreach daily 0.75 2022-02-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61f465ebc2d5967f754a3eae/41ac1724-91ba-46dc-a464-d8a5525c2b22/Christmas+Tree+Raising.jpg Community Outreach - Members of Local Boards: Board Member Lemoore Canal and Irrigation District Board Member Stratford Irrigation District Chairman of the Jacob Rancho Irrigation District Board Members of the Upper San Jose Water District Chairman of the Excelsior Kings Resource Conservation District Committee Member of Westlands Water Irrigation District Committee Member of South Fork Kings GSA Committee Member of Strategic Planning Committee for San Joaquin Memorial High School Chairman of California Ranchers Cotton Oil Board Member of California Cotton Growers and Ginners Association Chairman of San Joaquin Valley Cotton Growers Assocation Board Members of Mary Immaculate School Board Member of the California Onion and Garlic Association https://www.stonelandcompany.net/stewards daily 0.75 2022-02-23 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61f465ebc2d5967f754a3eae/93ff6f47-bb18-4859-a8e6-3213c309f854/IMG_0673.jpg Stewardship - Water Conservation Water is the vital resource for San Joaquin Valley farmers. Efficient use of water has gone to the forefront when it comes to planning for the future. We began implementing drip irrigation in 2002, since then we have put over 95% of the ranch into sub-surface drip tubing or surface drip for the tree crops. This practice reduces evaporation loss to the environment and has allowed us to more efficiently irrigate the crops directly to the root zones. The drip irrigation coupled with soil neutron probes, to monitor the amount of moisture in the soil profile, has allowed us to drastically reduce the amount of water applied to produce a viable crop. Recently in 2017, we implemented automated irrigation over 3000 acres. All wells and filter stations across these acres are controlled remotely via the internet in order to efficiently use the water for irrigation. We currently use the system to shut down during peak energy usage periods in order to reduce the strain on the power grid. Adapting to change is important at Stone Land Company and we pride ourselves on stepping up to the challenge. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61f465ebc2d5967f754a3eae/b50c2974-904f-4b92-8062-f71905922268/IMG_0674.jpg Stewardship - Reducing Greenhouse Gases Stone Land Company is dedicated to reducing our GHG emissions. We have currently replaced most of our fleet of heavy trucks with newer trucks that have systems in place to reduce the pollution from the exhaust. We have replaced many of our older tractors as well with Tier 2 engines to more eco-friendly Tier 4 engines. In California, we follow the California Air Resources Board’s plan to reduce our overall carbon footprint. The diesel irrigation motors have all been replaced with electric variable frequency drive motors. Solar power has also been implemented on our ranches, with the generation of over 1 megawatt of power, the majority of the power on our largest ranch comes from renewable hydroelectric power. Dust is one major problem that we have with regard to air quality in our region, to combat this our dirt roads are grated and sprayed with a salt solution that binds the top layer of the roads to keep them from creating as much dust. This has reduced our need to water the roads as frequently as well, which cuts down on pollution from the tractors that are used for the watering of the roads. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61f465ebc2d5967f754a3eae/1885b84a-564b-4a1a-a274-fac5fe19a925/61057328526__75394912-DED9-4024-BF94-7C5A6FDE2438.JPG Stewardship - Cover Crops Cover Cropping has become a common practice for us in the last three years. We have done over 3,000 acres of multi-species cover crops in our row crops. The use of these cover crops has seen us have a significant boost in the overall soil health. It has also helped increase infiltration into the profile in some of our more difficult soils. The use of the cover crops has been beneficial also in capturing carbon and sequestering it into the soil. There is a synergistic effect between the row crops and the cover crop that has increased yields and overall quality of the commodity produced. The local beekeepers also use it in the summer to nourish their multitude of hives due to various amounts of flowering species inside the seed mix. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61f465ebc2d5967f754a3eae/00abb659-b8df-4376-b401-f389e1c2c45c/IMG_0181.jpg Stewardship - Regenerative Agriculture In 2021, we partnered with Fibershed to begin growing cotton using regenerative agricultural practices. These practices include growing the cotton with a multitude of practices including a 20% reduction in synthetic nitrogen fertilizer, no use of Roundup (glyphosate) products, incorporation of livestock, and no-till farming. This first year has led to a good crop and has also maintained the vitality of the soil. This first year was a 50-acre test plot. After the success we had last year, we will be partnering with Fibershed once again to grow 300 acres of regeneratively grown cotton. Many big-name brands have jumped on board to purchase some of this sustainably grown cotton. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61f465ebc2d5967f754a3eae/63aef295-7755-4848-967c-95fe5365e97c/63874767403__53AB0C72-798A-4F7A-B483-1DDD865CBC90.jpg Stewardship - Maintaining Natural Habitat Good stewardship starts with helping to maintain the natural flora and fauna. Here at Stone Land, we set forth to preserve the native wildlife in our area. Our farms are located near the Kings River, and we put up owl boxes in most of our fields to provide the local owl populations an area of shelter. One of our proudest achievements is an 893-acre area that has been set aside as a nature preserve. The area has a pond that we flood in the winter with the guidance of biologists from the Natural Resources Conservation Services, in order to provide habitat for migratory waterfowl populations. Also, we have created quail coveys using fallen branches from the many valley oaks we have located throughout the ranches. Local beekeepers also place hive adjacent to this area to maintain the overall vitality of their hives. The amount of wildlife in there has grown immensely over the last few years. https://www.stonelandcompany.net/contact-us daily 0.75 2022-02-23