By Janene Scully

Noozhawk North County Editor

Arriving by the carloads, families got to see, touch and taste northern Santa Barbara County’s agricultural industry while standing in the middle of what one grower called “some of the most valuable farm ground on the planet.”

Saturday, Sept. 18, marked the third annual Santa Barbara County Farm Day with the theme of “Meet the Hands That Feed You.” 

More than a dozen sites hosted visitors for free, self-guided tours that let them learn and leave with both information and produce. 

At Innovative Produce, on Simas Road between Santa Maria and Guadalupe, sixth-generation farmer George Adam talked with friends and strangers alike as his crew demonstrated machines for prepping celery and Brussels sprouts for market.

“I think there’s a lot of misconceptions about how food is really produced,” he said. “We try to get the truth out there as much as we can, and the best thing for people to really get the full understanding of what’s going on is to come out to an event like this.” 

With more than 15 commodities grown on nearly 2,000 acres of land, Adam said they must plan crops years in advance.

“We have to plan it out for labor, for sales and for plant health rotation,” he added.

After previously farming with cousins, Adam formed Innovative Produce in 2008.

For Farm Day, the business gave away lettuce, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, hats, reusable bags and sips of green juice for visitors who drove down a dirt road past lush produce fields and assorted farm equipment.

In a field behind some buildings, employees demonstrated machines used for harvesting celery, prepping and packaging stalks made into ready-to-eat sticks.

“Yep, you can eat them. All you need is peanut butter,” an Innovative Produce employee said while handing out bags of celery sticks. 

Other machines demonstrated how they free Brussels sprouts from their thick, leafy stalks so the orbs can be sent to stores. As workers demonstrated how the machines operated, visitors stood nearby watching and listening before asking questions.

Santa Maria resident Denise Yamamoto soaked up the information that she learned at Innovative Produce and other Farm Day stops.

“I think it’s amazing,” she said. “It’s showing me to appreciate how your food starts … all the way up to the part where it’s packaged and then comes to us as a consumer. That’s amazing. I’ve never considered that before.”

Her multigeneration group started their Farm Day tours at Engel & Gray with composting as the focus to teach about the vital nutrients, water-holding capacity and other benefits it brings growers.

In addition to letting youths climb into heavy equipment, Engel & Gray educated visitors about composting, providing pots, dirt and seedlings ready for transplant and to be taken home.

“We like to explain what composting’s about,” co-owner Bob Engel said. “One of the messages we try to get to the public is to try to keep the green clean because everybody throws their garbage into the green can, and then we get it and we have to deal with it in the composting business.” 

He said he had to run out for more pots after the activity proved popular with attendees at the event.

Formed to provide trucking for oil fields, Engel & Gray added composting in 1993, beginning with the ag industry and later helping an old feed lot owner before the business expanded. Today, Engel & Gray, marking its 75th anniversary, boasts being the only commercial composting company on the Central Coast.

The number of visitors who showed up Saturday appeared to top the first Farm Day two years ago, Engel said. The 2020 version remained a virtual event because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“People are so interested; they’re just eating it up,” he said as another large group arrived at the Engel & Gray lot on West Betteravia Road.

“It’s just been steady,” he said. “A lot of families, which is really neat.”

The Santa Barbara County Farm Day builds upon the success of a similar event in Ventura County, which will host its ninth annual edition on Nov. 6.

Students for Eco-Education and Agriculture, or SEEAG, a Ventura-based nonprofit organization focused on educating children about the origins of their food from field to table, organizes both Farm Day events.

Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com.

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The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to amend the County Land Use and Development Code (LUDC) and Coastal Zoning Ordinance to make consistent, countywide, the permitting requirements for a variety of small scale uses on AG-II designated land to meet the amendments for the Gaviota Coast Plan. 

“I have been asked for a while from constituents from other areas of the county why they can’t do something similar that was adopted in the Gaviota plan,” said Joan Hartmann, Third District supervisor. 

The Gaviota Coast Plan which was adopted in October 2016, provided Gaviota Coast farmers and ranchers with substantial flexibility to change their operations without first obtaining coastal development permits, which can be costly and time consuming. 

