San Diego County Farm Bureau News
September 2009: Vol. 22. No. 9

President's Message - Top of Page

Networking at the speed of light!

by Michael A. Mellano

Long ago, in a place called Dairy Valley, lived a kid named Mike. He was like any other kid and spent his summers playing with his friends. Back then, the main method of communication between friends was a holler over the fence or a call on a phone attached to the wall, and contact was made only if your friend was home. If contact couldn’t be made, then you were pretty much relegated to either staying home being bored or you got on your bike and started to search. We all knew where to look generally but relied on our personal networks of friends and neighbors to increase our odds of success.

Today, people—including kids like Mike—are more connected than ever. Through technological advances, we now have cell phones, e-mail and text messaging, which have almost rendered the older methods of communication obsolete. Mail carriers are hauling lighter loads, and many people no longer have land lines in their homes. All of this has simplified and sped up the process of communication and networking, and it is truly amazing how rapidly these technological advances have been accepted as commonplace.

One of the newest advances being accepted in explosive proportions is the phenomenon of “social networking” through a site called Facebook. For those that may not, as yet, have been introduced to Facebook, it is an Internet-based network that connects individuals and groups with similar interests allowing them to interact socially and professionally on a daily basis. It is expansive in nature because, as you build your personal network and find friends and colleagues, the program begins to suggest people that you may know and groups that you may want to join based on the connections that have been made. The more friends and colleagues you have, the more the program suggests and the more you find . . . and on and on and on. Simply put, it allows you to develop new colleagues and reunite with old friends and share what is happening in your life with a greater network of individuals than ever before.

In just a few short years, Facebook has grown to over 71 million users from every corner of the globe. The growth in users is explosive and exponential. Up until a few short months ago, Facebook was considered the domain of the Gen Y group, but, much to the dismay of my kids and their friends, we older folks have now discovered it and are becoming users in droves. It has been reported that in the last year the largest and fastest growing demographic is now the over-40 crowd.

For me, it has been a great way to reconnect on a daily basis with friends and family but, more importantly, I have an online working relationship with colleagues involved in floriculture all over the world. One of the things that I find groundbreaking is the ease with which new professional relationships can be developed and current professional relationships sustained. It is not at all uncommon for colleagues and acquaintances that previously may not have seen each other more than once or twice each year at conferences or professional meetings to interact much more frequently, sometimes as often as daily. There are some concerns, however, as the line between our personal and professional lives blur, but in the end the benefits outweigh the negatives when properly managed. At the end of the day, we can either choose to ignore the new technologies like Facebook and go about doing business the way we have in the past, or we can accept it as the new paradigm that it is and learn to benefit from its potential. The world just got smaller again.

From the Executive Director

Reading between the lines of the 2008 Crop Report tells another story

by Eric Larson

The 2008 Crop Statistics and Annual Report from the Department of Agriculture Weights & Measures was recently released. While statistics aren’t usually interesting, reading the Crop Report is the window that provides the view of the pounds, stems, gallons, dozens and acres that quantify the amount of production that takes place in the county. What it doesn’t measure, however, is the resilience.

Thinking back to 2008 with its aftermath of fires, water use restrictions, and economic slump, that the Crop Report showed an increase of 1 percent in farm production value over 2007 was remarkable. While the increase can be attributed to, in part, better information gathering and a few commodities with price upticks, the fact that there wasn’t a substantial downturn is the story behind the numbers.

2008 is in the books and in about a year we’ll learn how 2009 fared. So far this year, there has been some tough news, with dairymen suffering from costs that overwhelm milk prices, insufficient supplies of expensive water, a few nursery closings, a light avocado crop, and new pest pressures. Ever since the Franciscan missionaries introduced the idea of cultivating crops in the region, there have been challenges and farmers who overcame them. 
While climate often gets the headlines for the collection of more than 200 commodities grown in San Diego County, there is only one thing that the overall strength of farming in the county can be attributed to: the resilience of those who produce the crops that then get measured each year.
We don’t yet know what the figures for this year and years beyond will be, but don’t bet against the farmers!

From the Ag Commissioner

Bob Atkins, Agricultural Commissioner/Sealer of Weights and Measures

Spotlight on plant pathology

The San Diego County Department of Agriculture, Weights and Measures is privileged to be one of only four departments in the state with a Plant Pathology/Nematology Laboratory, offering a number of advantages to local growers and residents.

Our Plant Pathologist, Pat Nolan, diagnoses plant diseases by examining plant and soil samples to identify pathogens such as fungi, viruses, nematodes and bacteria, or damage from other causes. Samples come from a variety of sources: homeowners, farmers, nursery owners, and landscape maintenance companies, as well as agricultural inspectors. It is a very popular place! In the first six months of this year, the plant pathologist diagnosed 935 nematode samples and 614 disease samples.

