The Global Farmer Network Lifts the Voice of Farmers

Jenny Holtermann is a fourth-generation almond grower, farming with her husband in California’s southern Central Valley. Holtermann dreams her two children will someday be the fifth generation of almond farmers. 

Today’s farmers face challenges that threaten the future of family farms. But organizations like the Global Farmer Network (GFN) are making a way for sustainable agriculture and Holtermann’s children to carry on the family tradition.

The Global Farmer Network

GFN is a global organization that connects farmers of different genders, farm sizes, ages, and locations around the world to amplify farmers’ voices and bring unity. 

Holtermann joined the GFN in September 2023 after completing the GFN’s Roundtable and Communication and leadership training.

“I was provided a travel grant by the GFN to be there,” Holtermann shared. “It’s amazing that there are so many great ag companies and people in the ag world who make it possible for farmers everywhere—even those who’ve never flown on a plane before—to participate in this.”

Each annual cohort of farmers is intentionally organized from a variety of different backgrounds, agricultural interests, and countries to ensure diversity of perspectives and experiences. They come together to learn from each other and develop communication and leadership skills that will help them excel in their own countries.

From the start, Holtermann was taken aback by how farmers all around the world are fighting the same fight.

“No matter your economy or your geography, we all have the same issues,” Holtermann said. “GFN is there to unite us and help us realize that we are all in this together.”

GFN has broadened Holtermann’s awareness about different farming practices globally and has piqued her interest about other innovative possibilities in her own backyard. The many different voices around the table have empowered Holtermann to want to continue to keep their farm sustainable into the next generation. 

“GFN isn’t just made up of one type of farmer. Baby boomers are still really excited to tell their story, but the 20-somethings are there too,” Holtermann said. She sees that intergenerational dialogue as the way to keep agriculture sustainable into the next generation. “It takes all the generations being involved—20 somethings from Africa, 50 year olds from Australia, me somewhere between, and more.” 

Holtermann’s day job is serving as the executive director of a water nonprofit. As Holtermann works to educate and inform her community about water scarcity and advocate for proper water management amidst changing regulations, she’s seeing fresh innovations emerging locally that will make a difference for the future of ag in California. 

Simultaneously, similar challenges are being tackled around the world that inspire her to keep going.

“People are trying new things based on what they’ve heard. You might be farming corn one way in Ohio and a different way in the UK and a different way entirely in Indonesia. We can all learn something from each other.”

Carrying on the Family Legacy

The Holtermann family in an almond grove. Images courtesy of The Global Farmer Network.

Holtermann’s family has farmed the same land in northern California since the early 1900s and has grown almonds since the 1960s. Holtermann wants to give her kids the same unique upbringing.

“I know how special it was to be raised on the family farm and to continue the family farm,” said Holtermann. “I love that opportunity with my children.”

Holtermann went away to college and moved six hours south, only to marry another fourth generation almond farmer. They have been farming almonds on her husband’s family’s land for 15 years.

“A special thing about almonds specifically is that they are a zero-waste crop,” said Holtermann. Food waste happens in grocery stores, children’s cafeterias, and even on the farm, where fruit drops to the ground and rots, or crops in the field are left to be plowed. But when almonds are ripe, “they stay on the tree until we shake it. Even then they have three parts. We eat the middle part, the kernel. The hull is sold to dairies and feedlots, and the shell is used for animal bedding and landscaping for mulch in gardens.”

On top of that, almond trees sequester carbon. “Even at the end of the tree’s life we chip up the almond tree into wood chips and disk them back into the soil,” Holtermann said. “Its nutrients stay in our soil and land—stay right there, sequestering carbon, and helping provide life to the next generation of trees.”

Both Holtermann and her husband are “cradle Catholics” and look at their role on their farm as the land’s caretakers. “God gave us the opportunity to nourish the land and help it flourish, to be the caretakers for the soil,” said Holtermann. “If we give it our love and water and necessities it needs to flourish, at the end of the day, God will provide based on how we take care of that soil. It’s only ours to pass onto the next generation if we do a good job of caring for the soil.”

The Power of Agritourism and Direct-to-Consumer Farming

Many of the surrounding farms in Kern County are large corporation farms, which makes Holtermann’s almond farm unique—the Holtermann family lives on their farm and enjoys the fruits of their labor, literally, every single day. The Holtermann’s main crop is almonds, but they also grow many other fruits and vegetables on their property to share with their friends and neighbors.

“We have a fruit orchard in the back,” Holtermann said. “We just picked fresh apricots yesterday, we have chickens and fresh eggs, my son raised a lamb this year, we have a quarter-acre pumpkin patch that we do every year and invite neighboring kids to our farm. It’s an opportunity to connect people back to the land.”

Holtermann runs a direct-to-consumer almond business as well as offering farm experiences as part of agritourism. She hopes to grow both in the coming years. 

“We host ‘Brunch in the Bloom’ in the spring when the almond trees are filled with white and pink flowers,” said Holtermann. “We set up a long grazing table down the middle of the orchard, so people can come and enjoy the beautiful scenery, brunch, and fun times in the orchard.”

Even though Kern County is one of the top crop producing counties in the nation, there’s still a significant disconnect locally between people and where their food comes from. Agritourism provides a platform for farmers like Holtermann to answer people’s questions, correct misinformation, and help people reconnect with the land.

“I would love to continue to expand our agritourism on our farm, invite people in, and share our passion with other people,” said Holtermann.

She also runs an eCommerce website and has a goal to ship almonds to all 50 states. “I think we’re at 36 states now,” she said. “When you buy them direct from a farmer they taste so much better.” The produce they share with their local community is another opportunity to showcase just how much better tasting locally grown produce is—when you can get your food fresh, it makes a world of difference.

As she continues to grow her farm and her family, Holtermann sees herself continuing along with GFN as a guide or mentor for future cohorts. The connections she’s developed have made a world of difference for her perspective on the future of agriculture.

“There’s no other organization I know of where you meet farmers from all over the world on such a personal level and connect with people who are doing some really awesome things all throughout the world to help the global farmer.”