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Dick and Bonnie Swank, a Little about us...
Throughout the year we grow a variety of fruits,
 vegetables, and
ornamentals. We sell these products in a number of different ways;
at Farmers Markets, direct to independent grocery stores, on the wholesale
market, and from the ranch .
We sell
most of our produce at local Farmers Markets. This
gives us the opportunity to provide some of the nearby communities with
our delicious fresh produce and to communicate with our customers.
If you would like to visit us at one of the many markets we attend click
on “Markets” for a schedule.
In the
past we have
 had several fruit stands where we sold our produce.
We know people miss it, so this year we are selling directly off the
ranch.
May kicks of the beginning of our cherry season. Contact us to schedule your visit!
By the
way, Dick's Aunt Eleanor took some of these wonderful pictures!
For many
years Swank Farms has grown and sold beautiful pumpkins, gourds and
ornamental corn. The “Maze” has become a perfect place to sell these
beauties locally. Since the year 2000 we have had a pumpkin patch along
with our corn maze. Growing 21 varieties of pumpkins, our patches have
been a great place to display our “Cinderella’s”, “Baby Boo’s”,
“Sugar Pies” and “Jardales”, just to name a few. Offering several
varieties of gourds and Indian corn, we were able to provide our community
with a choice of ornamentals that aren’t readily available. Make us
your destination this fall season. Remember Swank Farms when shopping for
produce, ornamentals and fun!
A Little History of The
Ranch...
The home ranch that I farm today was
purchase in 1929 by my Grandfather, Bill Maggini. The 60-acre ranch is
located in the northern part of San Benito County off of Churchill Road.
This little piece of heaven has seen many transformations since then. When
my grandfather bought the ranch it was planted in 30 acres of prune trees
and 30 acres of peach trees.
 It wasn’t long before the peach trees were
removed, making way for more profitable seed crops. A variety of
vegetables such as celery, carrots, tomatoes and mustard along with
colorful zinnias were planted in the rich soil for the sole purpose of
harvesting the seeds. My mother recalls how beautiful it was to walk out
the front door and gaze upon 30 acres of gorgeous flowers. To her, that
was the perfect crop. My mother, Frances Swank, and my aunt, Eleanor Lanini, grew up on this ranch. They both ventured out to pursue their own
lives but have returned to this magical place of their youths and live
there today along with my father Elliot.
I was raised on a dairy farm in Calistoga
along with my two brothers Bill and Allen. Growing up we worked helping my
dad milk the cows.
 We
raised and showed pigs and cows at county and state fairs. The Cow Palace
and the Sacramento State Fair were just a couple of the many places we
showed our livestock. There wasn’t much free time (probably not a bad
thing) but it was a good place to grow up.
In 1974 my family decided to
pack all of us up, including the cows, and move back to the home ranch.
 We
rented a dairy off of San Felipe Road and I, along with my father, took up
dairy farming in San Benito County. It was at this point that the home
ranch was planted entirely in alfalfa.
My older brothers had gone off
to pursue their own dreams. I attended Cal Poly as a Dairy Science major
from 1974 to 1977. I would come home on the weekends to help my father
with the dairy.
 One of the hardest things about having a dairy is that the
cows never take a day off. They need to be milked seven days a week come
rain or shine or Christmas! At some point my father and I became partners
and continued in the dairy business until the government bought us out in
the mid 80’s. Imagine getting paid not to produce milk!
I raised my family in the
house that my grandfather and my parents had lived in on the ranch. It was
a very small house that has seen many changes and additions. As the
families that lived there grew, so did the house. This house holds a lot
of memories for me; My son Keith and daughter Casey playing basketball in
the front yard, working at the fruit stands and going off to farmers
markets. They are both gone now, leaving the ranch for a different type of
life, taking with them the memories that only comes from growing up on a
ranch.
It was 1988, the cows were gone and there was
no need for the alfalfa that was growing on the home ranch. We had to make
a living off this little piece of paradise so we entered into the biggest
crapshoot of all, farming! What would we plant? We started with a variety
of vegetables.
After tasting one of our “home grown” tomatoes I knew there had to be a
market for what I considered to be the best tasting produce ever. Over the
years we have grown a list of produce to numerous to mention.
Tomatoes, green beans, sweet corn, English
peas and melons have become some of our favorites. We started growing
ornamentals, which consist of several varieties of Indian corn, pumpkins
and gourds. Soon our home ranch wasn’t big enough to grow all we needed.
Even though we no longer had the dairy, we had still rented land there
where we grew alfalfa and oat hay. Although my father still grows hay on
some of this land, the rest of the 210 acres were planted in ornamentals
and sweet corn.
I also decided to
plant a cherry orchard in the early 90’s.
 It takes several years for a
tree to produce fruit and “Mother Nature” plays a big part in whether or
not we have a crop. I now have 12 acres of producing trees. For several years I tended a cherry
orchard in the Santa Clara Valley. Now days you can find a Kaiser Hospital
where the orchard once was. That experience led me to plant my own
cherries, once again altering the face of the home ranch. They may not be
zinnias, but when the orchard is in bloom, it is certainly a beautiful
sight.
For many years we have kept the ranch alive by selling our produce at
farmers markets, our own produce stands and to the wholesale market. I
love farming, but the struggle for the small farmer to stay in business
seems to only get harder. After meeting Bonnie, who has become my partner
in business and life, I decided to pursue an idea of mine. I knew if we
were going to turn a profit we were going to have to diversify. I had
visited a corn maze in Woodland after a friend of mine suggested I “check
it out”. A corn maze is a field of corn with pathways cut into it. These
pathways have twists and turns and seem to go on forever. If you have ever
been to a hedge maze in a park or English garden, try to imagine several
acres of 10’ corn.
