…get involved but remember: family comes first.” He noted that the lessons learned from farming—hard work, patience, and resilience—translate directly into effective political leadership. Immigration Reform and Labor Challenges Turning…
Verdant Robotics and Van Groningen & Sons Showcase Innovation and Tradition on AgNet News Hour
…family tradition with Brian Van Groningen of Van Groningen & Sons in Manteca. The fourth-generation farmer talked about his family’s 100-year legacy growing watermelons, cantaloupes, honeydews, sweet corn, and pumpkins…
Early 19th-Century American Farming and Westward Expansion
…larger markets and promoting agricultural diversity across the young nation. Farming, Profit, and Perseverance Although most farms were modest family operations, times of rapid economic growth offered new opportunities. A…
Nat DiBuduo: Politics, Water & California Farming
…and nostalgia, recalling family gatherings and Sunday dinners shared between the Papagni and DiBuduo families. “Those were the days where family was huge,” he said, noting that family tradition has…
Nat DiBuduo, the “Godfather of Grapes,” on the Future of California Wine and Farming
…change he sees as both inevitable and troubling. “Farmers can’t compete with developers when it’s this hard to farm in California,” he said. “Regulations, labor, and water costs keep rising…
Ethnic Roots of American Agriculture: How Immigrants Shaped U.S. Farming
…and livestock management techniques distinct from English, Scottish, or Irish farmers. Each group contributed to the evolving farming culture that defined rural America. Immigrants Start as Wage Laborers Many immigrants…
Ag Innovation and PCA Leadership: Priscilla Koepke and Mando Perez on AgNet News Hour
…California PCA with Semios and this year’s CAPCA Member of the Year. Hosts Nick Papagni and Josh McGill led conversations that connected the past, present, and future of farming —…
The Roots of 4-H: Jessie Shambaugh and the Birth of American Agricultural Youth
…stood Jessie Shambaugh, a dedicated farm wife whose passion for education and community development helped shape one of the most influential youth organizations in U.S. history: 4-H. Shambaugh was deeply…
Celebrating the Valley’s Bounty: The Whole Vine Festival Returns to Fresno State
…State services the entire valley, and this is a regional festival.” Free Admission and Family-Friendly Fun Thanks to President Sandoval’s request, admission to the Whole Vine Festival is completely free,…
Karen Ross on Water, Workforce, and the Future of California Agriculture
…the sameness in farming, if you’ve seen one farm, you’ve seen one farm,” Ross noted. “Understanding regional specifics helps us see where people are working together to really lean into…
Karen Ross Talks Water, Regulation, and Prop 50 Silence on AgNet News Hour
…mix of climate uncertainty and government regulation has made farming even more difficult. Still, she emphasized that the future can be bright if farmers and policymakers work together on education,…
Elaine Culotti: Fighting for California’s Farmers and Future
…to many as the “Fresno Undercover Billionaire” and “The Lipstick Farmer.” From her Fallbrook farm to national television, Culotti has emerged as a bold voice for California agriculture and a…
David Tangipa: Fighting for California Farmers and Rejecting Proposition 50
…the fourth-generation farmer who didn’t do what our great-grandparents did,” he said. “We got a little lazy, and now we’re losing the farm.” California’s prosperity, he argued, was built by…
Why Prop 50 Threatens Rural Representation: California Farm Bureau President Shannon Douglass
…those products and everybody up the chain involved in the marketing and sales of those.” Yet farms are disappearing at an alarming rate. “We lost 20% of the farms in…