May 2006
-- Congressman Nunes' Central Valley Ag
Tour Embarks on its Third Year
Since 1948, California has been the nation’s top
agriculture state in cash receipts. And nowhere is agriculture
more significant than the central San Joaquin Valley, where Fresno
and Tulare counties top the list in ag production. In the
valley economy, agriculture accounts for more than 21 percent of all
income and 25 percent of all employment, according to UC Davis
studies. Even as some commodities struggle from year to year,
the region’s diverse crops and livestock help maintain its economic
strength. Last year, ag production in Fresno County surpassed
$4 billion for the third consecutive year, with grapes topping the
list in crop dollar value at $554 million. Tulare County’s ag
production surpassed the $4 billion for the second consecutive year
with milk topping the list in crop dollar value at $1 billion.
Ag Tour Program - Page [1] [2] [3] [4] or
Entire Document
June 2005
-- Congressman Nunes’ Central Valley Ag Tour Serves up Second Year of
Diversity
Rep. Devin Nunes kicked off his
second annual Central Valley Ag Tour with more than 40 community
and business leaders on June 2, 2005.
The day-long tour took the group by charter bus
to eight locations for a behind-the-scenes look at the nation’s
most diverse and productive agricultural region. Traveling with
the group this year as the congressman’s special guest will be
California Secretary of Agriculture A.G. Kawamura.
The tour schedule
included: AgTAC in Tulare—Continental breakfast and
tour; California Dairies, Inc. in Tipton—The state’s top dairy
processor; Fernandes Dairy in Woodville—Innovative dairy with
carousel milking barn; Sierra
Forest Products in Terra Bella—The last saw mill in the Central
Valley using timber from the National Forest;
LoBue Bros. in
Lindsay—Citrus packing plant that uses combination of automation
and hand processing; Monrovia Nursery— The world leader in
ornamental plants; DeLeonardis Olive Oil in Ivanhoe—Family
operated ranch that produces extra virgin olive oil; Cal
Gomes Cutting Horses in Visalia—Trains cutting horses that are
shipped all over the world;
Hester Nut
Cooperative in Farmersville—Longtime walnut growers and
processors; AgTAC reception in Tulare.
Ag Tour Program - Page [1] [2] [3] [4]
[5] [6]
[7] [8] or
Entire Document
News Clips
Ag
tour shows challenges on the farm -- State ag chief joins 40
others in lawmaker's annual event.
By Diwata Fonte / The Fresno Bee
June 3, 2005
Ag
focus of Nunes tour
By Sarah Villicana, The Porterville Recorder
June 3, 2005
Participants
(listed in no particular order)
Special Guest: A.G Kawamura,
Secretary, California Department of Food and Agriculture
Hilary Dustin
Lead
Land Steward, Sequoia Riverlands Trust
|
Ryan Jacobsen
Issues
Coordinator, Fresno County Farm Bureau |
Dick Castner
President, US
Chamber of Commerce |
Scott Brockett
City Council
Member, City of Reedley |
|
Ron Jacobsma
Interim General Manager
Friant Water Users Authority |
Larry Westerlund
City Council
Member, City of Fresno |
Craig Vejvoda
City Council
Member, City of Tulare |
Jerry Duncan
City Council
Member, City of Fresno |
|
Jay Vanrein
Information
Officer, California Department of Food and Agriculture |
John Wallace
Foundation,
Children's Hospital of Central California |
Bruce George
General Manager
Kaweah Delta Water Conservation District
|
Scott Townsend
City Manager,
City of Lindsay |
|
Walter Deissler
City Council
Member, City of Visalia |
Daniel Salinas
City Council
Member, City of Lindsay |
Diana Dooley
Senior Counsel
Children's Hospital of Central California |
Stan Simpson
Chairman Emeritus of the Board
Buckman-Mitchell Group, Inc |
|
Steve Renton
Public
Information Officer, College of the Sequoias |
Gary Kunkel
Ag Commissioner
County of Tulare |
Paul Saldana
CEO, Tulare
County Economic Development Corporation |
Jerry Prieto
Ag
Commissioner/Sealer, County of Fresno Department of Agriculture |
|
Nancy Pitigliano
Past President,
Tulare County Farm Bureau |
Thomas Birmingham
General Manager,
Westlands Water District |
Daven Oswalt
Government
Affairs Director, MWH Americas, Inc. |
Dr. Dennis Nef
Associate Vice
President & Dean of Undergraduate Services, California State
University, Fresno |
|
Brian Nakamura
City Manager,
City of Reedley |
Ed Murray
City Council
Member, City of Lindsay |
Bill Swanson
Principal Engineer
MWH Americas, Inc. |
Rick Elkins
Tulare District
Hospital |
|
Phil
Cox
Supervisor,
District 3, Tulare County Board of Supervisors |
Todd McWilliams
President/General Manager, KSEE 24 |
Steve Salomon
City Manager
City of Visalia |
Terry McKittrick
Vice Mayor, City
of Dinuba |
|
John Longley
City Manager,
City of Porterville |
James Lessenger, MD |
Mark Larsen
Projects/Administrative Manager, Kaweah Delta Water Conservation
District |
Geneva Shannon
President,
Tulare County Farm Bureau |
|
Pamela Kimball
City Council
Member, City of Lindsay |
Brad Caudill
Executive
Director, Tulare County Farm Bureau |
Allen Ishida
Supervisor,
District 1, Tulare County Board of Supervisors |
Don Goodyear, Ed.D.
