Episode 6 🍓 Parker Jones | The Strawberry King of California
Chopping It Up with Keith Saarloos · Released August 14, 2025 · Santa Ynez Valley, California
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About this conversation
Organic strawberry farmer Parker Jones doesn’t just grow fruit—he grows the biggest crop in Santa Barbara County, by hand, under a system stacked against him. We talk about picking 80,000 boxes a week, why the “cold chain” starts in the field, and how water falling on his land legally isn’t his. Parker breaks down labor struggles, foreign competition, government red tape, and what it takes to feed 99% of America when you’re in the 1% that still farms. It’s a raw look at dirt, grit, and the fight to keep real food on the table.
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Saarloos + Sons archive vineyard scene. Context photograph; not a portrait of the guest or a photograph of this recording.
