Source: KSBW 8
SOLEDAD, Calif. —
Sen. Adam Schiff took a tour of Braga Fresh’s farm in Soledad Wednesday afternoon.
The intention behind the visit was to get an in-person look at local agricultural operations to advocate for the needs of California farmers on a national scale.
This is not Schiff’s first farm tour. The senator has been visiting farming communities across the state since becoming the first California senator in 30 years to serve on the Senate Agriculture Committee.
“I’m grateful to all the farming families that have been taking me around and helping to educate me on issues from soil composition to disease to the necessity of keeping the USDA itself strong and healthy,” said Schiff.
Schiff said that the Senate Agriculture Committee has had a heavy focus on crops commonly seen in the Midwest, rather than specialty crops grown here in California.
“The specialty crop farms here are equally deserving of support and help,” said Schiff.
Braga Fresh reiterated that sentiment.
“Being in specialty crops, we are very niche in what we do. We’re not like a lot of the large farming operations through the rest of the country, so knowing that there is an effort from DC and from our local elected officials to really advocate on our behalf is very meaningful to us,” said Colby Pereira with Braga Fresh.
During the tour, Schiff, alongside California State Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, got a closer look at Braga Fresh’s Regenerative Carbon Capture Farming Technology.
The technology aims to improve soil health while reducing CO2 emissions.
“It’s really just incredible to see all the hard work, all the technology, all the ingenuity that goes into farming,” said Schiff. “To see the organic farming here and the regenerative farming here is just so impressive.”
The hope is to see support in DC for agriculture tech like Regenerative Carbon Capture Farming.
“If we want a viable domestic agriculture industry here in California, here in the U.S., the importance of agtech cannot be overstated,” said Cory Lunde with Western Growers. “Right now, the industry is supporting a lot of that effort financially, privately. We are looking to Sen. Schiff and others in Congress to support us with public dollars to help keep the industry moving forward.”
Schiff and Rivas also addressed the anxiety many California farmers are feeling.
From the consequences of on-again, off-again tariffs causing unpredictability for farm owners to immigration raids causing some farmworkers to stay home out of fear of deportation.
“For a president who ran on a platform of lowering costs, to the degree that you are making it hard for farms to find labor, you’re going to drive up the price of food, not bring it down,” said Schiff.
“We know what makes California agriculture thrive. It’s two things. It’s stable tariffs and it’s a reliable workforce, reliable labor,” said Rivas.