It’s Avocado Month!

Celebrate the Magic of California Avocados.

By Emily McKay Johnson, Associate Editor

Chefs and foodies alike, get ready for California Avocado Month which begins TODAY, June 1st. Menus across California are celebrating this magical fruit, not only for its postive health benefits as a source of Omega-3 and Vitamin E, but also for its resiliency to thrive in spite of the prolonged drought.

“Avocados are at their peak of the season,” said Jan DeLyser, vice president of marketing for the California Avocado Commission (CAC), “so we’re in very good supply and their eating quality is just second to none.”

Avocados are so diverse, they can be incorporated into daily menus for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, beverages and even desserts. Consider celebrating summer gatherings with chocolate avocado pudding, avocado ice cream or, perhaps, even an avocado cake. Links to recipes are included at the end of the article.

Would you believe California avocados can be used as a butter alternative—with 300 fewer calories per quarter cup serving?

Despite entering year five of the drought, California and its farming industry received enough rain in the northern part of the state this year to replenish reservoirs and actually increase this year’s avocado harvest. Roughly 4,000 growers on approximately 53,000 acres have harvested 392 million pounds of avocados.

“We actually have more fruit this year than we had last year,” acknowledged DeLyser. “Our growers are continuing to be good stewards of the resources that are available to them and able to produce avocados for us all to enjoy throughout the summer months.”

The CAC’s collaboration with chefs around the country to feature California avocado items, helps support growers of the tree-bearing fruit in the state. Approximately 90 percent of the nation’s avocado crop comes from fertile, California soil, mostly on small family farms, which can ensure the avocados are carefully handled and inspected.

Recipes incorporating delectable avocados: Chocolate Avocado Cake, Avocado Ice Cream

California Ag Today2021-05-12T11:05:56-07:00June 2nd, 2016|

Farmer Veterans Feed America

In Honor of Memorial Day 2016:

Farmer Veteran Coalition Helps Veterans Feed America

By Emily Johnson, Associate Editor

After 40 years of managing six different farming operations, Michael O’Gorman, executive director of Farmer Veteran Coalition (FVC), a national nonprofit serving military veterans in agriculture, decided to change directions with a little help from a study about zip codes that would have a big impact. Retirement or managing a seventh farm were his choices.

A report came out about all-voluntary military whose zip codes primarily came from rural communities. Understanding that veterans returning home would have limited access to benefits, social lives and support, and realizing he would need to hire new farmers, O’Gorman had a revolutionary idea, “What if I put one and one together and made something a lot bigger than two?”

Some of the veterans O’Gorman hired have had experience working on the farm, while others have had limited or none. The majority of them bucked hay in the summer as teens and that’s okay with O’Gorman. He finds that no matter their background, these vets know the lifestyle and enjoy what they’re doing.

Veterans who want to return to something as meaningful as their original enlistment are finding a reward in farming. Thousands of male and female vets are benefitting in a positive way at such a critical juncture in their lives.

Supplying a secure and rewarding job for thousands of veterans wasn’t always that easy in the beginning. O’Gorman recalls the first year, “I had to chase them down if I heard of one; I had to go in a pickup truck and find them, literally,” he said. O’Gorman’s efforts in setting the vets up for success paid off though, as over 300 veterans call O’Gorman every month just to check in and say hello.

The relationships between O’Gorman and the farmer veterans reach beyond the employer helping employee scenario: O’Gorman provides them with connections to the outside world, increases job placement and inspires an overall interest in farming that was never there before.

Their latest venture has involved the Department of Defense in working with the USDA to promote agriculture, a huge step towards the future of farming. With 99% of the most valuable farmland in the U.S. already being farmed, veterans are finding ways to utilize smaller pieces of land and still compete in the marketplace. For instance, when they settle closer to population centers, they can sell directly to consumers.

The Farmer Veteran Coalition found a way to help promote smaller-scale agriculture by founding the “Homegrown by Heros” label, the brainchild of the Kentucky Department of Agriculture. “Local food system agriculture benefits greatly from being able to display the identity of being a veteran and being grown by a veteran,” O’Gorman stated.

Finding farmland does not seem to be inconvenient as veterans are moving to places like California, the South, the Midwest, New England and New York. Veterans have learned to adapt and be adaptable—a positive outlook for anyone in the farming industry.

