Assemblymembers Esmeralda Soria and José Luis Solache Jr. led a joint hearing at Fresno State on October 24 to discuss the economic challenges facing Central Valley farmers and families. The event was part of the California Pocketbook Tour, organized by the Assembly Committee on Economic Development, Growth, and Household Impact.
“We are here to listen, to understand, and to put together practical solutions so that when we go back to Sacramento in January, we are able to work together hand in hand with many of you to try to tackle the challenges that many of our communities are facing related to increasing labor expenses, inflation, water scarcity, regulation, and then market fluctuations, which sometimes we can’t control much,” Soria said.
Soria chairs the Assembly Agriculture Committee and is a member of the committee hosting the tour. Solache leads the same committee focused on economic development.
Dr. Srinivasa Konduru from Fresno State’s Department of Agricultural Business highlighted agriculture’s role in Fresno County’s economy. He stated that farming accounted for 41,500 jobs in 2024—about 9.5% of total employment—and reported an agricultural gross production value of $8.59 billion for 2023.
Konduru outlined several obstacles affecting agriculture growth such as water shortages and regulations around groundwater management; rising labor costs; immigration policy impacts; uncertainties in international markets; invasive pests; and higher production costs.
The discussion also addressed how these issues affect local families’ cost of living. Caroline Danielson from the Public Policy Institute of California pointed out that food prices increased by about 30% nationwide between July 2019 and July 2025, compared with a roughly 5% rise over the previous six years.
“Pressure due to rising food costs can also mean cutting back on other expenditures for families to afford food,” she said.
Ryan Jacobsen, CEO of the Fresno County Farm Bureau and a farmer himself, addressed misconceptions about farm profits amid rising grocery prices.
“In almost every case, our commodities have remained the same or went down in price, and yet what you’re paying as a consumer has went up, and that’s going to other segments of the value chain,” he said. “The transportation, refrigeration, processing, packaging, marketing, sales, the store, etc. has increased all those areas. But we truly are market takers, not price setters when it comes to what’s going on with the supermarkets right now. I think that’s the biggest key to take away from today is not to tie those two together.”
Solache emphasized that input from all regions is important: “This tour is not just about Southern California. It’s not just about the Bay Area. It’s about everyone that matters, from the bottom to the top and in between,” he said. “That was the priority of this Pocketbook Tour – to ensure those voices were amplified throughout the state.”
For updates on local business initiatives in Fresno County, residents are encouraged to stay connected with the Fresno Chamber of Commerce.
