Why Every Voice Matters in the Vegetable World

On the surface, farming is a business like any other — built on margins, supply chains, and bottom lines. But if you spend even a day in a field or a packinghouse, you’ll see how different our industry really is. This work is about soil, sunlight, and stewardship. It’s about nurturing not just crops, but family legacies and rural communities. And when it comes to understanding this business, you can’t just look at the biggest operations and think you’ve got the full picture.

You can always spot someone new to the vegetable world. They talk only to large farms, believing the 80/20 rule will tell them everything they need to know.

But our industry doesn’t work like that.

Our supply chains are complex and interwoven. Sure, supermarkets buy from the Tanimura & Antles of the world. But they also source from small farms that supply a handful of stores, from cooperatives, or from growers working under larger contracts. That’s just one buyer category — the diversity is even deeper.

That’s why, in the vegetable industry, every voice matters.

When we launch our annual State of the Vegetable Industry survey, we don’t just ask big farms to weigh in. We include everyone — growers of all scales, suppliers, Extension agents, crop consultants, and more. In fact, we run three coordinated surveys to ensure each segment has a chance to share what they see.

Those combined insights help us tell a more complete story. They also shape the future of American Vegetable Grower.

So, thank you — not just for answering our questions, but for helping us better serve the industry. Your input helps us focus on what matters: where the greatest opportunities lie, and where our growers need solutions most.

We look forward to continuing this work — with all of you.

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Click here for more insights from the 2025 State of the Vegetable Industry Survey and stay tuned for more in the coming weeks.