Providing skilled diagnostic services within the county is faster and less expensive for the agricultural community than sending samples to the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA). Plant disease and nematode tests are performed in our own lab, often with as little as a three-day turnaround, which saves shipping costs and gets product to its destination faster. When a pest problem is found, a quick and accurate diagnosis can also allow the proper treatment to be initiated, prevent the spread of disease, and protect the environment by reducing the need for pesticides.

The diagnostic service not only helps businesses and homeowners, it also benefits the county. Submitted samples provide a snapshot of what pests and diseases are present in the county and can warn of new problems. While most diagnoses are of common pathogens, such as fire blight or powdery mildew, sometimes plant pathogens are found that have not been reported in the county, in California, or even in the Western Hemisphere. In 2008, growers brought in basil with what appeared to be a dusty gray fuzz that was destroying the leaves. The disease turned out to be a downy mildew not previously recorded in California. It was so new it did not even have a species name yet!

The Pathology Lab works closely with the CDFA labs where needed. The state lab confirms diagnoses of pests of quarantine significance, sometimes sending samples on for confirmation at a USDA lab. Working with CDFA also allows us to track patterns in disease spread across California. For instance, Fusarium wilt of palms, a fatal disease of Phoenixspp., has been found in landscape trees in San Diego County since the 1970s. More recently, it has been found in nurseries throughout the state. This new development highlights the need for more attention to sanitary practices when handling these trees in nurseries.

Right now, we are closely watching for two serious plant pathogens. Huanglongbing (HLB) is the fatal disease of citrus spread by the Asian citrus psyllid. It has not been found in the county yet, but in other states, the disease was found within a year or two of the discovery of the insect. Laurel wilt, a fungal disease fatal to avocados, has not been detected on the West Coast, but has been spreading rapidly in the southeastern U.S. It is transmitted by the red bay ambrosia beetle. This beetle is believed to have hitchhiked into the U.S. on wooden packing material from Asia and is very small, making it difficult to find. We may see the disease before the insect is found. You can be sure that any sample from a wilting avocado tree with black and streaky vascular tissue will be closely scrutinized!

If you have questions about plant diseases, how to submit a sample, or types of testing done in the Plant Pathology Lab, you can reach Pat Nolan at (858) 694-2753 or check out the AWM Web site at www.sdcawm.org.

San Diego: (858) 694-8988
North County: (760) 752-4700
E-mail: sdcawm@sdcounty.ca.gov
Web: www.sdcawm.org

Business Supporting Member Focus: Agri Service, Inc.

by Nancy Walery
Mary Matava has literally “got the dirt” on what makes agriculture and horticulture successful. Early in her profession as an agronomist and agricultural research specialist, Matava ran a local soil-testing lab serving landscapers and farmers and discovered that the soil specimens were lacking the nutritional vitality to produce great ornamentals and food crops. Digging deeper, she also realized that there was little access to cost-effective organic material which would naturally improve the situation. And yet, in contrast, plenty of nutrient rich, compostable yard waste was being dumped into landfills every single day in California. In this scenario, Matava saw a new business opportunity.

In 1994, Matava launched Agri Service, Inc. and developed a recycling program with the City of Oceanside that put yard “waste” materials to better use at fees below the cost of dumping it into landfills. By redirecting local yard waste from landfills in order to develop beneficial soil amendments and help growers and landscapers boost their production, Matava created both an environmental and an economic solution to the problem. Better soil nutrition improves plant production while minimizing a plant’s water needs; recycling yard waste locally cuts down on pollution with reduced trucking miles; and landfills take on less material.

Agri Service now operates two facilities: One is in San Diego County at the El Corazon Compost Facility in Oceanside, which is authorized by the State of California’s Integrated Waste Management board; the other one is in Riverside County at the Coachella Valley Compost Facility in Coachella. Combined, the two facilities employ 32 workers, and process more than 120,000 tons of green waste each year. These facilities produce a range of value-added products that include mulches, and soil amendments such as compost, topsoil, and potting soil.

Agri Service is strictly a local operation, from the yard waste collected—within a 10-mile radius of the processing facility—to the mulch, soil and soil amendments distributed—within a 20-mile radius of the facility, with intake and outflow carefully managed to keep up with current business demands. As the company grows, Matava will evaluate adding smaller facilities in additional locations. She would prefer—and is a strong vocal advocate of—individual communities taking responsibility for local processing and distribution of their own yard waste and subsequent recycled products. This is especially important today with our water issues, and so that any pest infestations contained in one part of the county are not transferred to another unaffected part of the county.

“Every community should be looking at waste streams and how to utilize  them as a resource instead of expecting others to deal with it,” said Matava, who gives many public talks locally and at the state level on legislation for the recycling and waste industry. With the exception of the cities of San Diego and Oceanside, which have taken steps to recycle green waste, she said all waste in  San Diego county—even the yard waste that is separated by home owners—still goes into regional landfills.

