Farmside Chat Takes Listeners on a Tour of California’s Farmland

In the most recent episode of the American Farm Bureau Federation’s Farmside Chat podcast, AFBF President and podcast host Zippy Duvall talks with California Farm Bureau President Jamie Johansson and state board member Jenny Holtermann about the challenges and opportunities facing farmers across the Golden State. Both farmers touched upon how important the USMCA is to California farmers, the dire need for skilled agricultural labor and the significant role Farm Bureau has played in their lives.

Johansson, who grows olives in Oroville in the northern part of the state, talks about the impact farmers can have in their communities through organizations like Farm Bureau.

“What’s unique about Farm Bureau is, you don’t have to be in D.C. to make a difference. You can make a difference at the county level. And that’s where everything starts,” he said.

Holtermann, who grew up in a Farm Bureau family, said she turned to Farm Bureau when she moved hundreds of miles away from her parents’ farm to raise her own family on an almond farm in the southern end of the Central Valley.

“Moving to a different area of the state I wasn’t familiar with, the first thing I did was reach out to Farm Bureau and get involved in Young Farmers and Ranchers. That helped me gain more friends and realize what the challenges are and what people are doing farming here that they’re passionate about,” Holtermann said.

You can access Farmside Chat several ways. The podcast is available on the AFBF website, as well as through iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, SoundCloud and Stitcher. Most podcast services allow you to subscribe to or follow a podcast so that when there’s a new episode, it will automatically download to the podcast platform.