So many military personnel have become close friends within the industry, the Farmer Veteran Coalition holds an annual Stakeholder’s Conference. A subgroup of this population is the women farmers who make up only a minority in the military and a minority in agriculture. Oftentimes the bonds between the women farmers are powerful, as most of them have taken on very difficult tasks, usually before the age of 30.

Carrying out the mission of “Mobilizing Veterans to Feed America,” said O’Gorman, “the Farmer Veteran Coalition has been extremely helpful for their mental health and farming. They are helping each other and they are teaching each other, and that is really easy to see,” O’Gorman noted.

California Ag Today2016-06-14T21:46:32-07:00May 28th, 2016|

Blueberry Farmers Face Pivotal Juncture

Blueberry Farmers Grapple with Harvest Complexities

By Laurie Greene, Editor

It is peak season for blueberries in California, which provides nine percent of America’s blueberries according to the California Agricultural Statistics Review 2013-2014. And though this year’s harvest is a healthy, robust crop due to “fantastic” growing conditions—great weather, increased precipitation and a great bloom—other factors, according to Alexander Ott, executive director of the California Blueberry Commission, have complicated the process. Farmers have reached a pivotal juncture to adapt with all the variables.

Despite the exceptional quality of this year’s harvest—an estimated 70M-pound blueberry supply in California—and good movement in the produce marketplace, Ott explained blueberry farmers are facing a scarce, expensive labor force and a drop in market price. “Harvesting and labor is different for every blueberry grower because they may grow different blueberry varieties, prepare them for market as fresh or processed, have differ farm labor contracts or hire directly. And this year, harvest arrived two weeks early.”

“If we don’t have the labor, we don’t have a crop,” acknowledged Ott. “This is not unskilled labor, either; it is difficult to educate farmworkers, do research and other necessary things farmers must do to conduct a sustainable operation. Folks must know how to prune; how to identify ripe berries among fruit that ripens unevenly, how to pick without bruising the berries, and how to maintain stringent food safety measures.

“These farmworkers are hard working,” said Ott, “and generally make good money,” which Ott defined as $22 per hour. The lowest wage he is aware is $13/hour. And with the recent increase in California’s minimum wage, Ott reported that labor costs account for 52-54% costs of blueberry production.

Furthermore, Klein Management blueberry workers who struck for three days last week overwhelmingly voted—by 82 percent—to be represented by the United Farm Workers (UFW) during a union representation election last Saturday, May 21, overseen by the state Agricultural Labor Relations Board.

Throw in the lack of national comprehensive guest worker reform to allow skilled farmworkers to come in, work, and then go home; our economy as a whole; labor lost from drought and fallowed fields; mandated food safety requirements (particularly compared to other countries); new surface water and groundwater regulations; invasive pests and plant diseases; international commodity and trade factors; shipping and transportation complexities; and the fact that “the wheels of government move at slow pace” to adapt, as Ott views it, and the small grower disappears.

Ott sees two options for California blueberry farmers: Hire the same block of labor to conduct the six or seven picks per field of fruit or become innovative, particularly in the use of technology. With the introduction of the blueberry harvester several years ago, increased industrialization has afforded farmers the ability to dismiss worries about wage hikes and labor shortages, protection against heat stress, break periods, and overtime.

The question is, according to Ott, “How fast will the industry move toward technology?” Ott is following the issue with great interest, “As farmers go mechanical, there are more questions than answers.”

California Ag Today2016-06-19T21:38:21-07:00May 25th, 2016|

Assembly Bill 1513 Hurts Workers

Assembly Bill 1513 Challenges Farmers on How to Pay Workers

By Brian German, Associate Editor

New rules for piece-rate compensation and the “safe harbor” provisions addressed in Assembly Bill 1513 are proving to be noticeably complicated and confusing for many employers. Bryan Little, director of labor affairs for the California Farm Bureau Federation (CFBF), which represents members on a multitude of regulatory and legislative issues involving labor policy, talked about the difficulties in making sense of the new regulations.

