Rebecca Bozzelli's dirty fingernails and callused hands offer silent testimony to the physical demands of her job. Her 10-hour day starts at 7 a.m., 6:30 a.m. on hot days.
Bozzelli is in charge of the produce at Preston Farm and Winery in Healdsburg. A separate crew cares for the vineyard and the fruit trees, although she is in charge of the fruit harvest.
Although Bozzelli has experience raising chickens, another manager tends the livestock.
While Preston Farm and Winery has grown vegetables and been a fixture at the Healdsburg Farmers Market for years, Lou Preston said he decided to "step things up a notch" in March by hiring Bozzelli.
The farm and winery are certified organic and follow biodynamic practices, though they are not yet certified by Demeter-U.S.A.
"We came to our senses about 12 years ago," said Preston, who has owned the business with wife Susan for 40 years. "The land was historically a vineyard, a monoculture, when 25 years ago we started adding olives.
"We've been diversifying to a polyculture. We wanted a professional farmer, so we hired Rebecca."
Bozzelli's abilities and interests closely match those of the Prestons, and she has the experience to back them up.
She earned a marketing degree at the University of Rhode Island and went to Australia to work for a Manhattan-based company while she was still in her 20s.
Although Australia gave her more access to nature and the outdoors, Bozzelli said, "At the end of the day, I enjoyed what I was doing, but I didn't love it."
Back in New York, she worked for the New York Times, bringing breaking news and other content to Internet readers. Still not satisfied with what she was doing, Bozzelli made plans to drive west and get her hands dirty.
With stops for environmental and gardening education, she has been working the land for a decade. A six-month internship with the Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems at UC Santa Cruz led to a position as gardener/farmer at the Sonoma Ecology Center.
"I saw the center blossom in those five years," Bozzelli said. "We built community, started educational programs and we built the greenhouse.
"I saw the Preston job posting on California Farmlink," she said. "I was ready for a change, so I applied."
Bozzelli, 41, now lives in Cloverdale with her husband, Nick. He works on their home and builds furniture, while caring for their 18-month-old daughter.
Her farm plans for this year include understanding the land, watching the crops and dealing with challenges as they occur. She has already encountered wild pigs and responded with solar-powered permanent fencing around the north garden.
"I'll be listening, observing and learning what the community has to say," Bozzelli said.
She now oversees two part-time garden employees and works with Lindsay Challoner, who does the baking, makes the fermented foods and sells the lambs to local restaurants.
Part of her job includes spending Wednesday afternoons at the Healdsburg Farmers Market, where she listens and interacts and builds community. Those days she starts later in the morning and works until 7 or 7:30 p.m.
There are five garden areas scattered across the low-lying areas of the nearly 168 acres that comprise Preston Farm and Winery land. The gardens range in size from quarter-acre to 2-acre plots.
"The seasons come in waves," said Bozzelli. "The recent rain followed by sun means we are going to have a lot of weeds.
"Through July, we're going to be weeding, harvesting, working in the greenhouse and planting some more," she said. "It'll build to the peak at the end of August and September."
In the winter, she plans to redesign the garden layouts and order seeds, as well as work in the greenhouse. By February, she'll be planting tomatoes and peppers.
"We make all, or most, of our own compost on site," she said. "When we turn over a bed, we always add compost. We're always replenishing the soil. We also practice crop rotation and have few pests."
When asked if she dreams of having her own farm, she smiles wryly.
"I don't like the business side of it," she said. "I like building community and teaching about farming.
"I still feel very new, but I like it here. I like the people and the community."
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