As a member of Gov. Gavin Newson‘s cabinet, and Jerry Brown’s before that, Karen Ross, California’s Secretary of Food and Agriculture, has had a big job for a decade and a half. The ag industry in California generates $50 billion in direct revenue, and fuels another $100 billion of trickle-out money. While the state's more glamorous sectors—Silicon Valley, Hollywood and tourism—are famously responsible for creating massive value, the old-fashioned production of food and other agricultural products remains a substantial pillar of the state's economy. That is Karen Ross's remit.
When it comes to purely economic agricultural muscle, California is of course a national and global leader. Under Ross, the Golden State also leads the world in agriculture's reinvention in the face of climate change and other challenges.
The realm that Ross oversees includes what are known as “working lands"—these include farms, ranches, and timberlands. In each case, Ross's department has launched ambitious initiatives to decrease emissions, improve logging practices, sequester carbon, and support biodiversity above-ground and below. The state's "healthy soils" initiative has a million acres now in its portfolio, and is slated to triple that number in the next 15 years.
The CDFA chief is also working to help Californians—especially the state's children—develop a better connection with the sources of their nourishment. Under her leadership, the Farm to Schools program is flourishing, and kids are learning to love their garden-grown vegetables. That alone is a heroic accomplishment.