Bonnie, a designer in her own right, with a
background in apparel design and interior design, took on the challenge of
designing the maze. It’s just a different medium, right? Once we had the
design we had to figure out how to cut it.
There were no “Do It Yourself”
handbooks on creating a corn maze. Using some of the rented land on San
Felipe Road, the corn was planted. We had a design and now we had a plan.
Would it work? Would people come? Would we have good weather?
People came and seemed to have
a good time.
 The
weather however was the worst we’d seen in several years. We had a lot of
mud, but people had fun. I still hear stories about the trip to the maze,
the muddy shoes that are still in the garage and how much fun they had.
Despite the hard work we
decided to try it again.
 We learned so much the first year we thought it
could only get better. It did. We went from an eight-acre maze in 2000 to
a twelve-acre maze in 2001. The design was more fun and challenging. We
went from having a few people at night haunting the maze to a real haunted
ranch built right into the maze. The weather was better than we could have
hoped for, no muddy shoes. Yes it did get better and more people came. We
had created something fun for families to do together in our community and
they seemed to appreciate it. Along with the maze we also had a pumpkin
patch where we were able to sell our pumpkins and ornamentals. It seems to
be a winning combination.
While planning our 2001 maze Bonnie contacted
a friend of her nieces, Jason Mendoza, to see if he might be interested in
putting together a haunt for our October maze. Jason, who was part of a
newly formed non-profit organization “ScreamWorks” said yes!
It took some doing to convince
his co-workers that Hollister wasn’t really that far from the bay area,
but he did. Once they saw the corn field their imaginations went wild.
None of them had ever done an open-air haunt before. Using a lot of barn
wood and props found around the home ranch (things that have been there
for years) they created the “Conover Mystery Ranch”. I invite you to learn
more about our friends at ScreamWorks. They are a group of extremely
talented people who donate their time to projects, such as ours, to raise
money for different charities. I don’t think one of their group lives
within 45 minute of Hollister and they ran the “Ranch” three nights a
week, many of them not getting home until after three in the morning. Our
hats are truly off to this dedicated group of young people. And thank you
Jenn for introducing us to Jason.
We are already working on the
plans for our 2005 maze. The “Conover Mystery Ranch” has expanded to 3
acres this year. Bonnie has put on her thinking cap and has come up with
an even more fun and challenging design.
We haven’t had a produce stand for several
years and we know that there are some of you that miss that. For two years
between 2002 and 2003 we offered a produce delivery service.
 It was very successful and we
had many loyal customers. Unfortunately in 2004 we decided to drop the
delivery service and concentrate on developing our home ranch sales.
We’ve made many improvements to the home
ranch over the past few years. One of those improvements is a new road
leading into the ranch from Acquistapace Road. In doing so we have a new
address and are now located at 600 Acquistapace Road.
Click here for Directions
At Farmers Markets we started selling our
fresh “Swank Farms Heirloom Salsa” in 2000. We now make a Hot Salsa, Mild
Salsa and a Roasted Corn Salsa all made with our own fresh ripe produce.
It has become so popular we are hoping to put in our own certified kitchen
at the ranch to accommodate its increasing demand.
We have also expanded our plant business.
Starting the end of March we will be selling a variety of vegetable, herb
and flower plants both at the Farmers Markets and off the ranch. If you
are the type that would rather grow it yourself you will now be able to
purchase your plants directly from us.
Another one of our many ventures is canning
and selling some of our produce. We make the best tomato juice around
thanks to our friend Sandy. We hope to be able to offer it to the public
this year. Once you taste it you will never want to go back to “store
bought” again.
Bonnie is working on a line of soup bases that
are out of this world. She is a great cook and likes to create new dishes.
Check out some of her original recipes in our “Recipes” section.
Bonnie, who has had a
successful interior design business of her own since 1988, has become a
tremendous asset to our operation. While in college, she studied apparel
design. She worked for a major department store as a display manager for
several years. She decided to stay home when her first son Joey was born.
After her second son Andrew came along and the decision to move to
Hollister was made, she decided to use her knowledge of apparel design and
display to start her own business. Working out of her home she could be
with her children. Her love for design and sewing went from clothing to
windows, creating and installing her designs. Needless to say her flair
for design and creativity have brought a whole new element to Swank Farms.
Today Bonnie and I work
together full time making Swank Farms Produce the best it can be. Each
year we have been together we have made such great strides and are
extremely proud of what we have done and what we hope to do in the future.
Together we strive to bring
you excellent produce and unique products along with the fun of our Great
Corn Maze, Pumpkin Patch, Kiddy Corral, Haunted Ranch and more!.
Looking for a great dinner? Bonnie’s oldest
son Joey is the Executive Chef at Ridgemark Golf and Country Club in
Hollister. He left his position as Executive Chef of the Cutting Horse
Restaurant in San Juan Bautista in November of 2004 for his new position
at Ridgemark. He and his brother Andrew got their first jobs at Ridgemark
when they were sixteen and now enjoy working there together. My son Keith
graduated from Sacramento State in May 2005 and married Rochelle Hartman
in June 2005. They now reside in Sacramento where Keith works for the
Board of Equalization and "Shelly" works as a daycare teacher. My daughter
Casey graduated from the University of Irvine in June of 2005 and moved to
Anchorage Alaska where her mother and stepfather live. Yes it has been a
busy year!
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