America's Heartland

(gentle music) - [Narrator 2] It is both a home and a vibrant farm business.

Welcome to Balakian Farms in the town of Reedley in California's Central Valley, a 20 acre property where the Balakians live, work, and grow and pack tree fruit and row crops.

- This is like the central location for where everything kind of takes place and it just works really well, and I think it has, like, a very family kind of oriented feel to it.

- [Narrator 2] Amber Balakian is a fourth generation California farmer.

Following her graduation from Harvard, she made the decision to move back home and work on the farm.

- I grew up in the same kind of environment, the picking, packing.

I would go with my grandpa when he was irrigating and play in the rows and play in the mud, and so I just really enjoy being on the farm.

- [Narrator 2] At this home, the back porch serves as a packing house.

There's cold storage to keep the fruit fresh and workers everywhere coming in and out of the house.

Balakian Farms is old school, a real family farm with Amber's 94-year-old grandma Stella still very much part of the action.

- People can go in and out.

It's just like their home, and they feel comfortable that way, too.

They eat in the kitchen with us lunch, and they use all the facilities.

- The family-like culture that we've created, not just within ourselves, but with our employees, too.

I think that that really sets us apart.

- [Narrator 2] Culture and heritage play a big role.

The Balakians' Armenian heritage and their pursuit of the American dream can be traced back more than a century.

Stella's in-laws immigrated to the US after the 1915 genocide forced them out of the old country.

The Balakians settled in the Reedley area and began growing grapes.

- My husband, John Balakian, was born under the vine, grew up in the country, and loved it.

And then I came along from the city, and I didn't know anything about farming, but it didn't take long.

I learned that, too.

- [Narrator 2] John and Stella married in 1956.

Together, they built their home, grew their farm, and their family.

They had two daughters, Ginger and Kathy.

A lot of farm families look to their sons and grandsons to take over the family business, including many traditional Armenian households.

For the Balakians, it was no son, no problem.

Ginger was proud to take over for her dad, and her daughter Amber is breaking stereotypes as a woman of color in agriculture.

- My background is my mom's side is Armenian, and my dad's side is African American.

I'm very much connected to both heritages of my family.

I very much still try to celebrate a lot of the different aspects of my cultures.

- [Narrator 2] While Balakian Farms has an old fashioned vibe, they have not been afraid to evolve.

In the 1990s, they began transitioning away from grapes.

The farm is now made up of organic tree fruit like peaches, plums, and nectarines, and row crops like tomatoes and guta, which is an Armenian cucumber.

The Balakians sell directly to the public at farmer's markets in the Bay Area, including the Ferry Plaza in San Francisco.

They say restaurateurs buy from Balakian Farms because they trust their quality.

- Well, that makes me feel good because, really, sometimes they come and they say, "Oh, you guys have the best fruits.

"I always come to you guys because you got the best."

And I say, "Oh, that makes me glad "because we work hard for this."

- [Narrator 2] Angel Chavez has worked for the Balakians since he was 16 years old.

He had just moved to California from Mexico.

He remembers the old days traveling to the farmer's markets with Stella and John, eating Stella's homemade lunches in the Balakian kitchen and even driving Amber to school.

- I like this place.

Yeah, that's why I'm here.

Yeah, it's hard for me to decide to move.

Probably, I thought before moving out of here, like look for another job, but it was very hard for me to just leave this 'cause this is where I start.

- Our help is a couple of them are like my sons.

They've been here since they were 16, and they're in their forties and they're still here.

- [Narrator 2] A few years back, the Balakians began canning tomatoes and bread and butter pickles using Stella's recipe and the Armenian cucumbers that they grow.

To turn this idea into reality, the Balakians got some help from the Armenian church in Reedley.

They were granted access to the church and its kitchen.

Amber got it food safety certified and is able to bottle there.

- That's kind of like the epitome of being Armenian.

It's like they, you know, it's just culturally, they very much, like, help each other.

- [Narrator 2] And it doesn't stop with canning.

Balakian Farms is now venturing into skincare, starting to create lotions using oils harvested from their farm.

- I see the future of Balakian Farms continuing to grow fresh produce and new value added products.

I think continuing to be, like, innovative.

- [Narrator 2] Although times change and challenges continue for small family farms, the Balakians say they hope to stay strong in their faith, rooted in their culture, and together on the ranch.

- I love you.

- I love you.