Mel Machado, Chief Agricultural Officer at Blue Diamond Growers, has seen a lot of change in his nearly 35 years working for the cooperative. Since he started, the statewide crop has more than tripled in acreage, and has grown into California’s second biggest ag commodity.

Harvest is underway, and Machado spends virtually every day, traveling throughout the Central Valley visiting with their 3,000 growers and checking crop progress. The current forecast is for 2.7 billion pounds shelled, which would be very close to the 2025 harvest.

While harvest is all encompassing, the almond industry has made steady progress in sustainability, refining crucial areas like water use efficiency, habitat management and getting the most from crop nutrition.

Machado said this is his dream job.

“I get to work with an amazing group of people around the valley,” he said. “The best decision I ever made was to come to Blue Diamond.”

Find out more at bluediamondgrowers.com.

Idaho’s Palouse Region is off the beaten path for many, but it’s where a significant impact is made to help keep farmers productive and consumers well-fed.

With a storied history dating back to the 19th century, the University is Idaho is one of the nation’s premier public research institutions.

Redox was provided a campus tour, including the Soil Stewards Farm and Deep Soil Ecotron.

"Collectively together we have the opportunity to really lean in and make sure that we're providing as your land grant university the research that's needed to help our producers be successful," remarked Leslie Edgar, J.R. Simplot Endowed Dean of the University of Idaho's College of Agricultural and Life Sciences.

Find out more about the University of Idaho and how it helps farm productivity at uidaho.edu/cals.

Specialty crop growers on the California Coast operate with elevated risk. Many facets of farming are out of a grower’s control.

Chris Oliva is Key Accounts and Southern Sales Manager for AgRx, a leading independent supplier of traditional and organic crop protection and nutrient products, including Redox Bio-Nutrients technology.

He said coastal growers face stringent regulation, high land prices and volatile markets, so sound agronomic decisions are a necessity.

"I've known these families all my life," Oliva said. "There is a special bond. When we come to them with a product, they trust that this product is going to get them the results that they want."

Find out more at AgRx.com.

Just like the industry it is serving, the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Strawberry Center has grown a lot in the last decade.

This year’s 10th annual field day attracted more than 600 growers, scientists and industry members. While the California strawberry crop value has increased markedly to $3.5 billion last year, work at Cal Poly has intensified.

“The three main areas we cover are entomology, plant pathology and automation,” said founding director, Gerald Holmes. “Part of our mission statement is that the research and education that we do addresses grower’s needs. If we’re not doing that, we’re not doing our job.”

Automation is a top industry focus because about 60 percent of a grower’s expenses come from labor. Innovations of interest include robotic harvesters, a double-barreled bug vacuum and an autonomous pest and disease control using ultraviolet light.

Find out more about the strawberry center at strawberry.calpoly.edu.

As it turns out, dreams do come true. For Wayne Cawley, it took a broken truck and not so subtle reminders from a preacher and social media to realize his dream to become a farm owner.

Today, Redemption Farms in Maryland is a highly successful, 38-acre U-pick farm, featuring a plethora of produce items, such as strawberries, tree fruit, potatoes and pumpkins.

Cawley credits his strong faith for providing him the right mental frame and fortitude for success.

“The more that I started to lean towards my faith, I wouldn’t say things got better, but the better I got with things,” he said.

Cawley utilizes Redox technology on his farm, including diKaP™, Mainstay® Si and Mainstay® Calcium 2.0.

Modern farming has seen many changes over the generations. Understanding the latest technology, including biostimulants and biofertilizers, can be powerful tools to maximizing productivity.

DunhamTrimmer Chief Technology Officer Vatren Jurin provides thoughtful insight into this subject with The Reckoning, his Substack of scientific writing rooted in practicality in finding positive outcomes for growers.

“Be accountable to what you said to the grower,” he said. “not for one season, but for 35 or 40, because that’s the last span of decision making that our clients have.”

Jurin said he wants to see more grower input in new product development, better use of updated agronomic tools and more specialists guiding growers.

Find out more at https://dunhamtrimmer.com and https://vatrenjurin.substack.com/.

Continuing to expand our technology for the betterment of farming is the driving force at Redox. It is passionate quest of our research team, headed by Dr. Gifford Gillette.

“It’s an incredibly challenging time in agriculture right now,” Gillette said. “We are doing our absolute best to provide answers and solutions for the challenges that growers face.”

Each summer, a group of talented interns helps this effort, and this year’s additions of Sheldyn Rogers, Dallas Cummins, Shianne Bair and Cyrus Taylor have made an immediate, positive impact with their work ethic and quick acclimation.

The company’s firm commitment to research is evidenced by a new state of the art laboratory, three PhD’s on staff and the recent addition of Jackeline Garza as Chief Technology Officer.

Traditional Fourth of July fireworks and festivities will feature a little extra this year, with America’s 250th birthday. It’s a good time to reflect on U.S. history and the foundations for our success.

“There’s so much to be proud of in our countries history” remarked Idaho State Historian, HannaLore Hein. “These different arenas include innovation, development of new technologies, opportunity that has existed in this country for individuals and for organizations , and just the growth and the progress that the country has led the world in deserves a moment of praise.”

Agriculture has long been a central part of America’s success, as productive farms have yielded abundant food and positive economic impacts.

The incredible service by our military has also been crucial, and many veterans are involved in farming.

“Patriotism is something that’s ingrained in a big part of our culture,” said Tommy McMurren of Five Patriots Farms in Illinois, whose family has had generations of military service. “I think it’s encoded in our genetics.”

While our nation faces challenges, optimism continues to many, including Tyler Adams, Vice President of Sales for Willard Agri-Service on the East Coast. Tyler carried out nine years of active duty in the U.S. Army, including in Afghanistan.

“The core of this country is the things I'm really the most optimistic about” Adams said. “It's the ones quietly coaching the kids' sports teams, the ones running the small business, the ones that are raising good kids and families and engaging their communities. They know what America is all about, and that's about working together as a team, building something that's real, showing up.”