Paul Muller

Full Belly Farm

Paul Muller and Dru Rivers have farmed organically with their 4 children in the Capay Valley for the past 32 years. They are joined on the farm by partners Judith Redmond, Andrew Brait, son Amon Muller and wife Jenna Muller and some 80 full time employees. Over this time, Full Belly has strived to evolve a farm system that would serve as a healthy alternative to the current farm models. As partners in Full Belly Farm, a 450-acre diversified organic farm, they have helped create a farm focused on local/regional marketing; diverse cropping patterns; ecological health and diversity; Soil building; Carbon sequestration through cover crop management; innovative market strategies; growing new farmers through internships and new farm enterprises; and fostering vibrancy and beauty. Each year, the farm produces some 80 different crops including fruits, flowers, nuts, and vegetables, and has integrated chickens, cattle and a 250 sheep herd into the farm system. Paul has served on the boards of Yolo Land Trust, California Certified Organic Farmers, Capay Valley Vision, the Capay Valley Agrarian Commons and SAGE. He was a participant in California’s Ag Vision, Noble Foundation’s Soil Health Initiative and the Farm Foundation’s Dialogue on Agriculture. Dru is a founding force behind the Ecological Farming Association. Together they have been honored with the Ecological Farming Association Susti award; the Pedro Illich award for Small Farmers of the Year from the UCD Small Farm Center; and were the 2006 Western Region winner Patrick Madden Award for Sustainable Farming Practices. The farm also received the prestigious Aldo Leopold Award in 2014 for outstanding conservation measures practiced on the farm. They have helped to organize and moderate the Agriculture Roundtable series in the Capay Valley to develop a regional agricultural strategic plan. The farm is visited by thousands of visitors each year to tour a working organic farm. Paul, Dru and Partners share a love for creating beautiful, productive, and healthy farms-- and for the ongoing evolution of farmers and farm design towards ecologically stable, biologically vibrant and economically viable enterprises. Their Farm is the home of 35 years of raucous celebration of rural living at their annual Hoes Down Harvest Festival, attracting over 6000 participants annually and raising funds for local rural non-profit organizations.