The city of Brentwood has received approval from the United States Patent and Trademark office to use the certification Brentwood Grown for agricultural products produced by Brentwood-area farmers.

Like its counterpart California Grown the aim of the program is to help Brentwood-area farmers distinguish their products as locally-grown and harvested. In order for area farmers to participate in the Brentwood Grown program, they must fill out an application and sign a licensing agreement with the city, which is free of charge. In exchange, the city provides the farmer the right to use the logo and the term Brentwood Grown in their packaging and marketing.

According to Brentwood Economic Development Manager Linda Maurer, this is just one of several ways that the city has been working to support the local farmer in the Brentwood region.

The city has made a long-standing commitment to make farming in the Brentwood region economically viable. One way to assist in those efforts is to create some added value and distinction for the products grown in this region, said Maurer. The (brand) Brentwood Grown is one step to helping achieve this goal.

The city recently instituted an Agricultural Enterprise Grant Program, which provided small grants to local farming organizations such as Harvest Time, the local U-Pick organization and the Brentwood Agricultural Land Trust to further their marketing and enterprise efforts. Grants were also made available to the Contra Costa Wine Grape and Olive Growers Association to highlight Brentwood-area wines in various outreach efforts.

For more information, or to participate in the program, call the city's Economic Development Division at 925-516-5405.