By Natalie Willis, Reporter, Valley Ag Voice
As California’s farming population ages — with the average farmer nearing 60-years-old, according to the 2022 Census of Agriculture — local colleges and universities are investing in the next generation of agricultural leaders.
Central Valley higher educational institutions such as Bakersfield College, Fresno State University, UC Davis, and California State University, Bakersfield have made strategic investments in facilities and programs that aim to shape the future of the state’s agricultural economy and address a looming workforce challenge.
According to Dr. Aaron Hegde, professor of economics at CSUB and Executive Director at Grimm Family Center for Agricultural Business, while small family farms make up roughly 90% of California farms, those farmers are nearing retirement, and the next generation is increasingly hesitant to take over due to industry challenges like financial uncertainty and water scarcity.
“If you look at the increasing regulations, the lack of water, the increased competition, and lack of labor…I can’t speak for them, but I don’t know if farmers got into it because they think they’ll become rich…they did it because they liked it, and this is what the family’s been doing,” Hegde said. “But now, the younger generation, like some who come to our classes, their choice is like, ‘Well, I can go work with my family — which is a good thing — make a certain amount of money, or I can go get a job working for Wonderful [Company], making five times that, and then still support the farm, if needed.’”
According to the 2022 Census of Agriculture, which the federal government conducts every five years, the number of farms in California dropped by 10.5% from 2017 to 2022. Further, larger farms, with over $1 million in sales before expenses, account for 3% of all farms but 47% of the value of production, according to the USDA Economic and Research Service.
EVOLVING CURRICULUM
In alignment with the evolving agricultural landscape, which is shifting toward larger-scale farms, institutions like CSUB are investing in programs that meet both student interests and industry demands.
Those investments are primarily focused on technology and the sciences, Hegde explained.
“So, every five years or so, we meet and see what it is that [the curriculum] is needing. And what we’re hearing now, from the corporate farming side, it’s analysis of data. That’s the big thing,” Hegde said. “From the non-corporate farming side, they want folks who can handle and understand everything. They want you to understand the role of pesticides, fertilizers, weather, and water because it takes all of that to try to farm. So, we’re broadening their exposure to sciences.”
In meeting these evolving educational needs, Bakersfield College broke ground on a new Agriculture Sciences building in November 2023. The building, which is scheduled for completion in December 2025, will feature facilities for food production and science, a mechanized agriculture workshop, and various agricultural science labs, including those for tissue culture, animal studies, veterinary technology, horticulture, soil science, plant science, and forestry.
Additionally, the project will incorporate new greenhouses, shade houses, storage bays, and planters, according to a BC press release. The new building is funded by Measure J, a $502 million bond passed in November 2016, and includes 49,546 square feet of total building area.
Hegde explained that investing in agricultural science education is imperative to navigate California’s regulations from pest management to food safety.
“And those regulations don’t go away. So, understanding food safety and food science. [CSUB’s] focus is the business side, but we’re still introducing students to some of these things. But then when you look at the traditional ag schools like Fresno, Merced, and these, they’re getting more into the science of agriculture,” Hegde said. “So, I think in the next five to 10 years, I think you will need a lot more of the sciences, understanding the interactions in the environment…you need those kinds of understanding because it’s an integrated approach.”
Hegde explained that CSUB offers a capstone course where students work on a project for the USDA’s Natural Resource Conservation Service.
“So, they had a visit to a farmer yesterday to see what the issues are. And then they have to look to see what some of the resources are that can be conserved by changing their practices. And so, just by listening to them, they need to understand policies and laws about endangered species. They need to understand the impact of pesticides on the water table,” Hegde said.
This hands-on approach reflects a broader shift in agricultural education, where understanding complex environmental and regulatory dynamics is as critical as traditional farming skills. Along with growing interest in agricultural sciences, technology is emerging as a bridge between traditional family farms and the realities of a shrinking labor force.
“So, there’s a couple of different ways in that. One is, on the production side, how do you get a higher yield, and how do you lower your cost? Because that’s the only way you can get your higher profit. So that needs education,” Hegde said.
This evolving curriculum aims to bridge traditional, generational knowledge with modern technology.
“In the old days, you grew up watching your parents do this, and you just followed that, and even today, some of those guys, they have so much knowledge, they can probably forecast things that the rest of us would need some computers or something to do,” Hegde said. “But that skill is not transferable, whereas the education and the skills that they get at the university are transferable — so the university curriculum is starting to change, where we’re seeing more tech in the classroom.”
Universities are increasingly incorporating technology into agricultural curricula in part to meet student interests, but more broadly, it plays into the growing industry-wide trend of labor substitution.
A 2019 survey by UC Davis and the California Farm Bureau Federation found that California farmers are finding it increasingly difficult to find workers, leading to raising wages and changes in production practices. The study, “California Farmers Change Production Practices as the Farm Labor Supply Declines,” detailed these survey findings and the subsequent adjustments farmers are making to deal with labor-availability issues as wage increases.
“As workers become harder to retain and wages continue to rise, the use of labor-saving technologies is becoming more attractive to California farmers,” the report stated. “Fifty-eight percent of farmers indicated that they had used a technology that reduced their reliance upon farmworkers at some point during the past five years, including over one-third (37%) who reported using one for the first time.”
Among those using labor-saving technology for the first time, 72% cited using it due to rising labor costs, and 54% pointed to a shortage of available workers, the report explained. This trend reflects what Hegde describes as capital-labor substitution — a broader shift across industries toward replacing labor with technology.
As a result, educational institutions are integrating technology-focused training into their programs, preparing students with the skills needed to navigate the evolving agricultural landscape shaped by changing labor dynamics.
“So, what these institutions are doing is investing in that next generation of education. And the students that we get now are very comfortable with technology. In fact, they turn to it every time,” Hegde said. “So, I think the universities realize that we have to train them in what will get them successful.”
BROADER INVESTMENT
As institutions work to adapt their programs, government agencies are also stepping in to support agricultural education and research. The USDA and other California Department of Food and Agriculture recognize the role higher education plays in advancing sustainable agricultural practices and meeting industry challenges. Investments include upgraded research facilities and collaborative initiatives to address water management, soil health, and the economic realities of farming.
For example, Fresno State’s California Water Institute partnered with Sustainable Conservation on a $498,423 grant-funded project from the California Department of Food and Agriculture to study on-farm recharge.
According to a press release, the initiative focuses on enhancing aquifer replenishment in the San Joaquin Valley through six on-farm recharge pilots in pistachio orchards. These pilots will study nitrate leaching, soil health, and crop yield.
At UC Davis, the USDA broke ground on an Agricultural Research Technology Center in October. According to a USDA ARS press release, the center will include customized laboratories, greenhouses, and capacity for scientists as part of the department’s efforts to adapt to climate change, water scarcity, and emerging pests.
“This research will benefit growers, commodity groups, agricultural businesses, and U.S. consumers who rely on ARS to find solutions to agricultural and environmental problems,” Dr. Amisha Poret-Peterson, Crops Pathology and Genetics Research Unit Acting Research Leader said in the release. “It’s incredible to celebrate current and future cooperative research among ARS, groundwater sustainability agencies, UC Davis researchers, and stakeholders in diverse specialty realms such as tree nut, rice, and beekeeping industries.”
The two-story center will focus on four ARS research units — Crops Pathology and Genetics, Invasive Species and Pollinator Health, National Clonal Germplasm Repository – Tree Fruit and Nut Crops and Grapes, and Sustainable Agricultural Water Systems.
