Sarah Adams / grower / Delhi, California
age / 31
business / Warda Farms
family farm / Susan Warda, mom, and sisters Kristin Bulk, Michelle Dwight
crops / Cling peaches, almonds, custom almond harvesting
title / Managing partner
Q: What was your path into farming?
Growing up, I worked on our farm in the peaches during the summer. In high school I worked at the nearby peach delivery station and had an interest in agriculture. Although I did not originally go to U.C. Davis to study ag economics, I found that those were the classes that were the most interesting to me, so I decided to follow that direction. When my dad passed away while I was in college, I started managing our family’s farm, and the rest flowed from there.
Q: What skills have you gained since college?
While I was in college, I had the unique opportunity to take course work that correlated with my job as a farm manager, instead of just going to school and then trying to remember what I learned in college later. After college, while managing our farm, I also worked as an almond buyer and gained a significant amount of practical information about fruit and nut sales and marketing. Working full-time for someone else also gave me valuable insight into effective communication and managing my family’s business.
Q: What are the biggest challenges ahead?
On our farm, family relationships have a higher priority than work, so one of the biggest challenges in the future of our farm, run by women, will be balancing growing families and responsibly running a demanding business.
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