Catherine Pinkerton Keeling comes from a family that has been farming in California for four generations and growing California Avocados for more than half a century. She grew up on her parents’ avocado groves but says that didn’t make her a farmer. Becoming an avocado farmer came later. After college Catherine (and her husband Travis) volunteered for the Peace Corp in Costa Rica, helping women become economically independent as part of a rural development program. She later pursued additional education outside of farming, becoming a licensed clinical social worker in the Midwest.
In late 2018 the devastating Thomas Fire damaged nearly 5,000 acres of avocado groves in Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties. The Pinkerton family home and about 70% of their ranch was destroyed, wiping out two generations of hard work. Catherine was relieved that her parents, Dan and Susan Pinkerton, and their employees were not hurt, but after seeing the devastation Travis and Catherine felt a calling to help her family rebuild the ranch. So, the Keeling’s relocated to California and now their children are growing up alongside their parents and grandparents on what was once their great-grandparents’ farms.
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