About Us
The Capay Region
There is a place called Capay at the north end of the Great Central Valley in California, a mile as the crow flies from the Sacramento River. At one time this area was filled with majestic valley oaks, grasslands and wildflowers. Creeks and sloughs carried snowmelt and rain from the mountains to the foothills to the valley, while salmon and steelhead swam upstream to spawn. One hundred and sixty years ago our neighbors’ families settled here, cleared the land, and built their homesteads. A lot has changed but the land has kept on giving.
Our Farm
Our mandarin orchard was planted more than fifty years ago. We made our home here in 1999 and have taken on the oath to maintain the land and care for these trees. Our customers return every year to the farm and farmers markets to taste the fruit and judge our year’s worth of care. Many tell us that their families have enjoyed our mandarins for generations.
Our Values
We want to share the decades of love that have gone into producing this fruit. Come to the farm, taste the mandarins and tell us how we’ve done. We look forward to hearing your stories.
Passing The Torch
After 22 years, it’s time to pass the torch to the next generation of caretakers. We’re pleased to introduce new owners Greg Massa and Raquel Krach of Massa Organics. They are also long time fans of Capay Satsuma Mandarins. We’re so thankful for our time with this orchard, and pleased to know that Greg and Raquel will take good care of it as we move on to what’s next.
From Greg and Raquel
It’s an honor to take over stewardship of this orchard and the business that many have come to love and rely on for the finest juicy ripe Satsuma mandarins.
Since the transition in March we’ve been keeping busy, running our sheep through the orchard to simultaneously prune and fertilize the trees, and to build the soil quality.
We also mulched trees with organic rice straw from our farm to protect the shallow roots of the old trees. Climate change means that the environment the trees find themselves in is much different than when they were planted. They need special care, and we’re dedicated to giving them the best we can offer over the coming years.
What’s New
Order processing is moving to the Massa Organics site, so any links you click here on the Capay Satsuma site will take you there. Don’t worry, we won’t bite. As harvest begins in November, you’ll have the option to purchase Satsuma mandarins via the website (single orders or as a delivery subscription), at local grocers, or at farmers’ markets as in years past. We look forward to getting to know you.