September/October 2025
Burroughs Family Orchards: growing green for generations
Burroughs Family Orchards, a multi-generational, regenerative organic farm located in Merced County, California, distinguishes itself through a holistic approach to regenerative agriculture. The farm places a strong emphasis on soil health, biodiversity, water conservation and community involvement.
Owned and operated by the husband-and-wife team of Ward and Rosie Burroughs, the farm not only promotes sustainable, long-term land vitality but also nutritious, high-quality almonds and other farm products that are delivered directly to consumers.
A family legacy
Ward Burroughs always asked, “What could we do to make the world a better place?” That question was a catalyst for Burroughs Family Farms.
It was clear early on that he would be involved in farming. His grandfather moved from Illinois to California in the late 1800s and started a dairy farm, so Ward’s dad grew up in Contra Costa County. Meanwhile, his grandmothers’ parents had a grain farm in Nelson, California. By the time Ward came along, he was living on a pasture dairy farm that also grew corn and raised beef cattle.
Around 1974, Ward purchased his own farm in partnership with his father and brother, then moved the dairy to its current location four years later.
“We expanded into almond trees in the late ’80s,” Rosie said. “We always had cattle as well, so we had farming, beef and dairy.”
When the farm started, people in the area weren’t using water for irrigation — they were mostly dry grain farmers — but drip irrigation changed the whole scene, especially given the uneven ground and rolling hills.
“The almond trees became very popular,” Rosie said. “Almonds, walnuts and olives are a really good fit for us because of our Mediterranean climate.”
When Ward and Rosie’s kids were ready to join, the farm was divided between Ward and his brother, and their dad retired. That was 21 years ago.
“That gave us the ability to expand and do more things,” Rosie said, explaining the children took more to the almonds and beef. “The beauty of having a succession plan is that Ward and I were able to help all four of our children pursue their careers in agriculture.”
Today, three of their kids are independently working in the farming and ranching industry. The fourth, daughter Benina, partners with her parents and manages the almonds, walnuts, olives, beef, chickens, eggs and sheep at Burroughs Family Farms.
Going organic
In 2010, Benina became pregnant and was worried about using harsh products that would be detrimental to a developing baby and didn’t want others exposed to chemicals or synthetics. This prompted the farm to transition to organic.
“We jumped right in because Benina had confidence and converted everything to organic,” Rosie said. “We farm around 1,000 acres of nuts — almonds, walnuts and olives — and that has stayed mostly consistent.”
Burroughs Family Orchards earned regenerative organic certification in June 2022 and became the first almond farm in the world to be certified by both the Regenerative Organic Alliance and Regenified.
“I spend a lot of my time speaking in California on organic regenerative farming practices, but I think we still have a long way to go on what that means,” Rosie said. “Regenerative organic is about improving soil health. For me, it’s a little more of a connection with Mother Nature — it’s about harmony, seasonality and collaboration. Regenerative agriculture is about managing for life and making sure every decision you make is to improve your soil health.”
In 2023, California experienced a torrential amount of rain for 10 days, causing standing water in some orchards. Many trees died because their roots were saturated. Regenerative practices can help in extreme weather like this by increasing water infiltration rates and water-holding capacity through improved soil organic matter.
“For every percent of organic matter you build in the soil, one acre of land can hold 20,000 to 25,000 gallons more water per year,” Rosie said. “That means you’re pumping less water, which lowers the cost of production. It also means your acre of land in the orchard will capture every drop of rainwater.”
Innovative mindset
As a family, the Burroughs have remained open-minded through the years, always searching for new practices and willing to share what they learn to help others.
“A new thing we have tried the last three years is using catch-basket harvesting, like they do in pistachios,” Rosie said. “When we first started with organic regenerative, we thought if we were going to do this, we would need a longer tree trunk to use that mechanism. About 10 years ago, we started developing our trees with a longer trunk. In 2023, we started with a TOL catch basket harvester and have a second one for this year because we wanted to help our neighbors with their harvesting.”
The TOL harvesting has resulted in less production and harvesting costs, including labor, fuel, mowing and sweeping equipment. The mowed cover crop has become a mat for the almonds to dry on.
While its biggest gains have been through regenerative practices, over the years the farm has also tried different technologies to help it grow. Benina implemented weather stations that check the temperature, which has made a big difference in keeping the almond crop strong.
“From there, we went to monitoring water and have different kinds of technology where you put probes at different depths to measure water, allowing you to turn off the water and not overwater your plants,” Rosie said.
The road ahead
In 2025, one the biggest challenges for California farmers, including Burroughs Family Orchards, is the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA).
Passed in 2014, the SGMA requires California’s overdrafted groundwater basins to achieve long-term sustainability by 2042. For farmers, this often means pumping restrictions, higher costs and uncertainty around water allocations, making it harder to plan crops and maintain profitability. The Burroughs’ operation is doing its part to help the farming community.
“Our family has been working with our local GSA, and we have hosted many field days for farmers, researchers and people involved with SGMA to look at some of the trials we worked on and practices that have made a difference,” Rosie said. “We want to help create an incentive program in our district to pay our farmers for soil health practices that will benefit the whole goal, which is using less water and rotating fields in and out of production.”
The farm has also planted hedgerows to attract beneficial insects and pollinators within the microclimates, and they also use cover crops.
“Our family is passionate about working with mother nature with a goal of improving what we were blessed with for the next generation,” Rosie said. “We produce a quality product we can feel good about.”
