First-generation farmer wins photo contest
It’s not often you hear about a first-generation farmer winning the grand prize of an annual California Farm Bureau Photo Contest.
Kathy Brimmer did just that by entering the contest with the photo she took of her husband one evening while they were out feeding their cattle.
The California Farm Bureau hosts an annual themed photo contest. The theme for this year was “Imagine California.”
“It’s pretty exciting,” said Brimmer. “It’s like five seconds of fame.”
Brimmer and her husband, John Brimmer, were born and raised in the Bay Area.
When the couple got married they knew they wanted to purchase a large piece of land for themselves. According to Brimmer, the very first piece of land they purchased was on Ryer Island in Solano County. After her husband retired from owning a colored glass company they fully invested themselves into being fulltime farmers.
“In 2005 we found 150 acres (on Ryer Island),” said Brimmer. “(When) we got the property my husband was inspired to get a horse.”
Soon after her daughter’s friend’s dad asked if he could leave his cattle on their farm Brimmer said. Eventually they started growing and selling hay and began a cowcalf operation. After living on the island for some time, Brimmer said, they needed to look for land elsewhere.
“On the island the ground water is super high,” said Brimmer. “It wasn’t feasible to keep the cows there.”
Around 2013 Brimmer and her husband purchased land near Smartsville. By 2014 they moved onto their new property.
Even though her husband is retired, Brimmer said it’s a really nice way for them to supplement their income.
“It’s completely therapeutic,” said Brimmer. “You can adjust and you know the saying farmers get up at the crack of dawn? We don’t do that.”