April 29, 2026
A group of ARE graduate students and faculty set off for Modesto, CA on Monday April 27, 2026 for a field trip to gain exposure to agricultural production and processing in the Northern San Joaquin Valley.
The goal of the annual farm tours is to educate our department on California’s diverse range of agricultural operations, including their production processes, challenges they have overcome, and challenges they currently face. Ultimately, we aim to build better connections with California’s agricultural industry and to cultivate new research ideas with real-world relevance that can help address the industry’s challenges.
This year's trip included three stops. The first was a visit to Fiscalini Farms in Modesto, a forth-generation dairy farm that has expanded to include a cheesemaking facility on the premises. The second was a visit with Morning Star Company, where we toured fields of tomatoes where tomato seedlings were being mechanically transplanted. Our last stop was to Morning Star's Liberty Packing Plant in Los Banos where we learned about the scale and process by which the company makes and sells tomato paste and diced canned tomatoes.
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