episode 6: Tom ikeda
OCEANO, CALIFORNIA
Tom Ikeda
is a 3rd generation farmer in the Arroyo Grande Valley located in southern San Luis Obispo County, California. He is the owner and manager of Ikeda Brothers which grows, packages and ships a variety of produce across the country, specializing in Asian vegetables.
In the early 1900s, Tom’s grandfather immigrated from Japan to harvest sugar cane in Hawaii. When that contract ended, he came to California to harvest sugar beets as a migrant farm worker moving up and down the state as crops matured. Other members of Tom’s family eventually settled in the Arroyo Grande Valley because of the temperate climate which was ideal for growing crops year round.
“Back in those days the first generation (Japanese-Americans) didn’t really speak English. So my understanding is they gravitated towards agriculture or landscaping because you didn’t have to interact in English as much.”
- Tom Ikeda, Vegetable Farmer
During World War II, Tom’s family, like all Japanese families on the West Coast, was sent back to internment camps in Japan. Tom’s grandfather had suffered an accident right before the war that left him paralyzed and he ended up dying overseas.
During the three years they were away, a prominent American farming family in the community, the Loomis family, watched over and cared for their land. Others weren’t as fortunate as the Ikeda’s who were lucky enough to have something to come back to when the war ended.
Tom’s uncle returned to continue farming while Tom’s father became a chemical engineer and decided to work elsewhere. Because of the post-war prejudice however, his father had difficulty finding a job so he eventually returned to join the family business.
While farming is Tom’s passion today, it didn’t start out that way. He went to school at Cal Berkeley to become a civil engineer, but eventually chose to return to the farm.
It was six in the morning, the sun was coming up and while looking over a green leaf lettuce field, he thought, “Gosh, I planted that. It’s a beautiful field and it’s ready to harvest.” That satisfaction and pride solidified it for him and he decided to move back to agriculture full time, not for economic reasons but as a lifestyle choice.
The Ikedas are one of three families in the Pismo Oceano Vegetable Exchange (POVE), a co-op allowing them to consolidate their products to directly or indirectly supply large retail stores across the nation such as Walmart, Kroger, Safeway, etc. Individually, they wouldn’t have the volume or consistency to fulfill those contracts.
The Ikedas and their partners grow a wide variety of cabbages, lettuces, parsley, cilantro, kale, broccoli, and more. They farm about 2,000 acres of vegetables and are considered a medium to small size operation.
Some of their biggest challenges in California include water, regulations and labor costs. While their frustrations and challenges have continued down through each generation, Tom, who is nearing his retirement, is confident that the next generation of his family will learn to navigate the ups and downs as he and the generations before him did.
The BACKROAD COWGIRLS
were reminded that agriculture takes care of its own after hearing how the Ikeda land was protected by an American family during World War II. It’s a tough industry, but agriculture stands up for agriculture in the face of adversity.
Every time we bite into a delicious sprig of fresh cilantro atop our tacos, we’ll think of Tom and the inspiring story behind one of California’s farm families.
Photography by Shelby Caitlin Photography