On July 1, 2025, Braga Fresh welcomed California Department of Food & Agriculture Secretary Karen Ross to its home ranch in Soledad for a field tour highlighting the company's regenerative farming trials. The visit marked a milestone in the company's fifth year of Carbon Capture Farming, showcasing progress, sharing learnings, and inviting continued support to expand regenerative practices throughout the Salinas Valley.
Left: Colby Pereira, Rod Braga, and Karen Ross; right: Jaylan Calabro, Kyle Harmon, Pereira, Ross, Braga. Photos: Braga Fresh
For the past five years, Braga Fresh has been committed to farming in ways that reduce emissions, rebuild soil health, and capture carbon directly in the soil. CEO Rod Braga and his team demonstrated how evolving their approach to tillage and implementing permanent plantings within crop beds is yielding measurable results.
Tour highlights shared with Secretary Ross:
- 100 acres of the company's organic fields in Soledad, CA, are now farmed regeneratively
- 78 percent fewer tractor passes through minimum tillage practices
- Carbon emissions reduced by up to 1,000 lbs. per acre
- Permanent roots have helped cultivate 49 new microbial species
- The company's goal: "What if the answer to climate change lies in the soil?" said CEO Rod Braga. "If carbon capture farming works, then large-scale farming becomes a force for good, for people and the planet."
Left: Harmon, Pereira, and Ross; right: Regeneratively farmed organic Sweet Baby Broccoli, with carbon capture farming branding. The product was taken to market by Braga Fresh; .
This visit underscores the company's work in sustainable agriculture and its open-source approach to sharing progress, encouraging more Salinas Valley growers to explore regenerative farming.
For more information:
Kori Tuggle
Braga Fresh
[email protected]
www.bragafresh.com
https://bragafresh.com/regenerative-farming-trials/