Watmaugh Strawberry Farm
Meet the Farmer
Watmaugh Strawberry Farm
Torn and Chio Saetern
Acreage: 10
Location: Sonoma County and Sacramento County
Established in: 2001
What they offer: Strawberries, green beans, tomatoes, blackberries, zucchini, eggplant
Where they sell: Farm stand
Torn and Chio Saetern’s parents always wanted them to work office jobs, rather than taking on the challenging work of running a farm. But the brothers were constantly out in the field, Torn says. It was almost inevitable that they would learn to love working on the land.
When the family arrived in the United States in the early 90s, Torn and Chio’s lives changed completely – they went from being in a refugee camp to farming land in Anderson, CA. Because they didn’t have a babysitter, their parents brought them to the farm, where the brothers learned from their parents as they watched them harvest strawberries.
In 2020, Torn and Chio’s father felt ready to retire and the brothers decided to take the helm. Now, Watmaugh Strawberry Farm is a rare sight in Sonoma County, an area that mostly features grape growers. The brothers are close collaborators: they take turns running the farm stand and working in the fields, experiencing both sides of the business from day to day. They know the rewarding feeling of putting in long days and hard work, then harvesting the produce you grow.
Torn enjoys connecting with people who visit the farm stand. He says not a lot of people know about all the varieties of strawberries out there, and he loves to see them try a new variety for the first time. They grow both Chandlers and Albion varieties, known for their rich flavor. They harvest them at peak ripeness and sell them that day. In particular, many elderly people visit the stand, and Torn says it’s important to provide them with fresh and healthy food. Locals might also see the farm’s name highlighted on menus during a night out in downtown Sonoma, Watmaugh Strawberries are even featured at the neighborhood ice cream shop.
Torn says that within the elderly Mien community, many people know each other from refugee camps. The next generation, though, is slowly still trying to connect with each other. Doing this work keeps the brothers connected to their community while they continue their family’s legacy.
Advising Snapshot: 2026
When they began working with KTA: 2026
Advising Focus: Access to capital; business expansion; improving general infrastructure
Business Goals: Build a cooler to expand business, capital access to invest in business equipment, secure organic certification, create a more steady income flow
With guidance from Farm Business Advisors Idara Phillips and Brooks Schmitt, Torn and Chio are currently looking for grants to buy new equipment and upgrade some of their existing tools. In addition, they’re working together to revamp the farm stand to attract more customers alongside thinking through new payment methods. They have begun their work towards organic certification as well. More specifically, Torn and Chio want to keep experimenting with their soil and growing process to ensure strawberries are both sweet and grown with the best practices.
The brothers are also partnering with Idara and Brooks to find ways to maintain a steady income in the summer when production often drops off. They are a few months into implementing a more thorough sales and expense tracking system and are starting to integrate cash flow projections and planning into their annual cycle. They also hope to build a cooler to help keep products available longer. Because there are so few organic strawberry growers in the area, Idara is connecting them with other knowledgeable farmers to support them through thought partnership and ongoing collaborations.
