USDA's #FridaysOnTheFarm: Training to Grow Success

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)'s #FridaysontheFarm is a series devoted to sharing stories of careers in agricultural entrepreneurship.  With support from USDA funded training and grant programs, the series highlights career pathways available to U.S. farmers. 

One such story is of Carlos Gonzalez Torrez, an experienced farmworker and student at the Agriculture and Land-Based Training Association in Salinas, California. Carlos spent years on the farm, hand picking artichokes, strawberries, and brussel sprouts, and is now working with ALBA to build his own operation.  ALBA’s mission is to create economic opportunity for limited-resource and aspiring organic farmers through education in the heart of the Salinas Valley.  Carlos took ALBA’s Farmer Education Course, which provides 300 hours of bilingual classroom instruction and field-based training over one year. Graduating participants can rent farmland at ALBA for up to five years to help grow their careers.

Read the rest of Carlos' story, and explore other farm-based career pathways.   You can also access a text-only version of this multimedia story here. (PDF, 305 KB)

Set your reminder for each Friday, to meet new farmers, producers, and landowners through #FridaysOnTheFarm stories.