In October 2019 and January 2020, Third District Planning Commissioner John Parke facilitated several community workshops to gather input from the agricultural community on the state of agricultural tourism in the county, according to the staff report. These workshops were followed by meetings of an informal group of farmers and ranchers that grew out of the workshops and who continued the conversation. In October 2020, Planning staff met with the group to listen to their ideas. At the workshops and meeting with staff, participants discussed potential agricultural tourism uses that could help foster economic development while being compatible with the principal agricultural use of the farm or ranch on which the agricultural tourism use would occur. 

Small scale uses allowed in the Gaviota Plan will be available to the whole county with the ordinance amendment.

Planning and Development Department Director Lisa Plowman said the board could do Option 2 which move forward now, which will include additional incidental uses on AG-II zone such as allowing farm-to-table dinners, cooking classes, small scale events and educational opportunities like tours from bird watching, ag tours and astronomy. 

Plowman said the board could also do Option 3 which would expand on Option 2 with more commercial and entertainment enterprises like festivals and concerts. 

“This would be larger and higher intensity tourism uses, and can have any combination of uses,” Plowman said. “Option 3 would take more staffing and consultant services which would mean an amendment to the budget.” 

Hartmann asked if they could include breweries in the farm tours for Option 2 as a constituent would like to grow hops and have beer served on his property. 

During public comment there were roughly 20 speakers who were mostly made up of Santa Barbara County vintners asking for at least Option 2 to expand on their operations. 

“Ag tourism is unique and why it hasn’t really been allowed here is a mystery,” said Larry Schaeffer of Tercero Wines in the Santa Ynez Valley. “Every great growing area around the world has opportunities for people to connect with the land and we are getting passed by for Paso Robles which does this.” 

Andy Caldwell of the Coalition of Labor, Agriculture and Business said the Agricultural Advisory Board needs to be consulted as they represent every sector of agriculture. 

“Having all uses on all lands may be a fatal mistake as some places that butt up to row crops cannot have tours because of food safety issues,” Caldwell said. “You cannot take a broad brush to one size fits all. If dogs walk through avocado orchards they can bring spores which can decimate the trees. There are some ranch lands that this will work of course, but as you recall some farmers were not happy with the Gaviota Plan.” 

One commenter, Renee O’Neill, said the board needs to consider appropriate land uses as she didn’t want to see the county become an industrialized area and trails put through private properties. 

“I was completely unaware of the public workshops that Commissioner Parke held,” O’Neill said. “I feel most of the public is unaware of this ordinance amendment. The Agricultural Commission was not provided with a specific list of proposed uses, which also presents a problem, considering the board relies on them for important input.” 

“Experiential tastings are the way to go as I had a group from a large food wholesaler come to Buttonwood that didn’t know peaches grew on trees,” said Karen Steinwachs, of Buttonwood Farm. 

“Ecotourism is being done well all over the world and thriving,” said Ryan Zotovich, of Zotovich Wines. “When people get on the land is gives them a sense of place and connection.” 

When brought back to the supervisors for discussion, they all said they would be fine with Option 2 and to discuss Option 3 at a later time. 

To watch the meeting visit the County’s YouTube page for the Nov. 17 meeting. 

To read the agenda and presentation visit https://santabarbara.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=4693100&GUID=4AC292D2-F0E2-4967-9964-ABD79B3FF96A&Options=&Search=. 

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With wide open spaces and lots of room to get fresh air and fresh produce, people have been flocking to Summerset Farm in Santa Ynez, said farmer Sally Maher. 

Reagan, 7, and Sloane, 5, Giorgi of Buellton enjoyed a morning of picking raspberries at Summerset Farm in Santa Ynez.
Photo by Raiza Giorgi

“Kids can run through the rows of berry bushes and families have been coming to enjoy the afternoons outside and have picnics,” Maher said. 

Since the COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted somewhat for outdoor gatherings, Maher said her farm has seen a steady increase in visitors even before its busy season starts in July. 