“People are going to have to look at the administrative burden that will go along with continuing to use piece-rate compensation systems,” said Little, “and look at what kind of competitive position that puts them in. Farmers will need to determine how to compensate their workers.” Little noted that employers will have to, “make some tough decisions about whether or not they want to take the potential legal risk of continuing to use piece-rate.”

Based on his experience both in government, serving with the U.S. Department of Labor, and in agriculture, as chief operating officer for the Farm Employers Labor Service (FELS), Little proposed combining an hourly base wage with incentives to increase production. “So you’re making a minimum base rate of $10 dollars per hour, let’s say; and then you get paid $2 dollars for every piece you produce on top of that,” suggested Little.

Another possibility is a system of compensation, Little explained, with hourly wage tiers based on production. “At a minimum,” said Little, “you’re going to earn $10 dollars an hour; but if you produce 15 to 25 pieces, you’re going to earn $11 dollars an hour. If you produce 25 to 35 pieces, you’re going to earn $13 dollars an hour and so on and so forth.”

“This method of payment would still allow farmworkers to have more direct control over their earnings,” noted Little. “So everyone’s gotten compensated at least for their work time and their other nonproductive time at the base rate required by law, but you can still give them incentives for productivity.”

As with any new legislation, figuring out exactly how it will be enforced will be difficult. Little said maintaining a type of piece-rate compensation, “and making the commitment of resources and time to do it according to legal requirements, will be tough.”

Little suggests, in the interest of erring on the side of caution, it may be best if growers try to implement compensation policies that are the least reflective of typical piece-rate methods. “I think that kind of tiered compensation—hourly compensation rates—might get you far enough away from classic piece-rate compensation that you might be able to make that work,” said Little.

While AB 1513 applies only to California, the state of Washington is also considering similar legislation. Little has been paying close attention to how the issue is being handled there and noted one of the justices from Washington Supreme Court called the piece-rate compensation system, “an economic whip used by employers to force more work out of workers and to use the economic advantage they have over workers to get more out of them.”

Little also mentioned that after talking with a U.S. Department of Agriculture wage and hour administrator, “We are likely to see similar legislation on a national level sometime in the future. Some of the things this administrator says and the way he says them lead me to believe that he probably believes those things too about piece-rate compensation systems. And so this may be the trend,” noted Little.

Although AB 1513 was created with the intention of assisting workers, the actual results are, unfortunately, more likely to be detrimental. “What’s really so counterintuitive about this is that workers, in our experience, really like to be compensated by piece-rate because it gives those who are willing to be more productive and to work harder an opportunity to make more money,” Little noted.

California Ag Today2016-06-14T22:04:25-07:00May 24th, 2016|

HarvestPort Increases Cash Flow

HarvestPort Increases Farmers’ Cash Flow with Shared Assets

A tractor sitting idle on the farm can earn extra income for the farmer with a new program designed for sharing assets, noted Bryan Dawson, CEO of Harvestport.com.

“We are a shared economy platform for seasonally used agriculture assets,” said Dawson. “For example, a guy has a tractor. He is using it in stone fruit, which has a very short window in California of two to three months. When he’s done, that [tractor] sits in his yard. He can take that tractor, list it on our platform, and earn money off season, without having to do any of the associated tracking, tracing, following up on the logistics.”

Dawson commented that agriculture really lends itself to such a program where all kinds of equipment is sitting at the farm shop not being used.

“The great thing about Ag is, intrinsically, there’s a seasonality. I think the way people previously managed risk was to own more assets than they needed. So on a high season, they’re always prepared. It certainly makes sense from a self-reliance perspective, but we’re trying to introduce a program that would allow people to share with their neighbors without the headache of the friction. When you borrow something from your neighbor and there’s an accident, there’s more wear and tear. It can be quite a headache; it can damage the relationship.

Find out more about this new program at Harvestport.com.

HarvestPort – “How it works Borrowing” [Source: Harvestport.com]

California Ag Today2016-06-14T15:55:16-07:00May 23rd, 2016|

Food Safety First for Valley Harvesting

Food Safety Top of Mind with Valley Harvesting

By Patrick Cavanaugh, Deputy Editor

Valley Harvesting & Packing, Inc. is a company of people who don’t even think about slowing down; they simply don’t have the time. Headquartered in the Imperial County community of Heber, the company has major operations in Mexico, California and Arizona that supply labor, logistics, trucking and custom harvesting, while never compromising food safety. The company’s customers include Fresh Express, New Star Organics, Frisco Farms, River Ranch Fresh Foods, Dole, Tanimura & Antle, Natural Selections, and Foxy Fresh Produce.

