YOCHA DEHE WINTUN NATION FARM AND RANCH

The Tribe produces wine from 15 acres of

Séka Hills Olive Mill

The new Séka Hills Olive Mill in Brooks, CA is strategically designed and located to help Capay Valley and Yolo County growers produce the freshest olive oil from the region’s flavorful fruit.

Custom built in Italy by Alfa Laval, the mill’s unique equipment includes a temperature-controlled, oxygen-free process for separating the oil from the pomace. Limiting oxygen exposure preserves flavor and health benefits, resulting in the highest quality finished oil.

The Séka Hills Olive Mill is housed in a 14,000 square foot facility. Its proximity to the region’s finest groves enables local olives to be pressed almost immediately after harvest, preserving the freshness required in the finest quality oils.

The Séka Hills Olive Mill is available to our local neighbors and partners for contract milling with facilities for bottling and temperature-controlled storage.

Our Sacred Connection with the Land

As the historical inhabitants of California’s Capay Valley, our homeland is at the heart of our culture and heritage. Our long-term view toward stewardship and environmental sustainability reflects a sacred commitment to this land and to the well being of future generations.

Yocha Dehe owns one of the most diverse farming operations in Yolo County and is one of a few tribes with expanding agriculture in California. Of the 1,389 acres currently being farmed, 250 acres are certified organic.

Our Tribe takes great pride in managing and cultivating more than a dozen different crops and using best practices for sustainable farming. Natural systems include use of beneficial insects, cover crops, mulching, drip systems and careful crop rotation cycles.

We conventionally farm 11 crops on our land including alfalfa, almonds, oat hay, olives, rye grass, safflower, sunflower, sorghum, walnuts, wheat and wine grapes. On our 250 acres of certified organic fields, we grow organic wheat, blueberries, asparagus and squash, and partner with local growers who cultivate a rotation of organic row crops.

In addition to the farming operation, Yocha Dehe runs 250 head of cattle in Capay Valley, following a sustainable grazing program on the Tribe’s 9,000 acres of rangeland.

Conservation and Preservation

With a commitment to the future of Capay Valley, the Tribe looks at decision-making through a lens of good environmental stewardship in all of our operations. Yocha Dehe Farm and Ranch works closely with local and national experts and agencies to employ the newest technologies and best practices in caring for our farmland, rangeland and water resources. More than 1,200 acres of our land are in conservation easements.

Our efforts begin in the soil, where we work aggressively to eradicate invasive species and replant with native varieties. And in choosing crops to cultivate, we select species naturally suited to the Capay Valley soils and climate.

Water is a precious resource and we are vigilant about waste, employing the highest efficiency irrigation and conservation systems on all Yocha Dehe lands. For example, our certified organic fields are irrigated with a high efficiency underground drip system, developed with the help of two USDA grants.

Preserving our rangeland requires curbing the erosion that also can harm local waterways. Working with leading federal agencies, the Tribe is restoring riparian land banks, installing cross fencing, and improving water distribution using solar pumps.

Yocha Dehe is keenly aware that sustainability and stewardship is a long-term plan. We are committed to educating the next generations about conservation. This includes hosting ‘field days’ in partnership with Student and Landowner Education and Watershed Stewardship (SLEWS) that enable students from Yocha Dehe Academy and Esparto High School to experience first-hand the importance of being stewards of our environment.

Séka Hills

Yocha Dehe is proud to present our premium line of Séka Hills products, named in our Patwin language for the blue hills of our homeland. We have introduced our brand with award-winning estate wines – Viognier, Rosé, and Tuluk’a and Tribal Reserve red blends – and critically acclaimed extra virgin olive oils for sale in regional and national outlets. Séka Hills is dedicated to delivering the finest products from Yocha Dehe’s tribal lands. Flavored vinegars, organic blueberries and asparagus are among other additions to the Séka Hills product line.

The Tribe’s 82 acres of super high density Arbequina olives are perfectly suited to the Mediterranean climate of the Capay Valley. The fruit produces the award-winning Séka Hills Premium Arbequina Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Yocha Dehe is also growing Picual, Frantoio and Taggiasca in medium density planting to expand the Séka Hills estate line of single varietal extra virgin olive oils.

The Tribe produces wine from 15 acres of

Partnerships

The Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation is proud to be a part of the Capay Valley and Yolo County communities and is committed to building effective and mutually beneficial partnerships through its Farm and Ranch operations. We work closely with local, regional and national organizations and government agencies, and believe wholeheartedly in the importance of good neighbor-to-neighbor relationships with other growers in the Capay Valley region.

On the federal level, the Tribe has received grants from the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the Natural Resources Conservation Service for developing high efficiency irrigation systems, anti-erosion measures, invasive species eradication and revegetation projects.

The Tribe also partners with growers throughout the region on product distribution and is committed to the promotion of the ‘Capay Valley Grown’ brand. The Séka Hills Olive Mill is a resource for the region’s burgeoning premium olive oil industry, enabling local growers to produce the freshest oil possible, and contributing to the growth of the appellation.

Yocha Dehe Farm and Ranch memberships include Yolo County Farm Bureau, Capay Valley Grown, California Olive Oil Council, Intertribal Agricultural Council, Yolo County Cattlemen and Wool Growers Association, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, California Invasive Plant Council, and Yolo County Agriculture and Food Alliance.

www.yochadehe.org | www.sekahills.com