Growing up in Watsonville, California, Jose Villanueva Vigil, along with his family, has been involved in agriculture for many years. Beginning as a weeder and strawberry picker in a conventional setting, and with his mother also involved in berry quality assurance, Vigil became interested in learning more about the intricacies of cultivation. Vigil began working for CCOF certified farmer Javier Zamora of JSM Organics and discovered organic farming; after two seasons there, Vigil committed to diving into organics in his studies as well.
Vigil is currently enrolled at Fresno State University studying plant science with an emphasis on organic crop production. “Growing organically has good outputs, not only for the consumer, but for the environment as well.” He sees organic production as a growing field with many opportunities on the horizon. As an aspiring berry farm owner, Vigil aims to take his education and hands-on learning back to his hometown of Watsonville to continue cultivating healthy soils and environmental stewardship. “I’m excited about the future of organics, and I can’t wait to see what this comes to.”
This is the first year that the CCOF Foundation supported Jose Villanueva Vigil’s career in organic agriculture. Vigil plans to finish his senior year in the plant sciences department at Fresno State and begin his own organic berry farm. The CCOF Foundation congratulates and wishes the best to Jose Villanueva Vigil with his studies in 2022!
Find out more about the Future Organic Farmers grant fund from CCOF on the Future Organic Farmers website now!