Summerset Farm is a little agricultural gem at Edison Street and Baseline Avenue, just off Highway 154, that offers great fresh produce and U-pick crops like raspberries, blackberries and more. 

This rustic and picturesque farm stand has been in the same location for 16 years, and Maher has been the proprietor for 13 years. Cultivating is her passion and she also runs the quaintly decorated farm stand, with freshly picked fruits and vegetables ready for purchase. But for those who want to experience a deeper connection with their food and nature, the farm allows customers to meander through the farm and pick their own seasonal berries, grapes and apples right from the garden.

During the late spring and summer months, the farm stand offers raspberries, strawberries, peaches, plums, apricots and tomatoes, along with a variety of vegetables such as onions, carrots, cucumbers, zucchini, four different varieties of potatoes, peppers, corn and sunflowers, which help keep the birds out of the berries. 

There is a sunflower maze and other fun social distancing activities at Summerset Farm in Santa Ynez.
Photo by Raiza Giorgi

“There is also a sunflower maze this year that people can go through. People want more outdoor adventures, especially with COVID-19, and they can definitely do that on our 20 acres here,” Maher laughed. 

From late summer through fall the farm offer pumpkins, gourds, squash and apples.

In addition to that variety of seasonal fruits and vegetables, the farm stand offers local honey, jams made by Maher, pickles, juices, lavender pouches, holiday decorations such as fancy gourds, and plant fertilizer.

There are also several beehives around the property with an observation hive inside the farm stand where visitors can view the comings and goings of the bees and their pollen collection activities.

“This is a great place to work. I get up every morning and I am happy to go to work,” Maher said. “That’s important in life. It’s a pleasure to meet and greet the customers. Every year is different – I get to plant different things in the garden. I have the most beautiful office in the valley. I’m incredibly lucky to be able to spend my days in such a glorious environment doing what I love.”

Summerset Farm is at 3450 Baseline Ave. in Santa Ynez. For more information, call 805-245-0989 or find it on Facebook.

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The County of Santa Barbara is hosting six virtual community meetings in July to receive feedback and answer questions about the amended Cannabis Business License (Chapter 50) regulating cannabis retail storefront licensing.

On January 14, 2020, the Board of Supervisors adopted an ordinance amendment to Chapter 50 that established a merit-based criteria scoring system for applicants vying for a cannabis retail storefront license. This ordinance amendment became operational February 13, 2020.

Per the ordinance, the process will commence with community engagement meetings to gather input from the community plan areas where storefront retail is allowed. Chapter 50 (b) limits the number of storefront retail licenses to no more than one in each of six community plan areas. County staff is seeking feedback about the business application criteria (not applicants or specific sites) and neighborhood compatibility for the Neighborhood Compatibility Plan portion of the retail storefront application.

Community engagement meetings had been scheduled to begin in April 2020, but were cancelled due to the COVID-19 public health emergency. To prevent further delay, the County is hosting six virtual community meetings in July with many ways and opportunities for the public to participate and provide feedback. Spanish interpretation will be available.

The meeting schedule and information about how to participate and submit feedback is posted at cannabis.countyofsb.org/retail.sbc. In each of the community meetings, staff from the County Executive Office and Planning & Development will present an overview of the cannabis business licensing and permitting process, followed by an overview of the Community Plan Area (CPA). A video version of the presentation is available on the website prior to the meetings. 

Meeting Schedule

• Isla Vista CPA – 5:30 p.m. Wed., July  1
• Santa Ynez CPA – 5:30 p.m. Thurs., July 2
• Toro Canyon CPA / Summerland CPA – 5:30 p.m. Wed., July 8 
• Orcutt CPA – 5:30 p.m. Thurs., July 9
• Eastern Goleta Valley CPA – 5:30 p.m. Wed., July 15
• Los Alamos CPA – 5:30 p.m. Thurs., July 16

Other Links

Directions to Participate in Virtual Meetings and/or Submit Feedback

County of Santa Barbara Cannabis Permitting and Zoning Map

Santa Barbara County Land Use and Zoning Map

Community Plan Areas webpage

Community Meeting Presentation – English / Spanish –  Coming Soon!