Founded by Steve Scaroni and his wife, Brenda, in 1983, Valley Harvesting & Packing is not far from their home deep in the Imperial Valley, a few miles north of Mexicali, Mexico. As president of the company, Steve Scaroni has an enormous passion for the vegetable industry and spends this time of year in Oceanside, Santa Maria, Oxnard, Salinas and Watsonville, where about 30 percent of the business is harvesting and providing labor for strawberries. The remaining 70 percent is devoted to vegetable harvest, labor and logistics.

“If you look at the scope of the company, statistically,” Scaroni said, “we are ‘touching’ somewhere in the process about 25 percent of every salad eaten every day,” said Scaroni.

Valley Harvesting & Packing is a subsidiary of the Scaroni Family of Companies, founded by Steve and Brenda Scaroni in 1984, that also includes Fresh Harvest, a major labor provider, staffing company and harvesting company to the leafy green and berry industries, SMD Logistics, a harvesting, logistics and maintenance company with a 24/7 Dispatch Center, and Harvest Tek de México, a year-round farming operation. The SMD Logistics fleet of 50 trucks follows the harvest operations to deliver fresh-picked produce straight to the cooler within one hour.

Scaroni explained, “We have a food safety team overseeing everything we do. We have to do the same thing in Mexico, but even better than in the U.S.” Scaroni commented, “We have a saying in our operation: Food safety. Everyone. Everyday.”

“Animal intrusion is certainly always an issue,” Scaroni continued, “and you always have to check your water sources. We constantly swab our water tanks. And of course, we are always making sure people wash their hands and no one is sick, has a runny nose or is sneezing. These three things—animals, water and people—are 90 percent of the battle.”

“We believe in and follow the Leafy Green Marketing Agreement (LGMA),” Scaroni emphasized. “The results show that this program works and we are completely focused on that. Every crew has a safety officer wearing a bright yellow and orange vest to ensure that the crew is operating safely.”

To help the supervisor maintain excellent quality, the safety officer oversees the sanitization of the cutting knives which are washed in a bucket with bleach every two hours, on average; before and after work; at every break and during lunch. “Out here, everyone uses a knife,” Scaroni continued, “so we have to make sure no one gets cut. There is also a lot of equipment in the field, so the safety officer makes sure no one gets run-over.”

California Ag Today2016-06-14T22:06:51-07:00May 20th, 2016|

CCA Exam Signup Open

California Certified Crop Advisor Exam Signup Open

Certified Crop Advisers (CCAs) in California and Arizona have the opportunity to register for the August 5, 2016 CCA Exam until June 24, 2016. The exam will be given in Sacramento, Tulare, Ventura and Yuma. Registration for the exam is available at: https://www.certifiedcropadviser.org/exams/registration.

More than 1,000 active CCAs in California and Arizona are playing an important role assisting growers with the efficient and environmentally sound use of fertilizer and crop management. Many California CCAs recently completed the University of California/California Department of Food and Agriculture Nutrient Management Training Course which qualified them to complete grower nitrogen management plans that are or will be required by the various California Regional Water Quality Boards.

“Crop consultants are encouraged to become CCA s to show that they have the commitment, education, expertise, and experience to make a difference in a client’s business,” said California CCA Chairman, Fred Strauss, Crop Production Services. “The CCA certification is largest, most recognized agriculturally-oriented program in North America. The CCA Exam Preparation Course, scheduled in Sacramento on June 24, will help candidates prepare for the test. Registration for the exam prep course is available at https://capcaed.com/june-24,-2016-ca-cca-exam-preparatory-workshop.

For more information on the California CCA program, go to: www.cacca.org, or contact Steve Beckley at (916)539-4107 or steve.beckley48@gmail.com for more information. The California CCA Program is also on Facebook.