“All these state programs haven’t reduced what goes into landfills on a per capita basis,” said Matava, who has been a Farm Bureau member since 1985. “In fact, landfills have been filling up faster than ever, and everyone thinks they’re doing a good job recycling. There’s a real opportunity now to look closer at how we handle our waste stream, and it’s important that we look at it not as a “waste issue” but as a “resource conservation issue.” While this concept resonates better with the agriculture community, which has always been sensitive to conservation, and larger users (farmers) face considerable penalties, we have a lot of work to do with the general public, where homeowners do not have the same conservation and waste reduction responsibilities, but should be embracing the same philosophy. The reason we have so much green waste in San Diego County is because of the plant material choices we make and the amount of water we use on them.”
And that’s why Matava takes her message of recycling, conservation, and waste reduction to our state and local legislators as well as to community events that Agri Service holds at its El Corazon Facility. “Home Grown” Community Gardening classes are open to the general public, and are held on the third Saturday of each month. Oceanside residents can also take advantage of the company’s free “compost giveaway” (available for a fee to residents of other communities).

Agri Service’s relatively new and promising venture recycling palm tree fronds will soon result in a natural erosion control product, an alternative to the familiar and less effective straw waddles. Matava is currently working with Filtrexx, an Ohio-based company that offers solutions to erosion and sediment control to develop a compost erosion control product made from recycled palm instead of straw. With the new and very stringent stormwater runoff regulations now in effect, Matava expects this new product, Filtrexx Compost Soxx, to be an important tool for every grower, city public works department, engineer, landscaper,  and homeowner with water runoff issues.

For more information about Agri Service, visit www.agriserviceinc.com. For a complimentary evaluation of your operation’s growing needs, call Agri Service at (800) 262-4167.

News from the San Diego Region Irrigated Lands Group

Charley Wolk elected president of Irrigated Lands Group

The first meeting of the board of directors for the San Diego Region Irrigated Lands Group Educational Corporation (“Group”) was held August 5, 2009. Selection of officers was the first order of business, and the following individuals were unanimously elected:

•   Charley Wolk, President
•   Bob Vice, Vice President
•   Chuck Badger Sr., Secretary
•   H. Michael Mellano, Treasurer

As of newsletter publication, enrollment to the group is as follows:

•   1,044 enrollees
•   38,607 acres enrolled
•   37 acres average size enrollee
•   6 acres median size enrollee

The following dates set by the Regional Water Quality Control Board’s (RWQCB) water monitoring provisions in Waiver No. 4 are:

Dec. 31, 2010: Deadline for growers to enroll in a monitoring group;

Jan. 1, 2011: Monitoring groups and individuals acting on their own must file a Notice of Intent;

March 31, 2011: Monitoring groups and individuals acting on their own must begin development of a Monitoring and Reporting Program Plan and a Quality Assurance Project Plan;

Jan. 1, 2012: Monitoring and Reporting Program Plan and Quality Assurance Project Plan must be submitted to the RWQCB;

Dec. 31. 2012: The first Monitoring Report must be submitted.

The San Diego Region Irrigated Lands Group Educational Corporation (“Group”) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation. Periodic updates of activities going on in the Group will be published in this newsletter. For more information about the Group, visit www.sdfarmbureau.org and click on the “Irrigated Lands Group” link.

Ask the Farm and Home Advisor

by Valerie J. Mellano, Ph.D.
UC Cooperative Extension, San Diego County

Q: There is a lot of talk about fire safe landscaping, especially in rural areas. I am not really sure how to manage my landscape to avoid fire danger. What should I plant?

A: This is a common but difficult question. Landscaping your property to avoid fire is recommended if you live in a fire-prone area, but it seems that a yard completely void of vegetation should not be the only alternative! Some landscape plants are marketed as fire resistant. When choosing plants for a fire safe landscape, select those with the following characteristics:

• High moisture content in leaves. Deciduous trees are generally more fire resistant than evergreens, because they have a high moisture content when in leaf.
• Little or no seasonal accumulation of dead vegetation.
• Open branching habits as they provide less fuel for fires.
• Fewer total branches—again, less fuel for fire. Less resinous, without much oil or waxy substances. Junipers, pines and spruces, for example, are highly resinous and highly flammable. However, it is important to remember that under certain conditions, all plants can burn regardless of how they are classified. (We have definitely had these conditions in the last few San Diego fires.)

In general, select plants that are low-growing, open structured, and less resinous. Just as important as choosing the correct plant is the management of the plants after they become part of your landscape. Pruning, cleanup, spacing and distance from structures is very important and can have a greater impact on whether or not a plant ignites than does the species. University of California researchers have also found that water management of the landscape is critical.

For more information on landscape management before and after wildfires, please see our Web site, www.wildfirezone.org.

Editor’s note: If you have a subject you would like addressed in this Ask the Farm & Home Advisor” column, contact Val Mellano at (760) 752-4717 or vjmellano@ucdavis.edu.

