…Jacobs and the hosts discuss: Rising labor costs and shifting labor laws Regulatory obstacles that complicate planting, harvesting, and processing Water restrictions and the loss of high-quality farmland to development…
America’s Biggest Farm Boom: 1860–1910
…demographic expansion. Farmland value skyrocketed as agriculture became a pillar of the national economy. In 1860, American farmland was valued at $8 billion. By 1906, that number jumped to $30…
Fourth-Generation Farming in the South Valley: An Interview with Jason Giannelli
…Giannelli highlights the complexities of balancing urban growth with agricultural needs: “Those cities have 20-year plans for water, but as farmland disappears, we end up with less surface water. With…
Jason Gianelli: Water, Labor, and the Future of Farming in the South Valley
…up,” he joked. “I farmer down.” But the challenges facing today’s farmers aren’t funny. Gianelli described how quickly the landscape has changed, especially with towns expanding into farmland and new…
SOLIX Robotics: Solar-Powered Autonomy for Modern Farmers
…may help draw them in. Strategic Solar Power, Not Solar Fields Wetli also addressed the distinction between SOLIX and large-scale solar projects that replace farmland. SOLIX is not a solar…
Solinftec’s Taylor Wetli Talks Solar Robotics and the Future of Smart Farming
…irony that while he’s not a fan of solar panels taking up farmland, he supports this form of solar use. “You’ve got the solar on top of the unit, not…
How Settlers Transformed the Heart of American Agriculture
…prairie into productive farmland. This challenge directly inspired one of the most important innovations in agricultural history: the creation of the steel plow. Designed to slice cleanly through the dense…
California Agriculture at a Crossroads: Insights from Fresno County Farm Bureau President Ryan Jacobsen
…The pace of change simply won’t allow for a break. Representing 1.88 Million Acres of World-Class Farmland When Jacobsen walks into a political meeting, industry conference, or stakeholder discussion, he…
Ryan Jacobsen on Farming Through Storms, Labor, and the Future of California Agriculture
…more than 1.8 million acres of farmland, Jacobsen said he feels an enormous responsibility to be a voice for California agriculture. “We grow nearly 350 different crops here,” he said….
Edward Ring’s Bold Blueprint: Fixing California’s Water and Energy Crisis
…California without farming.” Ring emphasized that California’s water shortages are man-made, not natural. “Five million acres of farmland in the San Joaquin Valley need about 15 million acre-feet of water…
Edward Ring on California’s Water Crisis: Fixing a Broken System
…got more water right there, north of the Delta.” But for the five million acres of irrigated farmland south of the Delta, the situation is dire. “Five million acres in…
Westward Expansion: The Harsh Beginnings of America’s Frontier Farmers
…control. The policy was deeply unpopular among colonists eager for farmland and new opportunities. After the American Revolutionary War, the proclamation was abolished, opening vast territories to ambitious settlers ready…
How Early Farmers Learned to Protect Their Soil
…them, many believed there would always be new land to farm once existing fields lost their fertility. By the 1880s, however, that perception began to shift. As farmland became scarcer,…
Farming the Frontier: How Early Settlers Built America
…building a life in the expanding United States. From modest beginnings, these westward settlers helped establish the agricultural backbone of a growing nation—turning open prairies into productive farmland and setting…