“Facts From Farmers” Provides A Firsthand Look At Local Agriculture

In the Santa Maria Valley, Agriculture is one of the largest contributors to the local economy. Even so, many local residents don’t know a lot about an industry that plays such a big role in our community. Lacy Litten is hoping to change that with a new website aimed to help community members better understand the local agriculture industry.

Litten, who works as the Director of Food Safety & Field Operations Manager at Innovative Produce, says her background in agriculture inspired her to launch the “Facts From Farmers” website.

“Once I started working in agriculture, it didn’t take long to see how misunderstood, poorly portrayed, and underrepresented our industry is,” Litten explained. “The general public isn’t exposed to how resourceful, innovative, adaptive, resilient, and proactive we really are. I want to provide farmers with a platform to tell their story, promote their best practices, and connect with the general public in a natural, relatable, and humanized way.”

The website, www.factsfromfarmers. com, will launch in early September and feature different local farmers in Santa Maria Valley. Litten says in addition to highlighting these businesses, she hopes the website will provide a platform for community engagement.

“Visitors to the site have the opportunity to submit their questions, and we’re going to do our best to address them,” Litten said. “I want people to see all the behind-the-scenes ways the agriculture industry contributes to our local communities. I think people will be surprised to learn how involved farmers are in community, industry, philanthropy, and regulatory relations.”

So far, Litten has connected with four local agriculture companies to highlight on the website, and hopes to eventually grow the platform beyond just our local community.

“Big picture, I’d love to feature farmers from around the country, varying commodities, areas of expertise, and levels in the supply chain.” Litten said.

Litten hopes the site can be a platform for the agriculture industry to share their stories, and for the local community to better understand an industry that has such a huge impact on the Santa Maria Valley.

“The stories being shared are individual. I’m not curating them, I’m just providing a platform,” Litten said. “My hope is that this website becomes a one-stop educational resource on agriculture for our community.” www.factsfromfarmers.com will launch in early September 2020. If there are any farmers or other ag-related companies that are interested in being featured, you can contact Lacy Litten at (805) 801-7032 or Lacy@innovativeproduce.com.