FARM PAC and FARM TEAM:

Providing the tools for political action

As you know, farming and ranching is more than a full time job—it is 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year to produce a safe, affordable and abundant supply of food, fiber and flowers for consumers.

However, times have changed and farmers and ranchers are encountering challenges like never before.

Faced with high costs of doing business, increased regulations and a shift in legislative representation from rural areas to more urbanized areas, many have found it is no longer business as usual for agriculture. You are now required to assume the dual role of advocate and agriculturalist.
While no one person can face these obstacles alone, Farm Bureau has the tools to help you weather the storm. Together, Farm Bureau’s Fund to Protect the Family Farm (FARM PAC®) and our grassroots program, the FARM TEAM, have organized the strength of farmers and ranchers to work together and pool resources to protect our agricultural heritage.

Activist organizations like the United Farm Workers (UFW) and the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) have more than perfected the art of activating their grassroots base. Whether it is raising dollars, writing letters or showing up at events, when these organizations put out a call for action, their followers respond in amazing numbers.

Traditionally, farmers and ranchers haven’t held such roles and haven’t always made political action a main priority in their business plans. Today we have the tools in place to make this a reality. Now is the time to step up and be heard!

FARM PAC: Supporting candidates who support agriculture

FARM PAC has been the voice for farming and ranching in the political arena for more than 30 years. As a result of voluntary contributions from individuals like you, FARM PAC is able to support candidates who will work in the best interest of California’s farms and ranches, regardless of their party affiliation.
As California has become more urbanized, FARM PAC has also become a valuable tool for influencing the outcome of elections in districts where we don’t necessarily have the votes to make a difference by providing financial support to the most business-friendly candidate.

One person’s contribution may not seem to make a difference, but by pooling our resources we can help elect decision makers who will work to reduce the high costs of doing business and excessive regulations.

FARM TEAM: Your concerns sent directly to your legislator

The other side of Farm Bureau’s political action program gives you the opportunity to voice your opinion on important legislation and pending regulations through the FARM TEAM.

As a FARM TEAM member, you have an advantage by receiving e-mail Action Alerts with up-to-date information and a pre-drafted letter to send to your elected officials. Participating is easy and can have big impacts by simply customizing the letter to let your elected officials know how the issue impacts your operation. To be sure you have the most up-to-date information, sign up for FARM TEAM, look for updates and review the Capitol Alert section of Ag Alert.

Regardless of how you participate, your actions help to protect California’s family farms and ranches. Whether it is responding to an Action Alert or checking the FARM PAC box on your membership renewal, we can make a difference if we work together.

For more information on FARM TEAM or FARM PAC contact the San Diego County Farm Bureau office at (760) 745-3023.

Farm Bureau has been working for you.

• Took Assembly Majority Whip Fiona Ma on a tour of local farms
• Attended press conference on release of 2008 Crop Report
• Participated in Calif. Farm Bureau Membership Task Force
• Assisted San Diego Region Irrigated Lands Group with formation board meeting
• Helped organize a tour for members of U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein’s staff
• Advised members of County Water Authority Ad Hoc Special Agricultural Water Rate Committee on water rate impacts
• Met with Regional Water Quality Control Board to discuss water quality testing program
• Worked with organizing committee on Small Farms Conference to be held in San Diego in 2010 Top of Page

Pest Watch

Asian citrus psyllid

According to County Agriculture Commissioner, Bob Atkins, Asian citrus psyllid (ACP) eradication continues to look very good in San Diego County. However, in July, pest detection staff did trap new finds in Dulzura and Jamul, but there were very few adults trapped. In Jamul, the ACP were on previous find locations. The leaves were tested and good levels of imidachloprid were found. Additional pyrethrin treatments were also applied. All the known citrus properties within two miles along the California-Mexico border have been treated.

Cooperation has been excellent on both sides of the border, and the ACP numbers are dropping in Mexico similar to the situation in California. ACP and the bacteria huanglongbing (HLB) have been found in Belize and Yucatan, Mexico. U.S.-Mexico strategy sessions have been held in San Diego and Tabasco, and Mexico will decide how to stop and reverse the movement of the insect and disease. Meanwhile, ACP discovered in an illegal shipment of curry leaves in Fresno have tested positive for the HLB bacteria. Trapping in the area around the property where the package was to have been delivered has been stepped up in the event previous shipments were received.

Med fly detected in Imperial Beach

The Department of Agriculture, Weights & Measures trapped a mated female Mediterranean fruit fly in Imperial Beach in early August, located only six miles from the existing Spring Valley quarantine area. As a result, intensive trapping by county and CDFA ag workers was implemented in an 81-square-mile radius around the find site, with no new finds as of newsletter press time. The area was treated with Naturalyte, and 250,000 sterile flies were released in a 9-square-mile area over the find site. Fruit at the find site and immediately surrounding the area was also stripped from host plants and the fruit cut open to search for larvae.

