In an effort to provide food to California families in need, Farm Credit, Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) and Hilmar Cheese Company, Inc., are partnering to assist the expansion of the state’s Farm to Family Program, as recognized last week by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

For more than a quarter-century, the Center for Land-Based Learning has operated its successful FARMS Leadership Program, educating thousands of high school students about career opportunities in agriculture. And up through March of this year, the nonprofit had planned and implemented dozens of Field Day hands-on experiences throughout the state to get kids out of the classroom and onto working farms to learn more.

Farm Credit West, ACA, one of the nation’s largest agricultural lending cooperatives, announced today the distribution of $120,000 to food banks throughout California and Arizona. These contributions are aimed at providing relief to communities negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 40th EcoFarm Conference – the oldest and largest organic farming conference in the West – went off without a hitch in late January, providing some 1,600 attendees with a wide range of information about how to grow food sustainably.

Farm Credit understands the vital connection between farmers and their land, as well as the importance of preserving our natural resources. These beliefs have motivated Farm Credit to be a long-standing sponsor of the Leopold Conservation Award.

Latinos have been the largest ethnic group in California since 2014 and make up an even larger portion of the population in many of California’s farming regions. In fact, the fastest growing population of farmers throughout the state are Latinos transitioning from farmworkers to farmers.

Recently, the National 4-H Poultry and Egg Conference was held in Louisville, Ky., earlier this month. The conference included a range of contests including the Avian Bowl, which tested contestants’ knowledge of exhibition, husbandry, anatomy, and several other poultry-related subjects in a game show-like fashion.

The Farm Credit Alliance was recently presented with FFA’s Distinguished Service Citation for its longstanding contributions to FFA and agricultural education. Katie Otto, development director for the California FFA Foundation, the state organization’s fund-raising arm, said the California FFA nominated Farm Credit for the award because of its generous and enduring support.

Latinos have been the largest ethnic group in California since 2014 and make up an even larger portion of the population in many of California’s farming regions. To support the entry of Latinos into agriculture, the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) and the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) will hold the fifth-annual Latino Farmer Conference in November.

Once a niche product, organic farming is the fastest-growing sector of the U.S. food industry. In fact, organic food today is a nearly $50 billion industry, employing 1.4 million people nationwide and more than 400,000 in California alone, according to the California Certified Organic Farmers Foundation (CCOF).