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Macon family keeps agriculture tradition alive in Placer County |
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Written by Don Chaddock
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Dan Macon, of Flying Mule Farm, sells radishes to Gail Mackenroth, right, at the Old Town Auburn Farmers Market on Saturday.
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Dan Macon is an easy-going guy with a dark bushy mustache who originally hails from Sonora. The 41-year-old father of two wears a hat reminiscent of another era to keep the sun out of his eyes as he banters with customers at the Saturday Farmers Market in Old Town Auburn.
His family businesses – The Flying Mule Farm and Highland Farms – are also reminiscent of a time from the past, but as Macon likes to point out, there is a wide variety of agriculture in Placer County, and he’d like to keep it that way for future generations.
Placer County is perhaps best known for its mandarin harvest, but there are still active farmers and ranchers raising all kinds of food served in kitchens across the county.
The Macon family’s main product is grass-fed lamb and on this particular Saturday morning, he can barely keep enough in stock.
The line to his booth is sometimes five customers deep, making it a challenge to answer a newspaper editor’s questions while selling his products, which also include radishes.
“I’m making the transition to doing this full time,” he said.
For five years Macon worked for the United States Department of Agriculture and helped found the California Range Land Trust. Lately, he’s been working part time for the Nevada County Land Trust.
He leases 600 acres in Auburn and Lincoln on which his family raises as many as 300 or 400 head of sheep. He said they currently have about 120 and that number goes up or down depending on the season. They also offer vegetables, firewood and custom-milled lumber.
“We do a little bit of everything,” Macon said.
He sports a degree in agricultural economics from UC Davis. His wife, Samia, is also a graduate of UC Davis and is a large animal veterinarian.
“They told me in school to have a good relationship with my vet so I married mine,” he said.
The couple has two children – Lara, 10, and Emma, 5 – who help out around the ranch.
His oldest daughter is already following in his footsteps. She’s an active member of 4-H and will be showing lambs at the Gold Country Fair, including the Junior Livestock Auction.
“Like all fair parents, I’ll be helping out,” he said.
He will also be the 4-H leader on a new endeavor called the Countywide Stock Dog Project, which teaches 4-H members how to use herd dogs.
For Macon, agriculture in Placer County needs to be kept alive and nurtured, which is why he’s also involved in the Placer Ag Futures Project.
“It is an effort to do things now to ensure there is farming in the next 30 years,” he said. “We want to make sure farmers still have access to farm land and (we want to) train future farmers.”
For more information on Macon’s farm, call him at 530-305-3270 or visit flyingmulefarm.com.
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