Light Brown Apple Moth found in Long Beach

Expanded quarantine boundaries are in effect in the California counties of Contra Costa, San Benito, Monterey, San Joaquin and Solano due to recent detections of the Light Brown Apple Moth (LBAM), and new quarantines have been established in the Long Beach area and in the Los Osos area of San Luis Obispo County due to recent detections there. CDFA reports that 110,000 LBAM have been trapped in California and that the infestation has grown in density and range in 2009, doing considerable damage to berry fields near Watsonville. Approximately 3,473 square miles are now under LBAM quarantine in California.

On July 31, CDFA released a draft Environmental Impact Report for a 60-day public review of the LBAM program which evaluates the environmental effects of various strategies and methods for treating the pest in portions of the state where infestations have been identified. Issues raised from comment letters and during comment sessions will be incorporated into a final report and made available to the public in a final EIR document. More information, including the draft EIR, is available online at www.cdfa.ca.gov/go/lbameir.

Employer-Employee: Farm employment issues

Dos & don’ts when hiring new employees

Reprinted from Farm Employers Labor Service (FELS) Newsletter

The process of interviewing job applicants is vital for any business but includes many pitfalls for the unwary employer. It is helpful for members to periodically review some practical guidelines in order to avoid problems as much as possible. While the following list is not exhaustive, it does cover many areas to keep in mind.

•     It is generally acceptable to ask an applicant questions that are related to the job, non-discriminatory, and do not invade their personal privacy. (Privacy is a constitutionally protected right in California.)
•     Ask all applicants for the same position the same questions so that it does not appear that you are “picking” on any particular applicant. By the same token, it is acceptable to ask applicants follow-up questions to responses they may give.
•     Do not ask questions about whether the applicant rents or owns a residence.
•     Do not ask an applicant with whom they reside.
•     Do not ask questions about an applicant’s marital or “partner” status.
•     Do not ask a female applicant for her maiden name.
•     Do not ask if the applicant has children. If you know an applicant has children, you may not ask whether or not they have made provisions for child care. Similarly, do not ask questions that indirectly seek the same information.
•     Do not ask a female applicant if she is pregnant or planning to become pregnant. Similarly, do not ask a male applicant about plans for children.
•     Do not ask about the applicant’s citizenship or the citizenship of the applicant’s relatives. Also, do not ask where an applicant was born. You may ask an applicant as to whether the applicant is eligible to be employed in the United States.
•     Do not ask an applicant about his or her nationality, lineage, ancestry, national origin, descent or parentage, or other questions indicating the applicant’s race or color.
•     Do not ask what language an applicant knows unless the job requires the applicant to speak and/or write a particular language fluently. And if you do need to ask the applicant about speaking another language, do not further ask them how they acquired the ability to speak the other language.
•     Do not ask questions about an applicant’s religion or religious days observed. It is okay, however, to make a statement to the applicant about the days and hours of the job. (If the applicant then requests a religious accommodation because of the days/hours of the job, contact your labor attorney.)
•     Do not ask the applicant about his or her age, and be careful about asking questions that could be interpreted as trying to find out an applicant’s age (e.g., “When did you attend or graduate from high school?”). It would be acceptable, however, to ask what high schools or colleges the applicant attended.
•     Do not ask about an applicant’s height or weight, or require a photograph to be submitted as part of the application process. It is okay, however, to require a photograph be submitted after the applicant is hired.
•     Do not ask the applicant about the applicant’s general health or whether the applicant has a mental or physical disability. You may ask if the applicant is able to perform the “essential functions” of the job with or without reasonable accommodation; and, if unable to perform the job’s essential functions, you may ask what essential functions the applicant cannot perform. If the applicant voluntarily discloses to you that the applicant has a mental or physical disability, you may ask the applicant if the applicant can perform the job functions despite the disability or with reasonable accommodation. (This is another area, however, for consultation with your labor attorney.)
•     Do not ask whether an applicant has ever filed a workers’ compensation claim.
•     Do not ask an applicant general questions about the applicant’s possible arrest record. It is okay to ask about convictions that have not been sealed, expunged, or otherwise discharged due to the successful completion of pretrial or post-trial diversion programs. It is also okay to ask about misdemeanor marijuana offenses that occurred less than two years ago. If you ask an applicant about their conviction record, you should state that a conviction will not necessarily disqualify the applicant from the position. (If you discover such convictions, however, consult your labor attorney.)
•     Do not ask general questions about an applicant’s military service such as dates or conditions of discharge and draft classification or other eligibility for military service, or questions regarding service in a foreign military. It is okay to ask about any relevant skills the applicant acquired while in the military, and whether the applicant’s separation from the military was for any reason other than an honorable discharge.
•     Do not ask about clubs, societies, lodges or organizations to which the applicant belongs that might indicate the applicant’s race, religion, national origin, sex, age, etc., or ask what service organizations the applicant belongs to. It is okay to ask about the applicant’s membership in any professional or trade organization (again, as long the question does not indicate the applicant’s race, religion, ancestry, sex, age, etc.).
•     Do not exaggerate or overpromise the job opportunity. Be specific about the job functions of the position, and do not state or imply to an applicant that the job is theirs unless you are making a job offer.
•     When taking interview notes, do not use abbreviations or a coded rating system that could be incorrectly interpreted at a later date. Take brief, clear and legible notes that pertain to the candidate’s answers. (However, if you have established definitions for coded ratings, abbreviations would be fine, so long as you do not deviate from those definitions.)
•     Except for authorization(s) to conduct a background or reference check, do not ask the applicant to sign any documents about the interview or hiring process. Any document signed by the applicant is subject to disclosure requirements under the California Labor Code and may therefore compromise the interview process’ confidentiality.

