Posts Tagged: Farm Bureau

Farm Bureau voices support for UCCE

Delegates at the California Farm Bureau Federation annual meeting in Monterey last week adopted new policy language in support of UC Cooperative Extension, according to a story in the federation's newspaper AgAlert.

Written by assistant editor Ching Lee, the story outlined the actions taken by delegates representing 53 county farm bureaus. These policies will guide the efforts of farm bureau leadership and staff, the article said.

In light of recent budget reductions to UCCE, the new policy said CFBF supports "an active and evolving" role for Cooperative Extension and that funding for its programs must be adequate to meet the needs of those it serves.

In other actions, the delegates:

• Reiterated their commitment to new water development
  
  
• Strengthened policy to protect agricultural land, specifically with respect to the construction of large-scale solar power facilities on privately owned ag land
  
  
• Recognized forestry management challenges caused by wilderness designation
  
  
• Reinforced opposition to regulatory fees that are collected on top of taxes or to supplant tax revenue

Additional policies adopted at the meeting addressed the disposal or treatment of ag drainage water, opportunities for high school and community college technical education and training, understanding how the new federal health care law will affect farm families, and changes in laws that impose estate and gift taxes.

UC director receives farm bureau President's Award

The California Farm Bureau Federation presented the director of UC Agriculture and Natural Resources Governmental and External Relations, Steve Nation, with a President's Award last night at its annual meeting in Anaheim, according to an article published on the AgAlert Web site today.

"Steve has worked closely with Farm Bureau leaders and staff to create better opportunities for all of us involved in the business of farming," farm bureau president Doug Mosebar was quoted in the story.

The article, written by Dave Kranz, says Nation began his association with the farm bureau in 1979 as executive director of the California Integrated Remote Sensing System. He joined the state Department of Conservation in 1980, and began working with the university in 1985.

Nation plans to retire at the end of February 2010.

Steve Nation

UC the midwife in birth of California Farm Bureau

The California Farm Bureau Federation is marking its 90th anniversary next year with an article in the current issue of AgAlert that traces the organization's origins and provides historical anecdotes. In the article, UC Cooperative Extension gets credit for being the "midwife" when the statewide organization was born in 1919.

Extension was created by the federal government in 1914. Before academic staff would be assigned to a county, the service was required to establish a farm organization to channel information from advisors and specialists to farmers and their families.

A county Farm Bureau representing at least 20 percent of the farmers in the county had to be operating before a farm advisor could be appointed for the county, according to the AgAlert article, written by the publication's executive editor, Steve Adler.

The first California county to qualify was Humboldt, which formed its Farm Bureau in 1913. The following year, Yolo, San Joaquin and San Diego counties founded their Farm Bureaus.

The article quoted a 1917 circular written by the founder of California's Agricultural Extension Service, B.H. Crocheron. Crocheron envisioned the county Farm Bureau acting as "a sort of rural chamber of commerce and ... the guardian of rural affairs. It can take the lead in agitation for good roads, for better schools, and for cheaper methods of buying and selling."

"Perhaps the Farm Bureau can help to buy cheaper and better seeds, can help to boost the local socials, can encourage the faltering school teacher, can get out and talk for good roads--but its first and surest function is to increase the local knowledge of agricultural fact," Adler further quoted Crocheron.

In time it became clear that the Farm Bureau should pursue a broader agenda, according to the article.

"Because the university could not participate in those extra activities, organizers decided to separate the Farm Bureau from the extension service. That was accomplished with the birth of CFBF on Oct. 23, 1919, when its constitution and bylaws were officially adopted," Adler wrote.

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