Submit Feedback & Request to Speak at a Community Meeting

Video Presentations:

• Introduction, Business Licensing, Permitting
• Isla Vista CPA
• Santa Ynez Valley CPA
• Toro Cyn/Summerland CPA
• Orcutt CPA
• Eastern Goleta Valley CPA
• Los Alamos CPA

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Tradition and heritage play a big part in making agriculture such an attractive way of life for so many Californians. The lifeblood of the existence of farms and ranches in California, provide food, fuel and fiber for the world. The history of these farms and ranches is rich, with many stories to tell. In that spirit, Santa Barbara County Farm Bureau is launching the 2020 program to honor those family farms that have passed down this heritage for more than a century.

The Santa Barbara County Farm Bureau will be recognizing families whose farms have been in the same family for 100 years. To qualify for Century Farm recognition, the following criteria must be met:

• Ownership within the same family for 100 years or more by Dec. 31, 2020, with at least 10 acres of the original Santa Barbara County farmland.
• Present owner must be related to original owner.
• Application must be submitted to the SBCFB office by deadline date, July 1, 2020.

Santa Barbara County Farm Bureau will also be recognizing families whose farms have been in the same family for 125 or 150 years. To qualify for Quasquicentennial Farm, or 125-year, recognition, the following criteria must be met:

• Ownership within the same family for 125 years or more by Dec. 31, 2020, with at least 10 acres of the original Santa Barbara County farmland.
• Present owner must be related to original owner.
• Application must be submitted to the SBCFB office by deadline date, July 1, 2020.

To qualify for Sesquicentennial Farm, or 150-year, recognition, the following criteria must be met:

• Ownership within the same family for 150 years or more by Dec. 31, 2020, with at least 10 acres of the original Santa Barbara County farmland.
• Present owner must be related to original owner.
• Application must be submitted to the SBCFB office by deadline date, July 1, 2020.

Qualifying applicants will receive a certificate, a decorative farm sign designating farm status and will be recognized during their Celebrate Harvest event.

For more information call the SBC Farm Bureau at 805-688-7479 or email farmsbc@hwy246.net. 

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U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue recently announced details of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP), which will provide up to $16 billion in direct payments to deliver relief to America’s farmers and ranchers impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. 

“We want to thank Secretary Perdue for his hard work, and his staff has done an excellent job putting this program together,” said Zippy Duvall, American Farm Bureau president. “And we want to thank Congress for thinking about agriculture too and delivering it to your desk for you to sign. So, many thanks for helping the people that feed the American people, and we look forward to continuing to work with you, Mr. Trump. We appreciate.” 

Beginning May 26, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), through the Farm Service Agency (FSA), started accepting applications from agricultural producers who have suffered losses. CFAP provides vital financial assistance to producers of agricultural commodities who have suffered a 5-percent-or-greater price decline due to COVID-19 and face additional significant marketing costs as a result of lower demand, surplus production, and disruptions to shipping patterns and the orderly marketing of commodities.

Farmers and ranchers will receive direct support, drawn from two possible funding sources. The first source of funding is $9.5 billion in appropriated funding provided in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Stability (CARES) Act to compensate farmers for losses due to price declines that occurred between mid-January 2020 and mid-April 2020, and provides support for specialty crops for product that had been shipped from the farm between the same time period but subsequently spoiled due to loss of marketing channels. The second funding source uses the Commodity Credit Corporation Charter Act to compensate producers for $6.5 billion in losses due to on-going market disruptions.

Non-Specialty Crops and Wool

Non-specialty crops eligible for CFAP payments include malting barley, canola, corn, upland cotton, millet, oats, soybeans, sorghum, sunflowers, durum wheat and hard red spring wheat. Wool is also eligible. Producers will be paid based on inventory subject to price risk held as of Jan. 15. A payment will be made based on 50 percent of a producer’s 2019 total production or the 2019 inventory as of Jan. 15, whichever is smaller, multiplied by the commodity’s applicable payment rates.