Form I-9 still valid despite expiration date

Employers must verify the identity and eligibility to be employed in the United States of all newly hired employees. They must do so on United States Customs and Immigration Service (USCIS) Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification.

The current version of Form I-9, dated Feb. 2, 2009, bears an expiration date of June 30, 2009, which has already passed. But that doesn’t matter. On June 26, USCIS announced that the current version of Form I-9 will continue to be valid for use beyond June 30.

USCIS intends to continue to use that version and, pending review by the Office of Management and Budget, will re-issue the form with only a new expiration date. Once USCIS has updated Form I-9, employers will be permitted to use either the form with the new revision and expiration dates or the current form with the expiration date of June 30, 2009.

Form I-9 is available online at www.uscis.gov/files/form/i-9.pdf.

Featured Articles Top of Page

Come one, come all to Farm Bureau’s annual scholarship golf tourney Sept. 17

by Nancy Walery

It’s that favorite event of the year for Farm Bureau golf lovers (and for those who simply enjoy a good day outdoors supporting a worthy cause), who are hereby given permission to take the afternoon off to join in the fun and fellowship at San Diego County Farm Bureau’s 13th annual Scholarship Golf Tournament on Thursday, Sept. 17.

This year’s event returns to the San Luis Rey Downs facility in Bonsall, a 6,750 yard championship 18-hole golf course that winds through the heart of the San Luis Rey River Valley. The course demands strategic positioning from tee to green around some of the many beautiful Eucalyptus trees along the course. From the elevated first tee to the rising par five finishing hole, the inspiring par 72 course has a genuine, natural appeal to every golfer’s instincts, whatever your handicap.

“This is such a nice venue for our annual tournament that we decided to return this year,” explained Al Stehly, a member of the tournament organizing committee and avid golfer. “San Luis Rey is a very challenging course because every hole is different. I think participants will be eager to play this one again.”

Tournament check-in starts at 11:30 a.m., and the shotgun start begins at 12:30 p.m. Don’t miss the dinner and awards ceremony that follows the tournament at 5:30 p.m. The registration fee is $125 per player, which includes green fees, driving range privileges, golf cart, box lunch, course refreshments, prizes and a Mexican buffet awards dinner. Arrive early and, not only will check-in be a snap, you’ll have time to warm up on the driving range.

The golf tournament is open to members and non-member friends of the San Diego County Farm Bureau, so be sure to invite your clients, friends, suppliers and family members to join in the fun. If you have a foursome for the Four-Player Scramble, sign ‘em up! If you sign up as a single, we will place you in a foursome. If you can’t play, consider being a tournament sponsor for one of the many tournament activities or prizes. All levels of sponsorship are still available.

The Scholarship Golf Tournament is the Scholarship Program’s major fundraiser of the year, and all sponsor fees and proceeds from the event will benefit SDCFB’s Scholarship Fund. We hope Farm Bureau members will support this worthy cause. So, save the date, submit your reservation (see registration form inserted in this newsletter), and start polishing those clubs!

New faces on the SDCFB board of directors

by Nancy Walery

Lawrence Kellar
Board seat: Cut Flowers & Foliage

Lawrence Kellar, a second generation South African Protea farmer, is president of Protea USA and the California Protea Association. Lawrence studied horticulture and focused on Proteaceae in South Africa and has been in the protea business his entire life. Protea USA, located in Fallbrook, grows 25 acres and manages about 75 acres of the exotic South African native flower. It is a three-way partnership, with Dennis Perry handling the nursery side, Rua Petty CEO, and Kellar in charge of business development and consulting. The company manages, develops, consults and markets flowers. Protea USA runs a nursery operation in Ventura, which is their sales headquarters for new protea material. The company is focused on bringing new protea cultivars never before introduced here. Protea USA has established contracts with representatives in South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and Hawaii to propagate them at the Ventura facility and will be introducing them to interested protea growers this fall.

