Listen, do you hear that? Neither does that rodent about to fall prey to that fast approaching barn owl. It was this stealthy observation that inspired Tom Hoffman to build himself some owl boxes and put them up all around his family鈥檚 fourth generation vineyard. You see, rodents eat the roots and owls eat the rodents and鈥攚ell, Tom figured letting nature take its course was a far healthier pest control solution than letting some chemical do it; an idea that quickly had Tom filling owl box orders from vineyards far and wide. It鈥檚 this kind of out of the box thinking鈥攖he desire to farm in a way that is environmentally and socially responsible鈥攖hat eventually led to the creation of Lodi Rules. With continuous input from farmers, scientists and environmentalists, Lodi Rules has become the most comprehensive (and most copied) sustainable winegrowing program in America. Why, everyone from winegrape growers to winemakers to wine drinkers is singing its praises. As for the owls, they鈥檙e staying silent. And that鈥檚 a good thing. A very good thing indeed.
