From the Central Valley to the world—and back
What does the soil of the Central San Joaquin Valley send the world? I'd never be fool enough to attempt a complete list, but the rolls of the United States Department of Agriculture ring with apples, oranges, plums, prunes, table grapes, wine grapes, cheese (what else with wine?), almonds, walnuts, rice, sudan, seed corn, field corn, sweet corn, sweet potatoes, sweet peppers, sugar beets, bittermelon, wintermelon, cantaloupe, cilantro, dill, dates, dry beans, long beans, green beans, green onions, mustard greens, peaches, pistachios, persimmons, pears, pomegranates, figs, head lettuce, seed lettuce, quince, squash, broccoli, onions, garlic, bell peppers, chili peppers (Jalapeno, Serrano and Thai), cherry tomatoes, lemon grass, strawberries, egg plant, basil, leaks, parsley, turnips, cucumbers, yams, swiss chard, bok choy, ong choy, moqua, opo, donqua, okra and olives.
To name a few. If your mouth fills with cotton just thinking about it, there's milk to wash it down and mint to freshen your breath.
That same soil produces another export listed nowhere in the USDA database: academics and ethics, in the form of Fresno Pacific University students. And the best part is that when students go away, adults come back, bringing more knowledge, a wider worldview and the maturity of those who have lived their lessons. They come back to become leaders and benefit their professions, churches and communities.