- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
![A watermelon field day at Kearney. (Photo: B. Dawson)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/anrnews/blogfiles/6077small.jpg)
In the waning days of her tenure at the Fresno Bee, food writer Joan Obra devoted an entire column to the UC Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center near Parlier.
When she first announced her decision to leave the Bee to return to her family's Hawaii coffee farm, Obra wrote rapturously about the UC Lindcove Research and Extension Center. Her following column said, "I'm not yet done telling you stories." She then recounted treasures she discovered over the years during tours...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
![Fresno Bee reporter Joan Obra.](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/anrnews/blogfiles/5967small.jpg)
The Fresno Bee's ag-savvy food writer Joan Obra has decided to put aside her word processor and return to her parents' Hawaiian coffee farm. It is an enormous loss for the Valley and its agriculture industry. Obra is a rarity among food writers, publishing as much about farming as restaurants and recipes.
"I'm going home," Obra wrote in her weekly column published today. "In a way, it's a testament to my time in the Valley: Local food producers have inspired me to become one of them."
In today's piece, which she said isn't her last, Obra wrote about local treats that she believes capture the history, culture, climate and...