California Ag Today2016-06-15T18:03:18-07:00May 18th, 2016|

FARMit Educates Farm Managers

FARMit Fills Educational Gaps in Farm Management

California Ag Today farm news director, Patrick Cavanaugh, learned about FARMit from expert Dan Whisenhunt, whose accomplishments include president and CEO at Agcom LLC, (An Agson Global, PVT, LTD Subsidiary); principal at Dan Whisenhunt Consulting, in Turlock; member of the Board of Directors for the California chapter of the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers (ASFMRA); chair of the FARMit Education Committee (farm management); member of the Farm Management / Ag Consulting Education Committee on the national level of ASFMRA; and Accredited Agricultural Consultant (AAC) designee.

Dan Whisenhunt, member, board of directors for the California ASFMRA and chair, FARMit Committee

Dan Whisenhunt, member of Board of Directors for the California chapter of the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers (ASFMRA) and chair of the FARMit Education Committee (farm management)

CalAgToday: What is the scope of FARMit?

Whisenhunt: FARMit is a 14 one-day course education package designed to fulfill the education gaps in California agriculture. We held some focus group meetings throughout the state to identify the education gap in farm management areas and then designed the courses to fulfill those gaps. Now, we are offering California agriculture in general; which teaches valuable soft-skills that can enrich a company’s culture and also improve employee performance.

CalAgToday: Can you give us an example of these gaps?

Whisenhunt: The education gaps are mostly in the farm management area—our main target. But we’re seeing those same education gaps in all areas of agriculture, from farm managers and leads in the field, to executive farm managers and lenders.

These courses are aimed at all of those markets to enrich [management] knowledge and enable them to be better employees for their company. The focus group meetings basically surveyed the attending farm managers to identify what education they think is lacking for their profession here in California. And really, nobody offers farm management education here in California, or across the country, other than the ASFMRA.

CalAgToday: Are the courses required to fulfill the farm manager education curriculum?

Whisenhunt: No, not unless you hold a certification, an accreditation, from ASFMRA. The accredited members, either farm managers or ag consultants, are required to have 30 hours of education every two years in their discipline. But, there are no requirements for farm managers, and this is a real advantage to those companies that choose to in their employees, particularly in the form of education, to enhance their employees’ effectiveness. They’re going to be able to better communicate with their coworkers, better communicate with their employees, do a better job—on the job, and ultimately, make more money for the company.

CalAgToday: ASFMRA is a national organization, so is FARMit national?

Whisenhunt: These classes were designed and developed by the California chapter, but we have offered them in other states. We’re getting requests.In fact, one of our members traveled to offer one of these classes to the Illinois chapter, and they’ve requested that we facilitate two more classes for them in July. And the Michigan chapter is requesting a class to be facilitated in September, so we’re offering these all over the country.

CalAgToday: That’s great.

Whisenhunt: Yes, our aim is to work with the national ASFMRA, based in Denver, to offer education to other chapters across the country, but this is primarily for the agriculture industry here in California.

CalAgToday: How do we find out more about FARMit?

Whisenhunt: You can go to our California Chapter ASFMRA website, or call our chapter office in Woodbridge CA, at 209-368-3672.

__________________________

The California Chapter of the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers, according to their website, was chartered in 1949 as an affiliate of the national organization. It is a non-profit mutual benefit corporation under California law.

Members of the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers are uniquely qualified to meet the complex challenges of modern agriculture. ASFMRA is the nation’s premier organization of professionals who adhere to exceptionally high standards for education, ethics and performance in appraisal and management of agricultural properties, and consulting for agribusiness. The California Chapter is one of 38 chapters affiliated with the national organization.

California Ag Today2016-06-07T15:04:25-07:00May 17th, 2016|

LGBTQ+ Agriculture Summit

Cultivating Change: Building A Network of LGBTQ+ Agriculturists

June 8th – 11th, 2016 Kicks off the 2nd Annual Cultivating Change Summit In Sacramento

The Cultivating Change Foundation is hosting their 2nd annual Cultivating Change Summit designed to explore and empower the intersection of the agriculture industry and the LGBTQ+ community—Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Transgender and Questioning (and allies)—a group of people rarely represented in either of the communities of which they are a part, the agriculture community or the LGBTQ+ community, for the most unique professional development conference ever.

