Assemblyman Robert Rivas (D-Salinas), chair of the Assembly Agriculture Committee, announced the dates for his second statewide tour to meet with farmers, agricultural workers, industry and labor leaders, environmentalists, scientists, elected officials, and other stakeholders to discuss the future of the agriculture industry in California.
“With the devastating effects of drought, COVID-19, and ever-increasing wildfire events, the objective of the agriculture tour is to listen and learn from leading experts and advocates during the Fall Recess of the 2021-2022 Legislative Session,” the press release states. “These discussions will better inform the next legislative steps necessary to aid recovery, combat climate change impacts, and maintain California’s agricultural leadership.”
It continued to state that Rivas undertook his first statewide tour of California’s $50 billion-a-year agriculture industry one year ago, during the fall of 2020. Afterward, he released a report with various policy recommendations relating to the following hallmarks of the industry that he observed competitiveness, resilience, diversity, worker protections, food security, and sustainability and innovation.
This year’s tour will further explore these themes and follows the Governor and Legislature’s recent budget agreement, which included the following funding for priorities championed by Rivas in his first year as Chair of the Assembly Agriculture Committee:
- $1M for Monterey County INSV/PW leafy green research
- $50M to establish the Multibenefit Agricultural Land Repurposing Program (AB 252)
- $130M for safe, affordable farmworker housing
- $1.1B Sustainable Agriculture Package
- $5B Climate Resilience Package
The tour will occur across four weeks in September, October, and November — kicking off in Chair Rivas’s District on the Central Coast, followed by stops in the Central Valley, Bay Area, Southern Coast, and the Coachella Valley.
FALL 2021 AGRICULTURAL TOUR KICK-OFF EVENT
WHEN: Monday, Sept. 20 at 9 a.m.
WHERE: Hilton Ranch on River Road, Salinas, CA
Local Contact: Dominic Dursa, 916-470-4552
WHO:
- Assemblymember Robert Rivas (D-Salinas)
- Supervisor Chris Lopez, Monterey County
- Norm Groot, Executive Director of Monterey County Farm Bureau
- Mary Zischke, Grower Shipper Association
- INSV Taskforce
COVID-19 PRECAUTIONS: Asm. Rivas and stakeholders will be observing strict COVID-19 safety guidelines, including social distancing and mask wearing. We ask that attending members of the media and public please also do the same.
AGRICULTURAL TOUR STATEWIDE ITINERARY
Sept. 20-21: Central Coast – Monterey, Santa Benito, Santa Cruz Counties
Sept. 22-23: Central Valley – Bakersfield and Fresno
Week of Oct. 25: Southern California – L.A., Santa Barbara, Ventura, and Orange counties
Week of Nov. 1: Bay Area – Sonoma, San Francisco, East Bay
Week of Nov. 15: Coachella Valley