Ramona Farms

Ramona Farms is an Akimel O'odham (Pima)-owned farming operation on the Gila River Indian Reservation, run by Ramona Button and her husband Terry. Ramona's parents farmed the same land before her, and she and Terry began farming the allotment in 1974. In the late 1970s, at the urging of community elders, the farm took on a mission to revive the bavi (tepary bean), a crop that had nearly vanished from the region. Starting from a handful of seeds preserved in glass jars, Ramona Farms grew that effort into a full product line. The farm grows and processes heirloom tepary beans in black, brown, and white varieties, along with heritage corn products (including cornmeal, polenta, grits, and pinole), ancient-grain wheat berries, whole wheat flour, and garbanzo beans. Products are grown, harvested, processed, packaged, and shipped from the farm.