Jun 10, 2026 · 1 hr 19 min · 13 segments
In today's episode i am talking about a question someone asked me that also farms agave in California. He asked me for my honest opinion on farming agave in california and the potential of any of…
Uh, and today I wanted to talk about, you know, a topic that I've been bringing up a lot, uh, just because the more farmers I see come into California agave, the more I'm reminded of the past decade of agave farming, uh, in Jalisco, right? Because my family, you know, I've said multiple times is multi-generation agave farmers, and we still actively farm agave in three countries.
Um, you know, we got a lot of experience when it has come to, you know, the boom and bust of the agave markets.
But, you know, this specific time period of, like, the last ten years in Jalisco, and even this could kind of apply to Oaxaca, you know, or maybe other states like, uh, Sonora.
Um, you know, this could probably apply.
Um, but you know, when it comes to those craft spirits, I guess not so much.
And, and that topic is that, you know, these businesses, um, trying to catch the wave of the boom and really, you know, leaving the industry during the bust, you know.
And when it's on the floor and the price has plummeted, people, you know, start burning, ripping it out and really ignoring agave in favor of other quicker turnaround and profitable crops such as blueberries and strawberries and, uh, vegetables such as fresh chilies or, you know, fresh, uh, salad greens.
So at least in my part of Jalisco, a lot of the agave nowadays is being taken out for, uh, blueberries, right? Uh, as well as greenhouses that grow fresh vegetables for the exportation to the United States.
And, you know, my family does a piece of that as well.
Um, and you know, I've seen how this industry has shifted, right? And I think there's a lot to learn from the history of, you know, Mexican agave in the past maybe decade or few decades, and trying to maybe learn from it, uh, so that we could, as farmers maybe in California, um, you know, not go through some of the same mistakes, you know.
So today, you know, that the podcast title will be why I predict that most California agave farmers will not make any money or quit before they actually, uh, have a mature crop.
So [clears throat] this is a, you know, I know a maybe scary prediction or, you know, you're probably like, "Oh, Steve's an asshole, thinks everybody's going to fail." Um, this, this applies to me too.
You know, it's like we have to all, as farmers, try to avoid the same mistakes as the Mexicans, right? And that's been the whole central theme to this podcast, like, don't copy Jalisco, right? And if you do, it's the less than one percent or one percent of indigenous agave farmers that you should be looking at for help, not the corporate farmers, right? But anyways, that'll come up in this as well.
So why, why do I believe this point, right? Well, let's describe a little bit of this agave boom and bust cycle that has happened in Jalisco, right, in the past ten years.
Uh, and today I wanted to talk about, you know, a topic that I've been bringing up a lot, uh, just because the more farmers I see come into California agave, the more I'm reminded of the past decade of agave farming, uh, in Jalisco, right? Because my family, you know, I've said multiple times is multi-generation agave farmers, and we still actively farm agave in three countries.
Um, you know, we got a lot of experience when it has come to, you know, the boom and bust of the agave markets.
But, you know, this specific time period of, like, the last ten years in Jalisco, and even this could kind of apply to Oaxaca, you know, or maybe other states like, uh, Sonora.
Um, you know, this could probably apply.
Um, but you know, when it comes to those craft spirits, I guess not so much.
And, and that topic is that, you know, these businesses, um, trying to catch the wave of the boom and really, you know, leaving the industry during the bust, you know.
And when it's on the floor and the price has plummeted, people, you know, start burning, ripping it out and really ignoring agave in favor of other quicker turnaround and profitable crops such as blueberries and strawberries and, uh, vegetables such as fresh chilies or, you know, fresh, uh, salad greens.
So at least in my part of Jalisco, a lot of the agave nowadays is being taken out for, uh, blueberries, right? Uh, as well as greenhouses that grow fresh vegetables for the exportation to the United States.
And, you know, my family does a piece of that as well.
Um, and you know, I've seen how this industry has shifted, right? And I think there's a lot to learn from the history of, you know, Mexican agave in the past maybe decade or few decades, and trying to maybe learn from it, uh, so that we could, as farmers maybe in California, um, you know, not go through some of the same mistakes, you know.
So today, you know, that the podcast title will be why I predict that most California agave farmers will not make any money or quit before they actually, uh, have a mature crop.
So [clears throat] this is a, you know, I know a maybe scary prediction or, you know, you're probably like, "Oh, Steve's an asshole, thinks everybody's going to fail." Um, this, this applies to me too.
You know, it's like we have to all, as farmers, try to avoid the same mistakes as the Mexicans, right? And that's been the whole central theme to this podcast, like, don't copy Jalisco, right? And if you do, it's the less than one percent or one percent of indigenous agave farmers that you should be looking at for help, not the corporate farmers, right? But anyways, that'll come up in this as well.
So why, why do I believe this point, right? Well, let's describe a little bit of this agave boom and bust cycle that has happened in Jalisco, right, in the past ten years.
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