Gilardi Family Farm
A free-range chicken farm expands its horizons with ZFP’s Restore grant and Healthy Soils Program.
Compost Application
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1,710 tons CO2e
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38 practice acres
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Compost Application • 1,710 tons CO2e • 38 practice acres •
A Lasting Legacy
Gilardi Family Farm is in its fifth generation. “The farm's been in our family for over a hundred years,” says Maddie Gilardi, who works on the farm with her brother, mother, and father. Though the Gilardi’s have been a constant on the farm, the animals they keep have changed throughout the generations - from dairy cows, to sheep, to chickens.
Their chickens are relatively new to the farm, having replaced the Gilardi sheep herd about fifteen years ago. As a child, Maddie remembers helping with the lambs until “we would get more chickens. Slowly the sheep would be leaving the barn. [And then] somehow we just had all chickens.”
Their facilities have changed as well. Ever since their chicken enterprise began, the farm has been growing. The Gilardi’s have installed state-of-the-art chicken houses and are expanding into farmer’s markets. “We've been implementing more of what works in the last five years, and just upgrading to be better,” Maddie explains.
”It's just very helpful to get what you need when you can't always afford it or put that money out right away.”
-Maddie Gilardi
Continuing to Evolve
Through Zero Foodprint’s Restore grant and Healthy Soils Program, the Gilardi’s are applying compost to their newly planted apple and pear orchard in order to prepare the soil. Maddie relays her father’s expectation that “...in the next seven years when the fruit grows, we'll be getting into the fruit business.”
The family chose to grow apples and pears because of Maddie’s grandmother, who successfully grew both. However, the new generation of Gilardi’s have had some pitfalls. “It didn't go smooth sailing,” Maddie admits. “They dug the holes way too deep. And then we had to come in and fix it all.”
Funding from Zero Foodprint, however, has helped to smooth their path. “That's part of our five-year growing [plan],” Maddie says. “It's just very helpful to get what you need when you can't always afford it or put that money out right away.”
For now, the plan is to continue to grow, and to continue their farming legacy. “I like working with my dad. That's really the main thing,” says Maddie. “I wouldn't rather do anything else.”
About Gilardi Family Farm
Welcome to Gilardi's Family Farm. We provide the freshest, highest quality farm-to-table eggs. Visit us at farmer's markets in Petaluma and San Rafael!
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Zero Foodprint awards grants for projects that take carbon out of the atmosphere and put it back where it belongs: in the earth, creating healthy soil and better food. To do this, we focus on regenerative farming practices like composting, cover cropping, and managed grazing that can restore life to our soil while removing carbon from the atmosphere. Together, we have the power to grow more nutritious food, heal natural water cycles, and create habitat for biodiversity to thrive. Explore previously funded projects to see what this might look like on your farm.
For more information, read through other Restore Grant FAQs.oes here
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Zero Foodprint and the California Department of Food and Agriculturehave partnered to provide Healthy Soil Program Grants to California farmers and ranchers. Current grantees are implementing 1-3 year-long soil conservation management practices.
Zero Foodprint (ZFP) is a nonprofit organization restoring the climate, one acre at a time. We believe that by regenerating soil, local food economies can play a critical role in reversing the global climate crisis. We work with food and beverage businesses, philanthropy, and government to bring the next dollar to implement the next regenerative practice on the next acre. This regenerative economy benefits every person who grows food, every person who sells food, and every person on this planet who eats food.
