History
Zuckerman's Farm has been family-owned since the early 1940s. Roscoe's grandfather discovered the ideal growing region when he came to buy potatoes from the Chinese. Famous for asparagus and potatoes, Zuckerman's Farm in Northern California's Delta region offers asparagus a fertile land like none other. The rich, black peat soil of the Delta is unmatched in quality when compared to any other asparagus-growing region worldwide. Roscoe claims, "this farm is 18 feet below sea level and is a unique growing region. The soil here is 90% organic matter from plant material versus the mineral soils you find in other areas. What Napa gives its grapes, the Delta gives its asparagus: the optimal, natural combination of rich soil and growing conditions providing superior quality and flavor."
Zuckerman's Farm is situated on 2,200 acres of land, but only 1,300 are actually used for farming. Roscoe said, "we lost a lot of acres in the flood of 1982." Constant seepage in the Delta presents an unruly challenge to farming. "It's expensive to farm around seepage when it occurs." Due to the proximity to water, the area is teeming with wildlife and water fowl. It's easy to be seduced by the beauty of this place.
Zuckerman's employs over 300 employees, 100 of which are year-round, full-time. By the time an asparagus ends up packed for shipping, it has been touched by human hands over 15 times. After witnessing this detailed process of sorting, washing, cutting (four times total), weighing, packing, etc. you develop a much greater appreciation for how special asparagus is. "Asparagus is the vegetable of the gods," says Roscoe. Patricia Unterman, food critic and writer for the San Francisco Examiner Magazine says, "The first asparagus from a growing area, like the Sacramento Delta, are the sweetest... their cost becomes irrelevant compared with the pleasure of eating them. In fact, they are an affordable luxury and a gift from the land."
Roscoe has done everything at one time but currently spends more time marketing and experimenting. Purple artichokes are his current experiment. When asked what he likes most about farming, Roscoe replies, "I like knowing that I'm doing something that others are enjoying and I like knowing that I'm helping to feed the world." His least favorite aspect of farming is dealing with government bureaucracy and doing business in California. "I've tried to get out of farming, but I always come back to it -- it's in my blood."
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Primary Product
Potatoes - red, white, Fingerling, Yukon Gold, purple and Russets.
Asparagus - ultra-thin to jumbo in green and large to jumbo in purple.
Potatoes are harvested year-round while the asparagus fields are harvested from late February thru May.
Tips for Selecting:
With asparagus, look for firm stalks - not rubbery, closed tips and bottoms that are not dry or woody. With potatoes, make sure they are not spongy and that they have few physical defects.
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