…remains truly farmer-led and deeply grounded in real-world needs. The Resilience of Farmers—and the Advocacy Behind Them AgMeter host Nick noted that farmers are some of the most resilient people…
California Table Grapes: A Strong, High-Quality Season
…in just three to five days—an impressive showcase of farm-to-table freshness. Representing California on the Global Stage As the voice of the California table grape industry, LeMay travels extensively. His…
Ian LeMay Shares California Table Grape Success Story Amid Global Competition
…in both innovation and consistency. “We’re growing more than 80 varieties of table grapes now,” LeMay said. “Since 1982, the Commission has partnered with the USDA to bring new, longer-lasting,…
How Settlers Transformed the Heart of American Agriculture
…who came to farm it. Early settlers arriving in Iowa found themselves on terrain unlike anything they had known back East — open, fertile, and full of promise, yet stubbornly…
Kings County Farm Bureau Takes on State Water Board Over Groundwater Rights
…farmers value and invest in their employees. Many workers have been with the same farm for 20 or 30 years, and farms often support multiple generations of families. Unfortunately, these…
Kings County Farm Bureau Takes on Sacramento Over Groundwater Rights
…the issue extends far beyond county lines. “Agriculture is a billion-dollar industry here, supporting 15% of our jobs,” he said. “If we can’t keep farmers farming, this county turns into…
California Agriculture at a Crossroads: Insights from Fresno County Farm Bureau President Ryan Jacobsen
…people understand this better than Ryan Jacobsen, President and CEO of the Fresno County Farm Bureau and a fourth-generation California farmer. In a recent conversation on the Ag Meter, Jacobsen…
Ryan Jacobsen on Farming Through Storms, Labor, and the Future of California Agriculture
The November 11 edition of the AgNet News Hour featured an in-depth conversation with Ryan Jacobsen, President and CEO of the Fresno County Farm Bureau, who joined hosts Nick Papagni…
How Radio Transformed American Agriculture History
…laid the foundation for the National Association of Farm Broadcasters (NAFB) and the USDA’s Agricultural Communications Network, which still serve farmers today. What started as five minutes of market news…
Ethnic Roots of Early American Agriculture
…continent. German-American Farming Traditions Among the most influential immigrant groups in early American agriculture were German settlers, whose farming practices were rooted in centuries of European tradition. When they arrived…
Edward Ring on California’s Water Crisis: Fixing a Broken System
…of Farming As discussions turned to the potential impact of Proposition 50, Ring didn’t hesitate to share his concern. “It probably will [hurt farming],” he said. “Hopefully not too much,…
Nanette Simonian: Championing California Agriculture & Women in Ag
…to national politics. She expressed concern about inexperienced decision-makers impacting California’s complex and labor-intensive farming industry. “Farming is such an intimate topic for me. I grew up on a family…
Nanette Simonian and California Women for Agriculture Take a Stand on Prop 50
…control to people who don’t understand agriculture — people from the coast making decisions for farmers in the Valley.” Simonian, who comes from a multi-generational farm family, said her agricultural…
Don Wagner on Restoring Integrity, Water, and Common Sense to California
…country.” He described how both Jerry Brown and Gavin Newsom—“two Bay Area liberals,” as he put it—have sidelined farming in state policy. “Farming isn’t even on their radar,” Wagner said….