Livestock

Livestock eligible for CFAP include cattle, lambs, yearlings and hogs. The total payment will be calculated using the sum of the producer’s number of livestock sold between Jan. 15 and April 15, multiplied by the payment rates per head, and the highest inventory number of livestock between April 16 and May 14, multiplied by the payment rate per head.

Dairy

For dairy, the total payment will be calculated based on a producer’s certification of milk production for the first quarter of calendar year 2020 multiplied by a national price decline during the same quarter. The second part of the payment is based a national adjustment to each producer’s production in the first quarter.

Specialty Crops

For eligible specialty crops, the total payment will be based on the volume of production sold between Jan. 15 and April 15; the volume of production shipped, but unpaid; and the number of acres for which harvested production did not leave the farm or mature product destroyed or not harvested during that same time period, and which have not and will not be sold. Specialty crops include, but are not limited to, almonds, beans, broccoli, sweet corn, lemons, iceberg lettuce, spinach, squash, strawberries and tomatoes. A full list of eligible crops can be found on farmers.gov/cfap. Additional crops may be deemed eligible at a later date.

Eligibility

There is a payment limitation of $250,000 per person or entity for all commodities combined. Applicants who are corporations, limited liability companies or limited partnerships may qualify for additional payment limits where members actively provide personal labor or personal management for the farming operation. Producers will also have to certify they meet the Adjusted Gross Income limitation of $900,000 unless at least 75 percent or more of their income is derived from farming, ranching or forestry-related activities. Producers must also be in compliance with Highly Erodible Land and Wetland Conservation provisions.

Applying for Assistance

Producers can apply for assistance beginning on May 26, 2020. Additional information and application forms can be found at farmers.gov/cfap. Producers of all eligible commodities will apply through their local FSA office. Documentation to support the producer’s application and certification may be requested. FSA has streamlined the signup process to not require an acreage report at the time of application and a USDA farm number may not be immediately needed. Applications will be accepted through August 28, 2020.

Payment Structure

To ensure the availability of funding throughout the application period, producers will receive 80 percent of their maximum total payment upon approval of the application. The remaining portion of the payment, not to exceed the payment limit, will be paid at a later date as funds remain available.

USDA Service Centers are open for business by phone appointment only, and field work will continue with appropriate social distancing. While program delivery staff will continue to come into the office, they will be working with producers by phone and using online tools whenever possible. All Service Center visitors wishing to conduct business with the FSA, Natural Resources Conservation Service, or any other Service Center agency are required to call their Service Center to schedule a phone appointment. More information can be found at farmers.gov/coronavirus.

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U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue applauded the announcement that agricultural producers, for the first time, are now eligible for the Small Business Administration (SBA)’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) and EIDL Advance programs.

“America’s farmers, ranchers, and producers need the same help that other American businesses need during this unprecedented time,” Perdue said. “This significant new authority signed by President Trump will make a tremendous difference for America’s agricultural community.”

SBA’s EIDL portal has been closed since April 15. However, the Agency is able to reopen the portal today, in a limited capacity, as a result of funding authorized by Congress through the Paycheck Protection Program and Healthcare Enhancement Act. The legislation, which was signed into law by the president one week ago, provided additional critical funding for farmers and ranchers affected by the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

In order to help facilitate this important change to EIDL Loan and EIDL Advance assistance eligibility, SBA is re-opening the Loan and Advance application portal to agricultural enterprises only. For agricultural producers that submitted an EIDL loan application through the streamlined application portal prior to the legislative change, SBA will move forward and process these applications without the need for re-applying. All other EIDL loan applications that were submitted prior to April 15 will be processed on a first-in, first-out basis.

For more information, please visit: www.sba.gov/Disaster.

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Beautiful, new, affordable housing is coming soon to Guadalupe, it’s an opportunity not to be missed. 

With 38 rental units reserved for farmworkers and their families, the property, Guadalupe Court, is owned and managed by local nonprofit Peoples’ Self-Help Housing (PSHH). This housing is brand new, comes with many services, has an affordable rent based on income – and applications are still available.

