File:Fresno Family Farm shareholder and individual producer Keng Xiong USDA interview.webm

English: [Caption is below transcript]

TRANSCRIPT- 20140302-OC-LSC-9001 0:00 [musical tones] [Graphic: USDA symbol] [Text: United States Department of Agriculture] 0:06 [Sound: People, in distance, talking at farmers’ market] 0:07 Keng Xiong: My name is Keng Xiong [pronounced, Kang Jong] and our family business is Fresno Family Farm. 0:12 Keng Xiong: We each have a share in this business. 0:15 Keng Xiong: But, I run my own farmers’ market (outlet), and my own field. 0:21 Keng Xiong: I actually grown my own stuff for me, and my little family. 0:25 Keng Xiong: All my other brothers have their own certificate that represents their own business. 0:30 Keng Xiong: But, we all farm at the same location, in Fresno (CA). 0:34 Keng Xiong: We’re located I the central valley. 0:35 Keng Xiong: So we’re, I’ll say, about 150 miles away. 0:40 Keng Xiong: I usually leave town by like 4:30. 0:46 Keng Xiong: Then I usually get here almost seven o’clock. 0:48 Keng Xiong: It’s quite a drive, but you get used to it. 0:51 Keng Xiong: I’ve been doing this for eight years. 0:56 Keng Xiong: Coming over here. You’re seeing your stuff able to sell pretty good, so that motivates you to keep doing it. 1:02 Keng Xiong: I like what I’m doing. 1:05 Keng Xiong: For us, our ethnicity is Hmong [silent “H”]. We are originally from Laos. 1:08 Keng Xiong: We are the mountain people. 1:15 Keng Xiong: You just grow your own stuff, and that’s how you are able to feed your family. 1:18 Keng Xiong: Coming up over here I think it’s well worth coming over here. 1:23 Keng Xiong: I think for myself, we have accomplished more that we would ever have, then if we were to stay in Laos. 1:30 Keng Xiong: We actually have the real four seasons. 1:34 Keng Xiong: During the winter, cabbage loves the cold temperatures. 1:38 Keng Xiong: And they are able to sit in the ground longer. 1:42 Keng Xiong: That’s how we are able to get them to be the giant size… 1:45 Keng Xiong: …like, up to about 16 -18 pound cabbage. 1:50 Keng Xiong: In the summer, you don’t see those kind of stuff. 1:52 Keng Xiong: You only see about an average 2-3 pound cabbage. 1:58 Lance Cheung: Do you accept SNAP benefit tokens? 2:01 Keng Xiong: Yes we still accept those. 2:02 Keng Xiong: It’s a big advantage for us too. 2:04 Keng Xiong: That gives low-income families the ability to come here to buy vegetables and fruit for the family. 2:12 Lance Cheung: How fresh is the produce that you sell and then how long does it last? 2:18 Keng Xiong: Anything with a leafy green, or like fresh fresh produce, we cut them fresh, as fresh as possible, one day before we come to the farmer’s market. 2:28 Keng Xiong: For the customer to have it throughout the week, before coming back to the farmers’ market again. 2:36 [Text: Farmers Markets Search <a href="http://search.ams.usda.gov/farmersmarkets/" rel="noreferrer nofollow">search.ams.usda.gov/farmersmarkets/</a> Family and Small Farms <a href="http://www.nifa.usda.gov/familysmallfarms.cfm" rel="noreferrer nofollow">www.nifa.usda.gov/familysmallfarms.cfm</a> SNAP Benefits] <a href="http://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/supplemental-nutrition-assistance-program-snap" rel="noreferrer nofollow">www.fns.usda.gov/snap/supplemental-nutrition-assistance-p...</a>. 2:42 [Text: 20140302-OC-LSC-9001, USDA multimedia by Lance Cheung. 2:45 [Music: Soft crescendo roll on a cymbal] [USDA symbol.] [Text: United States Department of Agriculture. USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. To file a complaint of discrimination, write: USDA, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, Office of Adjudication, 1400 Independence Ave., SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call: (866) 632-9992 (Toll-free Customer Service), (800) 877-8339 (Local or Federal relay), or (866) 377-8642 (Relay voice users).

CAPTION: Fresno Family Farm shareholder and individual producer Keng Xiong is one in a family of farmers in California’s central valley agriculture region and sells produce in several farmers’ markets, such as this Pacific Coast Farmers' Market Association member market at Jack London Square, in Oakland, CA., on Sunday, March 2, 2014. This day starts 150 miles away at 4:30 AM to begin setup at 7AM each Sunday. After doing this for eight years, he says, “You get used to it.” But, there are rewards, “…coming over here, you’re seeing your stuff able to sell pretty good. So that motivates you to keep doing it. I like what I’m doing.” Freshness is an important selling point, “Things that go bad faster, we usually cut them the day before we come to the farmer’s market, says Mr. Xiong. “Things that are able to last a little bit longer we usually do two or three days before. Nothing is longer than that, …so customers can have it fresh throughout the week.” In Fresno, the family have four growing seasons on the 27 acres they own or lease. “We will have different things each season. He continues, “during the summer we are able to grow more, and we are able to offer more variety to the customer. In the winter we focus on the leafy greens. In Laos, to survive, you just grow your own stuff and feed your own family.” The Xiong family emigrated from the mountain region of Laos, to Thailand and then to the United States in 1991. “Coming over here; I think it was well worth it. I think we have accomplished more than we (would) ever have, if we were to stay in Laos.”

He accepts SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits, and says, “EBT (Electronic Benefits Transfer card) users end up getting more with the use of the EBT card. It’s a big advantage for us too. It gives low-income families a chance to come to the farmer’s market… to buy vegetables and fruits for the family. The real benefit is that the quality and taste is much better. A farmer’s market is a one-stop shop for customers.” USDA Photo by Lance Cheung.