Chris Ambuul
Board seat: Farm Management

Chris Ambuul recently assumed the Farm Management board seat previously held by his father-in-law, Mike Sanders, who established S&S Grove Management Services in 1991. Ambuul has worked with Sanders for the past seven years at the Valley Center company, which manages large acreage groves (100-400 acres) of primarily avocados as well as lemons and grapes from Ramona to Fallbrook. Ambuul also serves as a board member for the California Avocado Society, and is a past board member for the California Avocado Commission and the Agricultural Council of California. As a grove manager working with so many growers, Ambuul has gained broad knowledge of the important issues facing agriculture. By providing his “boots on the ground” feedback of grower issues, Ambuul helps Farm Bureau, through its public policy advocacy efforts, to promote agriculture-friendly regulatory and legislative actions to keep agriculture viable in San Diego County.

Scott Barnes
Board seat: Cattle

Scott Barnes wears several hats: long-distance cattle ranching manager, science fiction writer, and stay-at-home dad in the Orange County community of Lake Forest. His cattle-ranching work is part of the family business and shared with his parents, longtime Farm Bureau members, Woody and Jane Barnes who live in Julian, where Woody runs the Manzanita Ranch and flower growing operation and Jane handles the rest of the cattle business. With the herd located in Lakeview, Oregon during the summer, and in the Central Valley community of Corning, California in the winter months, Barnes remotely manages the operation except for periodic trips north during the year to supervise during roundups, vaccination season, and relocation. He also serves as secretary of the San Diego/Imperial County Cattleman’s Association. The published science fiction writer (www.scotttbarnes.com) writes in every free moment he has when not tending to cattle issues or six-month-old daughter Elizabeth, publishing mostly short stories that can be found in dozens of print and online magazines. Before returning to the family business in 2003, Barnes, who holds Bachelor’s degrees in Spanish and Journalism and an MBA, worked for five years in France teaching employees of large corporations English as a foreign language.

Fred Clarke
Board seat: Ag Tourism

Thirty years ago, Fred Clarke began his career in agriculture growing fresh, organic herbs, which was followed by 14 years growing poinsettias at Paul Ecke Ranch. For the last four years, he has been general manager at the world-famous Flower Fields in Carlsbad, as well as an orchid hybridizer at his own company, Sunset Valley Orchids of Vista. He has recently earned significant acclaim in floriculture circles for his development of the first truly black orchid flower, given the new hybrid genus Fredclarkeara “After Dark.” Extensively familiar with ag tourism from his work at The Flower Fields, a premiere tourism venue that welcomes more than 100,000 visitors per year, Clarke’s years of experience and eye for developing new and unique attractions will lend valuable insight to Farm Bureau growers who are considering incorporating agritourism activities into their agriculture operations.

Gary Crouch
Board Seat: Mushrooms

Gary Crouch was recently elected SDCFB’s mushroom board seat previously held by his father, Bob Crouch, who had owned and operated Mountain Meadow Mushroom in Escondido since 1984. In June 2008, Bob’s succession plan swung into effect and he sold the land and business to Gary and partner Roberto Ramirez—a 10-year employee of the 17-acre mushroom farm. With a considerable amount of the company’s business serving the restaurant industry, and the recession significantly curtailing the public’s desire to dine out, Gary and Roberto have had to work extra hard their first year to keep the business profitable. Like many of today’s companies, they have had to re-negotiate all long term contracts and purchases, cut back on all unnecessary spending and deal with labor cutbacks. Still, Gary envisions a robust operation when the economy rebounds. Proactive like his father, who expanded the operation from six to 26 growing rooms and installed an elaborate underground ventilation system to control composting odors, Gary is also focused on some state-of-the-art facility enhancements. Next year, his plans are to launch a large, alternative energy project using biomass to generate the farm’s considerable energy demands as well as install a reverse osmosis system to improve water quality and conservation.

Scholarship recipient Maggie Maratsos is driven to excel

by Nancy Walery

As the next generation of agriculturists work their way through college and find their place in the job market, there are always a few rising stars who stand out. Maggie Maratsos, a 2009 San Diego County Farm Bureau scholarship recipient, has been one of those standouts since early in her high school career, and she has gained momentum, enthusiasm and promise ever since.

Maratsos, a Fallbrook High School graduate who is entering her sophomore year as an Environmental Horticulture major at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, was first drawn to agriculture in 8th grade when local high school FFA members visited her school to expose incoming students to agriculture as a field of study. Even though her father had worked with her uncle, who owns and serves as the president of ECO Farms, a local grower-shipper-packer of avocados and citrus, she had never considered agriculture as a career choice until she saw how large and varied the field was.

“I signed up for an integrated Ag. Biology class as a freshman, and I fell in love with FFA and all the activities offered there,” said Maratsos, who continued to thrive in FFA throughout high school, also serving on her chapter and regional officer teams and as a National FFA Convention Delegate. As a high school sophomore, she joined the horticulture judging team, and found that her real passion was in plants. “Things took off from there. I was the one growing the most plants, I had my own greenhouse, and I was doing lots of plant sales—I loved it,” she said. She earned a wide range of awards including Star Greenhand, 1st place in the State Proficiency competition in Diversified Horticulture Entrepreneurship, and the Outstanding Student in Plant Sciences award (sponsored by Cal Poly Pomona). She was part of her school’s Junior Varsity and Varsity Academic Teams. She earned her Golden State FFA Degree as a junior in 2007, and she is in line to receive her American Degree this October.

