What a special time in the San Joaquin Valley last week.  For our guests, they expressed amazement, intense curiosity, happiness and enthusiasm for farming throughout the AFF’s Safe Fruits and Veggies Farm Tour.  All were impressed with the passion, ingenuity and the optimism they observed.  But what also came through was the love farmers have for their land, the food they produce and the people that surround and help them provide fruits and vegetables for consumers throughout the world.

Selfishly, for those of us that represent farmers, seeing our industry through the eyes of our guests is re-invigorating and motivating.  It reminds us how important it is to support farmers and work hard every day on their behalf as they grow these healthy foods.

Some brief vignettes from the guests’ experiences – enjoying fresh squeezed juice at Porterville Citrus; seeing drip and micro irrigation practices and how the industry is coping with drought; grape salsa! guests pruning and harvesting grapes, eating peaches and grapes right off the trees and vines; observing the skilled work of farm and packinghouse employees; discussions (ok maybe arguments) about what tasted best during and after varietal tastings; seeing the future of farming through technological advancements; and the passionate response when a farmer was asked about the so-called “dirty dozen” list, which included a heartfelt reminder that his kids eat this fruit every day.

And it’s the personal interactions that make this tour so special.  The conversations are honest, transparent and the humor, resiliency and love farmers have for their profession clearly comes through.  Some common and recurring conversation themes included:

• Multi-generational families, how they have evolved their farms throughout the years and their plans to remain viable for the next generation;
• We are in a transformative time and the steps farmers are taking to adapt and remain sustainable in the future;
• The background of the employees on the farms, at the packinghouses and coolers and in their offices;
• Although they are competitors, farmers understand they are all in this together and work jointly to address challenges and problem solve for everyone’s benefit.

And the learning goes both ways.  Our industry gained insights into barriers to consumption, shopping habits as well as consumer preferences for receiving information about their food and nutrition.

These tours and their outcomes represent a significant amount of work and months of planning among the sponsors and the AFF (thanks Rosi!).  But the two-plus days we all come together make it all worthwhile.

We say it over and over again – we wish we could bring every consumer to see our farms.  But the next best thing is for nutrition communicators who reach a wide audience of consumers to share their experiences.

Finally, another reason these tours must continue is because the best way to counter those who perpetuate disinformation about produce safety is to hear directly from farmers.  The credibility and authenticity of farmers is a significant advantage in achieving our goal of supporting and advocating for consumer choice in the produce aisle.

Learn more about the tour and our guests’ experiences by visiting our Instagram at @safeproduce.

The AFF’s tour guests included: Julie Andrews, Deanna Belleny Lewis, Mandy Enright, Maya Feller, Lauren Harris-Pincus, Sally Kuzemchak, Heather Mangieri, Vandana Sheth and Manuel Villacorta.

The AFF extends sincere thanks to the sponsors who made this tour possible: California Citrus Mutual, California Fresh Fruit Association, California Table Grape Commission, International Fresh Produce Association, Pear Bureau Northwest and Western Growers Association.