{"id":23530,"date":"2026-01-27T09:15:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-27T17:15:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/calclimateag.org\/ecofarm-welcomes-a-u-s-senator-to-their-conference-for-the-first-time\/"},"modified":"2026-02-25T10:38:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T18:38:09","slug":"ecofarm-welcomes-a-u-s-senator-to-their-conference-for-the-first-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/calclimateag.org\/es\/ecofarm-welcomes-a-u-s-senator-to-their-conference-for-the-first-time\/","title":{"rendered":"EcoFarm Welcomes a U.S. Senator to their Conference for the First Time"},"content":{"rendered":"

The annual\u00a0EcoFarm Conference<\/a>\u00a0took place last weekend, bringing together thousands of organic and sustainable farmers, organizations and agriculture and food systems experts. At the end of the Friday morning plenary session, a surprise guest took the stage\u2014Senator Adam Schiff, one of California\u2019s two U.S. senators. He addressed the audience and then, with his wife Eve, spent 45 minutes in conversation with a small group of farmers and advocates before touring the exhibit hall on his way out. This was the first time in EcoFarm\u2019s 46-year history that a U.S. senator has attended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Senator Schiff<\/a>\u00a0was elected to the Senate in 2024 and was granted his request to sit on the Agriculture Committee as well as its\u00a0subcommittee on Conservation, Forestry, Natural Resources, and Biotechnology. Remarkably, he is the first senator from California to serve on the Ag Committee in more than three decades. He serves on several other committees, including Judiciary and Environment and Public Works. He has also served in the California Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives. He is a lawyer by profession, hailing from Los Angeles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Senator Schiff wanted to serve on the Ag Committee because he sees it as a way to serve Californians across the state and because he \u201cbelieves that too often California farmers don\u2019t see themselves reflected in DC agriculture policy and that USDA programs don\u2019t adequately serve specialty crop producers.\u201d He also said that \u201csmall and medium-sized farmers are the bedrock of California\u2019s rural communities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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Senator Schiff along with a small group of farmers and members of the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition. Photo Credit: Trav Williams, Broken Banjo Photography<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

He spoke about the fear and disruption caused by the Trump administration\u2019s immigration policies and actions. He received boisterous applause when he stated that \u201cthe people who toil daily to put food on our table deserve better, and I will push back in every way I can.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He talked about spending the past year touring all corners of the state to learn about the industry and hearing about the need for access to capital, technical assistance, and markets. He has heard about the pain and instability that farmers are feeling as the result of the current tariff policy and cuts to USDA staff. He reminded the audience that he was a leader in preventing the proposed closure of eight Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) offices in California, and has been a loud voice trying to reverse the cancellation of funding for food banks, schools and institutions. He is interested in extending school food programs to community colleges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was an honor and a rare opportunity to have an almost one-hour audience with Senator Schiff along with a small group of farmers and members of the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC). Collectively, we covered a range of topics that are core to a healthy, just, and resilient food and farming system. The Senator listened carefully and engaged in conversation with these six farmers:<\/p>\n\n\n\n