She credits her ag teachers at Fallbrook High with pointing her in the right direction and helping to develop her leadership skills and personal growth. “They were such motivating, positive influences that I always felt encouraged to try new things,” Maratsos said. “Lots of kids gravitated to the ag program because of the great learning environment the teachers provided.” Maratsos hopes to carry that same inspiration forward when she reaches her career goal of becoming a high school agriculture teacher.

Maratsos technically began her sophomore year early in her first year at Cal Poly, thanks to 30 units in Advanced Placement classes that transferred from high school and passing all her AP tests. However, it may still be difficult finish her Bachelor’s degree early due to cutbacks in school funding and class availability. But she’s also planning to pursue a Master’s degree after earning her Bachelor’s degree, so she’s committed to being in “education mode” beyond the usual four-year stint, and she’s making the most of it. She has continued her FFA participation as a member of Cal Poly’s Collegiate FFA program. After four years at Fallbrook High as a member of the Marching, Concert and Jazz bands playing the flute, she is also continuing as a member of Cal Poly’s Pep Band in its Pride of the Pacific Marching Band, with her eye on joining the more competitive Concert Band in the next school year. She praises both her FFA and band experiences equally for shaping the individual she is today.

“Band taught me how to be a professional, to be part of a team and an individual team member,” said Maratsos. “There is so much discipline in marching band that I could not have dreamed of learning anywhere else. And FFA changed the way I thought about things. Before, I was so shy and didn’t want to get involved. FFA turned me around, gave me so much confidence, and now I’m doing public speaking and debate teams. I’m doing more than I ever thought I could.”

If you would like to contribute to the San Diego County Farm Bureau Scholarship Foundation, just make your check for the desired amount payable to “San Diego Ag in the Classroom” (the foundation established to support ongoing agricultural education), write “Scholarship Fund” in the memo section of the check, and mail it to San Diego County Farm Bureau, 1670 E. Valley Parkway, Escondido, CA 92027.

San Diego’s growing food economy

Year-round farmers’ market in development to be part of network to bring plenty of locally grown food to consumers

by Jonathan Reinbold, Community Food Projects Coordinator, Tierra Miguel Farm

The demand for San Diego-grown food is booming. Communities throughout the county have developed new farmers’ markets in their neighborhoods in hopes of accessing fresh San Diego growers’ produce. But, almost half of all the producers at San Diego Certified Farmers’ Markets travel from other counties, many from as far away as Fresno, to meet San Diego’s increasing demand for fresh and “local” foods. San Diego growers face many challenges in both growing and selling foods, and not all farmers choose to do both. Marketing food, for both wholesale and retail markets, is further complicated by the fact that the distribution, general infrastructure and marketing tools necessary to reach a wide variety of customers through one venue are not available to San Diego’s growers. In the past year, the San Diego County Farm Bureau has offered three farmers’ market workshops to prepare growers for the new marketing opportunities that Certified Farmers’ Markets represent. Yet, demand for local San Diego food is growing both at the direct and wholesale level, and the supply of local foods from San Diego farmers is limited. We continue to import cheese from Petaluma and peaches from Kern County.

A new and exciting opportunity is developing in downtown San Diego to address the restricted supply of markets for local foods: a permanent Farmers’ Market building. This market seeks to provide a year-round marketing opportunity for farmers and the provision of healthful food products, promoting new retail and wholesale opportunities to farmers and consumers. With the Ferry Plaza Building of San Francisco and Pike Place Market of Seattle as motivation, several county organizations are collaborating to establish a permanent retail market that also has the capacity to facilitate wholesale transactions with schools, hospitals and large employers in addition to other county institutions. These markets represent reliable partners that will allow growers to increase their capacity or shift their production to fulfill unmet consumer demand.

The market is located in downtown San Diego with easy access to I-5 and on/off ramps just two blocks away. Rail lines connect the building to the Imperial Valley and Los Angeles. This market will become part of a network of permanent farmers’ markets hubs and smaller aggregation centers strategically placed throughout California that will serve as a local food distribution network with logistics, economic development and health promotion components. This project aims to address the major barriers that limit farmers’ ability to bring good food to market and, in turn, provide consumers with access to good food.

Please join us Wednesday, Sept. 9 at the San Diego Farmers’ Market building, 2121 Imperial Ave., San Diego (92102) to learn more about this project. Lunch will be served from 11-12, and the project will be presented from 12 to 2 p.m. For more information, please contact Jonathan Reinbold at jonathan.reinbold@tierramiguelfarm.org or 760-742-4213.