A group of Japanese tourists poses for a photo in front of a produce field being cutivated by Scott Howington's Oasis Farms as they spend a day learning how Imperial Valley local crops are cultivated, harvested, and processed. Photo courtesy of the Imperial Valley Vegetable Growers Association
Tours highlight Valley’s uniqueness
By Darren Simon
When Imperial Valley grower Jack Vessey hosts tour groups, whether from California, around the nation or anywhere around the world, he highlights a critical visual — the East Highline Canal, which marks the eastern border of the Valley’s farmland.
Just to the east is the open desert. To the west stretches the tapestry of green fields woven together by a unique and complex system of irrigation canals that convey the Valley’s water supply to more than 550,000 acres of farmland.
“When they (tour groups) see how the desert has been transformed, their eyes light up, and they realize what’s been created here is a miracle,” said Vessey, president of Vessey & Co. and a board member of the Imperial Valley Vegetable Growers Association (IVVGA).
Every year, the IVVGA and its farmers host tour groups from around the nation and the world. At the time of this story, a tour group from France was next in line for a tour of Valley agriculture. Late in 2023, a group from Japan visited the Valley, and before that, there was a tour group from Australia.
Recent tour groups have also included farmers and community leaders from Kentucky, Texas, the Western Growers Association Young Leaders program, and the University of California Cooperative Extension.
For the IVVGA and its growers, these tours provide a chance to show the importance of Imperial Valley agriculture, which produces commodities valued at $2.6 billion, according to the latest Imperial County Crop Report. Vegetable and melon crops make up more than $1 billion of that total.
“We are showcasing the Imperial Valley agricultural industry and how diverse we are,” said IVVGA Executive Director Shelby Trimm. “Those who take part in our tours are amazed to see Bermuda fields, next to sugar beet fields, next to lettuce fields.”
She added the tours also highlight the innovative methods Valley growers use to grow successful, healthy crops while managing finite water supplies.
Such tours are becoming increasingly important to share the Valley’s story with those who may not have a clear understanding of where the commodities they purchase in grocery stores all around the country come from. Visitors get to see how the Imperial Valley winter produce harvest makes up the nation’s winter salad bowl.
Showing how crucial Valley agriculture is to the nation’s food chain is even more important as local growers play a key role in conserving water to keep the Colorado River, the Valley’s sole source of water, flowing for all users.
“It is so important for us to promote what we do here,” Vessey said. “They need to see that what we grow here is not only important to our state and the nation, but on an international level as well.”
Scott Howington, president of Oasis Farming Inc. and an IVVGA board member, said, “Every tour group that visits the Valley is amazed at the scale and scope of what we do here.”
He added that the goal of tours is to show visitors the entire growing and harvesting process, including the distribution process and the importance of the Valley’s coolers for storing crops prior to distribution.
“They are seeing something they had no idea existed,” Howington said.
One tour he recently gave was to a group of professors and researchers from the University of California Cooperative Extension, who wanted to focus their research on Valley agriculture. “I think it was a real eye-opener for them to see the challenges we face here as opposed to what they have seen in the Salinas Valley.”
Another critical component of the tours is showcasing the partnership between the farming community and the Imperial Irrigation District to convey, manage, and efficiently use water to support the continued success of Valley agriculture.
“We could not exist without IID, and IID could not exist without us,” Trimm said. “It is a very unique partnership within the agricultural industry.”
Howington said, “It’s a true partnership, and what makes it work is the efficiency of both groups (the growers and IID).”
He added, “From these tours, visitors can see the complexity of our water system and the simplicity of how it works. What amazes people … is that we get our water almost on demand and that it comes from so far away.”
Vessey said for growers from states where water primarily comes from precipitation, it is an education to see how much planning goes into ordering water in the Valley and the labor it takes to manage that water.
The different techniques and methods Valley farmers use to irrigate and conserve water are essential parts of the tours.
“One of the things I really like to show them is the level of water management we do,” Vessey said, adding that the level of planning it takes to manage the Valley’s gravity flow system and to use the water reasonably and beneficially “blows their minds.”
Whether it be utilizing sprinkler irrigation, drip irrigation, land leveling, or adding tailwater recovery systems, Imperial Valley farmers have taken steps to ensure they are using water efficiently, and that is a critical message during tours as well as the Valley’s role in feeding the nation and the world.
IVVGA also provides tours to local high schools and Future Farmers of America tours.
“It’s important to show the diverse kinds of jobs there are in agriculture,” Trimm said. “Students going away to college need to see what the career possibilities are in agriculture here in the Valley.”
Vessey added, “We are opening their eyes to all the possibilities within the agricultural industry. There’s more to it than working the land or working on a ranch. There’re all kinds of avenues within agriculture, from exporting and working with international markets to seed development and pest control. There’s research and working for the Agricultural Commissioner’s Office — just a lot for someone to consider when they think about agriculture.”
