When you’re a small, family-owned winery without a large advertising budget, the best way to spread the word about the quality of your wines is to have key influencers taste them. But since the 300 members of the Family Winemakers of California are located from Eureka to San Diego and many points in between, it can be difficult to get these influencers to come to you.

California’s farmers grow more than 400 commodities each year, making the state the nation’s breadbasket. And for 36 years, the nonprofit California Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom has been educating students around the state that the nutritious and tasty fruits and vegetables they eat don’t just come from the supermarket.

Almonds may be California’s second-largest crop, bringing in $5.62 billion in sales in 2020, but almond growers feel whipsawed by two factors over which they have no control: water and supply chains.

On June 14, 2022, the Independent Auditor convened to tally the ballots and complete the 2022 director election process for Farm Credit West. The results of this event are documented in the customer letter posted here, completing the 2022 director election process for Farm Credit West.

For some, farming isn’t so much a job they choose as it is a lifestyle they were born into. Many grow into the role of operator with strong support from their parents and grandparents. Others, however, enter the industry without the rich history of a family business to bolster them, and the related knowledge, infrastructure and resources.

Farm Credit organizations serving California’s farmers and ranchers contributed $870,000 during 2021 to nonprofit organizations working to support the industry, preserve agriculture, and raise awareness of the importance of agriculture.

Farm Credit West and Northwest Farm Credit Services are pleased to announce the board of directors of both associations have unanimously agreed to pursue a merger of the two organizations by signing a letter of intent to merge.

Going off to college is a big leap into the unknown for most college-bound high school seniors – especially when they’re doing so in the midst of a worldwide pandemic. To help ease the transition, the California Association of Future Farmers of America (FFA) has introduced a new program to make that leap a little more manageable – and to remind the students that there are many pathways to a career in California agriculture.

Despite recent heavy rains, California is still experiencing one of its worst droughts in history, so reminding the public and policy makers that food does not grow without water is a critical need for the state’s agricultural community. That’s why Mike Wade and Farm Credit were excited to see the new SMUD Museum of Science and Curiosity open recently.

Farm Credit West, ACA, one of the largest agricultural lending cooperatives in the nation, recently donated over $50,000 to food banks throughout the regions where they operate, including Arizona, California’s Central Coast, the Imperial Valley, South San Joaquin Valley, and Sacramento Valley.