…is that the Hazelton family began planting orange trees in Fresno County back in the 1860s. Today, that legacy continues through Kings River Packing, officially formed in 1977 when the…
Westward Expansion Transforms 1850s American Farming
…of agricultural knowledge gained from their home regions. Farmers from New England and New York introduced seeds for plum, apple, and pear trees, planting the first large-scale orchards across the…
Building the Future of Ag Education at Merced College
…crops and livestock pastures. “Students will experience the full farm-to-fork process — planting, nurturing, harvesting, processing, and even marketing their products,” he said. “It’s a complete educational ecosystem.” Connecting Students…
Post–Civil War Wheat Crash: How Farmers Turned to Corn and Livestock
…crops in the United States. With soldiers and civilians alike needing bread and other staples, demand soared—and so did prices. Farmers across the Midwest and East quickly responded, planting more…
Van Groningen & Sons: A Century of California Farming
…while we’re still harvesting this year’s crops.” For the Van Groningen family, farming is an ongoing cycle of planning, planting, harvesting, and improvement. “You always have to think one, two,…
Celebrating the Valley’s Bounty: The Whole Vine Festival Returns to Fresno State
…planting seeds, and exploring the innovative technology that powers modern agriculture. “They’ll see how forward-thinking agriculture is in our valley,” said Goudreau. “Agriculture is not antiquated — it’s very forward-thinking,…
California’s Water Puzzle: Insights from Avid Water’s Cory Broad
…2025, Westside growers only got a little over 50% allocation from the federal system,” he explained. “Planting and purchasing decisions are being made now for 2026, but we don’t yet…
Corey Broad of Avid Water on California’s Fixable Water Crisis
…planting decisions before knowing whether they’ll even receive federal water allocations. “Every year it’s the same discussion: will there be water, and how much?” he said. This unpredictability, he cautioned,…
John Duarte on Central Valley Agriculture: Water, Prop 50, and the Future of Avocados
…here in Hughson,” John said. Additional ranches in Modesto support long-term trials and research plantings, but the headquarters remains the hub of innovation and grower outreach. Nick noted that some…
Farming for the Future: Jake Barcellos and A-Bar Ag Enterprises
…unique pressures: Water availability: With land spread across five water districts, Barcellos explains that allocations often come too late to make effective planting decisions. Even in good rainfall years, much…
Native American Agriculture: Roots of U.S. Farming
…Three Sisters: Corn, Beans, and Squash Perhaps the most famous Native American farming system was the “Three Sisters” method. This intercropping strategy involved planting corn, beans, and squash together: Corn…
Don Cameron: California Ag Leadership & Challenges
…Cameron emphasizes teamwork, giving much of the credit to his dedicated employees. This collaborative approach allows the ranch to remain productive year-round, from crop preparation and planting to harvest. Global…
Philadelphia Society for Promoting Agriculture: America’s First Farm Organization
…by the Society was crop rotation. Instead of planting the same crop in the same field year after year—which quickly depleted soil nutrients—rotation introduced a system where different crops were…
Small Wineries Under Pressure: Ziveli Winery
…rapidly changing industry. A Family Legacy in Wine John Nale explained how his grandparents immigrated from Croatia in 1928, eventually settling in the Central Valley and planting vines that would…