When Imperial Valley grower Jack Vessey hosts tour groups, whether from California, around the nation or anywhere around the world, he highlights a critical visual — the East Highline Canal, which marks the eastern border of the Valley’s farmland.
Just to the east is the open desert. To the west stretches the tapestry of green fields woven together by a unique and complex system of irrigation canals that convey the Valley’s water supply to more than 550,000 acres of farmland.
“When they (tour groups) see how the desert has been transformed, their eyes light up, and they realize what’s been created here is a miracle,” said Vessey, president of Vessey & Co. and a board member of the Imperial Valley Vegetable Growers Association (IVVGA).
Every year, the IVVGA and its farmers host tour groups from around the nation and the world. At the time of this story, a tour group from France was next in line for a tour of Valley agriculture. Late in 2023, a group from Japan visited the Valley, and before that, there was a tour group from Australia.
Recent tour groups have also included farmers and community leaders from Kentucky, Texas, the Western Growers Association Young Leaders program, and the University of California Cooperative Extension.
For the IVVGA and its growers, these tours provide a chance to show the importance of Imperial Valley agriculture, which produces commodities valued at $2.6 billion, according to the latest Imperial County Crop Report. Vegetable and melon crops make up more than $1 billion of that total.
“We are showcasing the Imperial Valley agricultural industry and how diverse we are,” said IVVGA Executive Director Shelby Trimm. “Those who take part in our tours are amazed to see Bermuda fields, next to sugar beet fields, next to lettuce fields.”
She added the tours also highlight the innovative methods Valley growers use to grow successful, healthy crops while managing finite water supplies.
Such tours are becoming increasingly important to share the Valley’s story with those who may not have a clear understanding of where the commodities they purchase in grocery stores all around the country come from. Visitors get to see how the Imperial Valley winter produce harvest makes up the nation’s winter salad bowl.
Showing how crucial Valley agriculture is to the nation’s food chain is even more important as local growers play a key role in conserving water to keep the Colorado River, the Valley’s sole source of water, flowing for all users.
“It is so important for us to promote what we do here,” Vessey said. “They need to see that what we grow here is not only important to our state and the nation, but on an international level as well.”
Scott Howington, president of Oasis Farming Inc. and an IVVGA board member, said, “Every tour group that visits the Valley is amazed at the scale and scope of what we do here.”
He added that the goal of tours is to show visitors the entire growing and harvesting process, including the distribution process and the importance of the Valley’s coolers for storing crops prior to distribution.
“They are seeing something they had no idea existed,” Howington said.
One tour he recently gave was to a group of professors and researchers from the University of California Cooperative Extension, who wanted to focus their research on Valley agriculture. “I think it was a real eye-opener for them to see the challenges we face here as opposed to what they have seen in the Salinas Valley.”
Another critical component of the tours is showcasing the partnership between the farming community and the Imperial Irrigation District to convey, manage, and efficiently use water to support the continued success of Valley agriculture.
“We could not exist without IID, and IID could not exist without us,” Trimm said. “It is a very unique partnership within the agricultural industry.”
Howington said, “It’s a true partnership, and what makes it work is the efficiency of both groups (the growers and IID).”
He added, “From these tours, visitors can see the complexity of our water system and the simplicity of how it works. What amazes people … is that we get our water almost on demand and that it comes from so far away.”
Vessey said for growers from states where water primarily comes from precipitation, it is an education to see how much planning goes into ordering water in the Valley and the labor it takes to manage that water.
The different techniques and methods Valley farmers use to irrigate and conserve water are essential parts of the tours.
“One of the things I really like to show them is the level of water management we do,” Vessey said, adding that the level of planning it takes to manage the Valley’s gravity flow system and to use the water reasonably and beneficially “blows their minds.”
Whether it be utilizing sprinkler irrigation, drip irrigation, land leveling, or adding tailwater recovery systems, Imperial Valley farmers have taken steps to ensure they are using water efficiently, and that is a critical message during tours as well as the Valley’s role in feeding the nation and the world.
IVVGA also provides tours to local high schools and Future Farmers of America tours.
“It’s important to show the diverse kinds of jobs there are in agriculture,” Trimm said. “Students going away to college need to see what the career possibilities are in agriculture here in the Valley.”
Vessey added, “We are opening their eyes to all the possibilities within the agricultural industry. There’s more to it than working the land or working on a ranch. There’re all kinds of avenues within agriculture, from exporting and working with international markets to seed development and pest control. There’s research and working for the Agricultural Commissioner’s Office — just a lot for someone to consider when they think about agriculture.”
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