“I want to really encourage anyone who works in agriculture, or who is retired from agriculture, or who has a member of their family who works in agriculture to take a look at this amazing opportunity,” said John Fowler, president & CEO of Peoples’ Self-Help Housing. “We want to support those who provide our most valuable resource, food, many of who have been desperately waiting for years for affordable housing.  Our bilingual staff are standing by for your questions and ready to help you with the application process.”

Applicants must earn at least $5,753 per year from agricultural labor and be a citizen or legal permanent resident of the United States. Applications are available in-person from Riverview Townhomes, 230 Calle Cesar E. Chavez, Guadalupe, CA; by email at gc@pshhc.org or online at pshhc.org. Any questions can be emailed to gc@pshhc.org or answered by phone at 805-249-2040. 

Founded in 1970, PSHH is the longest-serving nonprofit affordable housing organization on the Central Coast. For more information, visit pshhc.org, email info@pshhc.org or phone 805-781-3088.

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Among the list of essential services from first responders, doctors and nurses, there is another subset that is imperative to keep going, and that is our local farmers and ranchers. 

Fully stocked at Something Good Organics near Buellton.
Photo contributed

Farmers markets are scarce with people afraid to venture into public, which is a large source of revenue for a lot of farmers like Carolyn Givens of Something Good Organics on Santa Rosa Road just outside Buellton. 

“Our outlet via farmers market which we rely heavily on has decreased dramatically,” Givens said. 

However even with decreased farmers market sales, Givens said she is grateful as their farm stand, and Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) boxes and wholesale to grocery stores has increased. 

“It’s been almost too much to manage, but we are so thankful,” she added. 

Finley Farms in Santa Ynez has also said because of their diverse farm they are also staying afloat. 

“While farmers markets and wholesale are scare, our farm stand is busier than usual as everyone is home and cooking more,” Johanna Finley said. 

She suspects because their farm stand is open air and sold directly to the consumer, her customers feel a bit safer than entering a grocery store. 

“We encourage hand washing and trying to do more Venmo as people then don’t have to handle cash. We notice that customers are being extremely respectful of one another and grateful for our produce. We are grateful for these customers,” Finley said.

Their spring produce from strawberries, peas and potatoes are nearly in season and they are looking forward to those items being available. 

Some farmers like Ed Seaman at Santa Barbara Blueberries are looking ahead to modify their U-pick process as they are uncertain how long the social distancing and stay at home orders will last. 

Santa Barbara Blueberries owner Ed Seaman said this rain season has dropped more than 25 inches on the farm south of Buellton, which will benefit his crops for several years.

“We are directly off the 101 and we rely heavily on tourism traffic,” Seaman said. “We also don’t know what tourism will look like in a month or two from now as people will be recovering from the economic impacts of being laid off or furloughed.” 

His farm is only open for select weeks of the year because blueberries ripen for only so long, and then late season berries like raspberries and blackberries are more towards the end of summer. 

“The year-round crop farmers I think will survive this just fine, but what about us seasonal crop farmers,” Seaman said. 

He said there are ideas for a pick-up or drive-thru, where people can preorder online and then drive around the farm store and the sellers can hand over prepicked blueberries and other goods. 

“We are also thinking of setting up social distancing picking areas and cordoning off six-foot sections,” Seaman said, laughing. “We have 18 acres so we can technically fit 7,360 people on the farm.”

Seaman said they have already practiced good sanitary behaviors from wiping buckets down after each use and they are going to put out more tables (with distance) and have more hand-washing stations available. 

Seaman said they are applying for every program and grant they can think of during this time as well. 

The Payment Protection Program is available to farmers and ranchers regardless of revenue, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation. The PPPL provides $349 billion in forgivable loans to small businesses to pay employees and keep them on the payroll. These loans are open to most businesses under 500 employees, including nonprofits, the self-employed, startups and cooperatives.

The PPPL will provide to eligible businesses loans of up to $10 million to cover 2.5 times the average monthly payroll costs, measured over the 12 months preceding the loan origination date, plus an additional 25 percent for non-payroll costs. 

For more information visit https://www.fb.org/market-intel/update-ag-and-pppl. 

“Empty shelves can be frightening, but empty fields and barns would be devastating,” said Zippy Duvall, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation. 

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