California's agriculture is number one in the United States with a $43.5 billion farm gate value. California agriculture's economic viability is key to California's economic recovery. The AgPresidents' members are environmental stewards of agriculture land, water, plants and animals. Our members supply the world with their commodities, produced with state of the art, science-based and sustainable practices, and moved to domestic and international markets. California agriculture directly employs nearly 500,000 people and is indirectly responsible for many more off-farm jobs.
The members of the Agricultural Presidents' Council include:
African American Farmers of California
American Pistachio Growers
California Agricultural Aircraft Association
California Apple Commission
California Asparagus Commission
California Association of Nurseries and Garden Centers
California Avocado Commission
California Blueberry Commission
California Citrus Mutual
California Cotton Ginners & Growers Association
California Cut Flower Commission
California Dairies Inc.
California Date Commission
California Grain and Feed Association
California Fresh Fruit Association
California Grocers Association
California Rice Commission
California Seed Association
California Strawberry Commission
California Tomato Growers Association
California Walnut Commission
California Wheat Commission
California Wool Growers Association
Far West Equipment Dealers Association
Lodi Winegrape Commission
Nisei Farmers League
AgPresidents' members are leaders in addressing laws, regulations and policies affecting agriculture, and in educating decision makers about the industry. AgPresidents' finds reasonable and pragmatic solutions rather than being consumed by problems.
Some of the examples of leadership by AgPresidents' members include:
Detecting and reacting to an invasive pest known to carry a disease that has the potential to eliminate the citrus industry in California.
A pest known as the Asian Citrus Psyllid (ACP) is harmless to citrus trees, unless it carries a disease known as Huanglongbing (HLB). If an ACP is infect with HLB and lands on citrus trees in California, the disease transfers to the tree and over time kills it. As we have recently learned through Florida's unfortunate experience with HLB, the disease moves fast, killing hundreds of thousands of trees, and has no cure. California's citrus leaders did not wait for the disease to come and destroy our trees, but instead immediately set up funding from the industry itself, combined with state and federal funding, in order to address this deadly threat. The industry has worked hard to detect where ACPs are in California, ensure they are not carrying the deadly HLB, and prevent their movement to areas of the state where citrus is grown for public consumption. Simultaneous with the detection efforts, research is being done to create either a cure for the disease or citrus plant that is unaffected by it. To learn more about ACP and HLB, please visit the Citrus Pest & Disease Prevention Program website.
California rice farmers continue to adopt the latest technology to ensure their growing practices are environmentally friendly.
Burning of rice straw used to be a common practice after harvest to control crop diseases. In 1990, a phase down of burning began, with growers incorporating the straw into the ground following harvest and flooding fields. This practice of decomposing straw has not only improved air quality, it has led to a boon for wildlife. Today, nearly 230 wildlife species use California ricelands. That includes millions of swans, geese, ducks, herons, egrets and many of bird species. Rice fields act like surrogate wetlands, replacing the historic wetlands that have been lost over the generations due to development. To find out more about California rice and the environment, please visit the California Rice Commission.
California farmers have been leaders in heat illness education and prevention.
In 2011, nearly 1,600 growers, supervisors and Farm Labor Contractors representing more than 400,000 employees took part in the training. It is the first step to ensuring a safe and healthy workplace. Working together we are making strides in protecting California’s agricultural workers from the heat.