March Playlist | All Things Ag (Sector)

Ag is all about growth. Whether vegetables in the ground or fruit or the trees or livestock, Ag grows, nurtures, and produces. In our own San Joaquin Valley, the region that feeds the world ag generates $3 billion annually. Our eight counties produce more than half the State's agricultural output. If you include adjacent industries like food manufacturing and wine, the output inches up to $4 billion annually. Ag is our identity; it is our past and future, but that future looks different.

Climate impacts, industrialization, and automation have forced changes in the industry, the region, and the people. Small family farms are being sold to conglomerations. Fewer people are needed to bring in crops and to process them. What we grow is not what it was 20 years ago because the climate no longer favors certain crops, and consumer tastes have changed.

But change can be a pathway to growth. People are resilient and adapt. They change, they grow, and so will the industry.

Source: album photos credited to spotify.com