…which can cut labor costs by up to 85% and reduce chemical use by 99% through AI-driven precision spraying. “We put molecules on target with the accuracy of a laser,”…
Bill Jones: Fixing California’s Water and Future
…doesn’t protect its water infrastructure. “We’re all environmentalists,” Jones said. “Farmers are the first environmentalists. If they weren’t, they wouldn’t survive. Good policy allows us to protect the environment and…
Verdant Robotics and Van Groningen & Sons Showcase Innovation and Tradition on AgNet News Hour
…and cut labor costs by 85%. The machine, designed to attach directly to a tractor, uses AI and machine learning to identify and treat crops with millimeter accuracy. “We deliver…
Early 19th-Century American Farming and Westward Expansion
…The Legacy of Early American Farmers The farmers of the early 19th century did more than plant crops—they laid the groundwork for a growing nation. Their labor, determination, and willingness…
Bill Jones: “California Will Come Back Stronger Than Ever”
…of into storage. He criticized decades of political inaction and urged cooperation between Sacramento and Washington. “Until both are on the same page, California’s water problem will never truly be…
Nat DiBuduo: Politics, Water & California Farming
…regulations, which cost money, and with the cost of labor in California, which affects your bottom line,” he said. “It’s almost cost-prohibitive to farm without having higher production,” he added….
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
…arrived in America without land or resources, starting instead as wage laborers. Merchants and artisans often sponsored young workers from Europe, covering their transportation costs in exchange for labor in…
Karen Ross on Water, Workforce, and the Future of California Agriculture
…volatility and labor challenges to climate change and regulatory burdens. “There are so many pressures on margins,” she said. “Then you compound that with changing weather patterns, the implementation of…
Karen Ross Talks Water, Regulation, and Prop 50 Silence on AgNet News Hour
…are facing unprecedented “headwinds,” citing low prices, labor shortages, immigration struggles, and rising regulatory costs. She compared current conditions to the hardships of the 1980s farm crisis, adding that today’s…
David Tangipa: Fighting for California Farmers and Rejecting Proposition 50
…report that mapped the same burn scar seen today. The report concluded that flood basins and dams were critical for future protection — the very reason the Santa Ynez Reservoir…
Shannon Douglass Doubles Down on Prop 50 Opposition
…listeners that agriculture already faces enormous challenges: Regulatory costs have increased nearly 1,400% in the past 20 years. California has lost 20% of its family farms in the last decade….
Gage A. Kent and the Birth of Kent Feeds
…feed at the time relied on low-cost fillers, Kent believed that young calves deserved high-quality feed supplements to ensure better growth and health. Gage A. Kent and the Birth of…
Mando Perez: Innovation & Leadership in California Ag
…has had a strong 2025, Perez noted. The company continues to innovate in pest management, irrigation, and climate monitoring. Its solutions aim to improve fruit quality while reducing labor and…

















