It's not just row crop farmers dealing with challenges and low prices. In California, prices are low for everything from nuts to fruits, and financial stress is weighing heavily on farmers. Grape growers are in a particularly unique situation. Declining demand for wine and an increase in imported wine means there's a glut of grapes this year, and it's so bad there's a surge in the amount of unharvested grapes that still don't have a home. Now, there are fears it could ultimately force more true family farmers out of business.
Jennifer Thomson took over the family farm in 2012. Napa Valley is broken into American Viticultural Areas (AVAs). Thomson’s vineyard is situated in the Los Carneros AVA. Thomson is one of the few family farmers still left in Napa Valley.
“I think it's incredibly rare. When you truly meet a family grower who is hands on and drives their own tractor and is responsible for selling their own fruit and is responsible for paying the taxes on the land, and there's no middlemen involved, that's a rarity in 2024," she says.