Participants can go to http://www.cultivatingchangefoundation.org and register to join this important conversation. The Summit is the first of its kind providing a safe space for LGBTQ+ agriculturalists and people who love and respect them to come together and connect through a shared experience. With over 200 participants from industry leaders to innovators uniting June 8th-11th, in Sacramento, the epicenter and capital of the number one agriculture producing state in the nation, with a common goal of amplifying and elevating this global conversation. This Summit will allow LGBTQ+ agriculturists of the past, present, and future to see that they are not alone and recognize the Ag industry needs all of us for a sustainable future.

“It is important that the community come together to share information and best practices, not only to ensure we all reach our full potential, but also to support one another as so many LGBTQ people across the country contribute daily to our rural and agriculture communities.” – Ashlee Davis, LGBT Rural Summit Series, U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Over the three days, the Cultivating Change Summit will have 40 speakers, workshop presenters, and keynotes delivering content focused on four different areas: agricultural education, production agriculture, government and policy in agriculture, and urban agriculture. Some of the Summit’s distinguished guests include the California State Secretary of Agriculture, Karen Ross, and the President of California Farm Bureau, Paul Wenger. Representatives from the United States Department of Agriculture, Sacramento government officials, and individuals from global agricultural companies will be present.

The main summit events will take place at the Crest Theatre in Downtown Sacramento, 1013 K Street. The final day of the summit will include tours of Northern California’s Agriculture landscape and local agricultural operations.

“I’ve waited more than 20 years for someone to start the conversation. I believe in Cultivating Change! Let’s do this!” – Rob Larew, Staff Director, US House Committee on Agriculture.

About The Cultivating Change Foundation

Founded in 2015, the Cultivating Change Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, focuses on valuing and elevating minorities in agrarian communities through innovation, education, and advocacy.

Tickets are available for the Cultivating Change Summit and can be purchased through the website for $225. Special group ticket packages, sponsorship opportunities, and a detailed schedule are also available online. Visit www.cultivatingchangefoundation.org for more information.

California Ag Today2016-05-31T19:24:03-07:00May 16th, 2016|

A Positive View of Agriculture

Use Buzzwords to Convey Positive View of Agriculture

By Charmayne Hefley, Associate Editor

While it may not always seem that consumers view agriculture favorably, David Spady, Americans for Prosperity of California state director, said agriculture is actually viewed positively, as demonstrated through the “So God Made a Farmer” Ram 2013 Super Bowl ad, an extended version of the “So God Made a Farmer” video based on the speech authored and narrated by legendary radio broadcaster Paul Harvey and produced by the truck manufacturer to commemorate Ram’s “Year of the Farmer.” Spady also included FarmersOnly, the online dating site, as portraying a positive view of agriculture, among other programs and outreach.

“How you present farming to the public is very important,” Spady said, “ to make sure you’re hitting those values that people do see in farming.”

Spady suggested one way farmers can maintain the value placed on agriculture is by using the buzzwords that anti-agricultural groups have used against agriculture—in favor of agriculture. “Sustainability has become a very common buzzword,” Spady said, “but it’s very important to project [sustainability] with the idea of farming because farming is sustainable—sustainable for not just our food production but also for the environment,” he affirmed.

“[Farmers] are really growing large-scale gardens, not just planting rows of crops. But, ultimately, that’s what people are doing even in their backyards. So, giving people an image they can relate to that has a values-connection is a really important message for projecting who farmers are.”

_________________

The mission Americans for Prosperity (AFP) California, as reported on their website, is:

to educate citizens about limited government, lower taxation, and free market principles
to advocate for public policies that champion the principles of entrepreneurship as well as regulatory and fiscal restraint.
to mobilize citizens to advocate for policies that cut red tape and increase opportunity and get the economy working for hard workers–not special interests.

What we do:

AFP mobilizes citizens to effectively make their voices heard in public policy campaigns.
We build coalitions of like-minded organizations in California fighting for the common cause of lower taxation and free market principles.
AFP California educates citizens about where their elected officials stand on our issues.
AFP combines state-of-the-art national capabilities with local on-the-ground armies to create Grassroots operations that win.
Through its Grassroots Training Schools, AFP Foundation has recruited and educated thousands of citizens on how to promote greater economic prosperity.

California Ag Today2016-06-03T10:01:25-07:00May 13th, 2016|

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