Acting
President, College of the Sequoias |
|
Rod Frese
Vice President,
Administrative Services, College of the Sequoias |
Joe Fischer
Owner, JA
Fischer Ranches |
Michael Espinoza
Executive News
Director, KSEE 24 |
|
Photos
May 2004
-- Congressman Nunes’ Central Valley Ag Tour Served up a Cornucopia of
Diversity
Congressman Nunes hosted a two day tour of central
valley agriculture on May 27th and 28th. The tour provided an
opportunity for valley leaders, who do not make a living directly in
agriculture, to get a first-hand look at the technologies, challenges,
and management practices of the valley’s diverse industry.
The tour canvassed Fresno and Tulare
Counties,
and stopped for tours of the following facilities:
Western Milling - Goshen; Sun Maid - Kingsburg; Wawona
Frozen Foods - Clovis; Cobb Ranch - Clovis; Friant Dam; Sweet Valley
Organic Farm - Dinuba; Haagen-Dazs - Tulare; Naturally Nuts - Visalia;
Bassett Cricket Ranch - Visalia; Golden Maid Ranches - Strathmore;
Kasbergen Dairy - Tulare
Ag Tour Program - Page [1] [2] [3] [4]
[5] [6]
[7] [8] or
Entire Document
Participants
|
Chuck Ahlem
Undersecretary
California Department of Food and Agriculture |
Rob Bishop
Member of Congress (UT) |
Ed Todd
City Manager
City of Dinuba |
Jeri Echeverria
Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs
California State University, Fresno |
|
Ron Jacobsma
Interim General Manager
Friant Water Users Authority |
Phil Cline
District Attorney
Tulare County |
Gurcharan Dhillon
RDM
USDA Rural Development |
Jerry Duncan
Council Member
City of Fresno |
|
Elizabeth Egan
District Attorney
Fresno County
|
Karin Ford
VP Client Services/Marketing
Tulare County Economic Development Corporation |
Bruce George
General Manager
Kaweah Delta Water Conservation District
|
Marge Gobby
Mayor Pro Tem
City of Reedley
|
|
Bob Waterston
Supervisor District 5
Fresno County Board of Supervisors |
Pete Yribarren
RUS/CF Coordinator
USDA Rural Development |
Diana Dooley
Senior Counsel
Children's Hospital of Central California |
Stan Simpson
Chairman Emeritus of the Board
Buckman-Mitchell Group, Inc |
|
Philip Hinton
Chief Executive Officer
Community Medical Centers |
Gary Kunkel
Ag Commissioner
County of Tulare |
Lali Moheno
Supervisor
Tulare County Board of Supervisors |
Kevin Northcraft
City Manager
City of Tulare |
|
Jerry Prieto
Ag Commissioner
County of Fresno |
Susan Spencer
President
California Consortium for Ag Export |
Richard Stadtherr
Mayor
City of Porterville |
Bryan Styles
Field Services Manager
City of Porterville |
|
Feleena Sutton
Roman Candle Communications |
Eric Swansen
City Manager
City of Farmersville |
Bill Swanson
Principal Engineer
MWH Americas, Inc. |
Jenice Vandagrift
Director of Tourism
Visalia Chamber of Commerce |
|
Jim Vidak
Superintendent
Tulare County Office of Education |
Bill Little
City Manager
City of Orange Cove |
Steve Salomon
City Manager
City of Visalia |
Cheryl Lehn
Executive Director
Tulare County Farm Bureau |
|
Bob Link
Mayor
City of Visalia |
Nancy Pitigliano
President
Tulare County Farm Bureau |
Craig Knudson
President
Tulare County Farm Bureau |
Victor Lopez
Mayor
City of Orange Cove |
|
Julie Akins
News Director
KSEE 24 |
Scott Townsend
City Manager
City of Lindsay |
Sopac McCarthy Mulholland
Executive Director
Sequoia Land Trust |
Joe Fischer
Owner
Bulk Oil Distributor |
|
Pamela Kimball
Lindsay City Council
City of Lindsay |
Dan Meinert
Deputy City Manager
City of Dinuba |
Kamiran Badrkhan
President
College of the Sequoias |
Diwata Fonte
Reporter
Fresno Bee |
“Agriculture is the backbone of the valley’s economy
and it is important for community leaders, who are not directly
involved in agriculture, to see how their decisions effect
agricultural operations” – Congressman Nunes
Photos
Dr. Phil Hinton, CEO of Community Medical Centers, and Rep. Devin
Nunes talk in the Heritage Complex Museum at the International
Agri-Center. |
Rep. Nunes and Tulare County Supervisor Steve Worthley listen to
Ejnar Knudsen of Western Milling explain the grain feed operation
on the bus before stepping off to tour the facility in Goshen. |
Ejnar Knudsen of
Western Milling talks to the group about the company’s extensive
line of feeds, ranging from livestock to zoo animal formulations.
|
Rep. Nunes addresses
the tour group with Sun-Maid President Barry Kriebel. |
At Wawona Frozen Foods
in Clovis, Bill Smittcamp briefs tour attendees on the plant
operations. |
Bill Smittcamp talks
with the ag tour group, including Fresno City Councilman Jerry
Duncan and Fresno County Supervisor Bob Waterston, about the
processing and packaging of fresh frozen fruit. |
Reps. Nunes and Rob
Bishop pose for a photo near Friant Dam at Millerton Lake. Rep.
Bishop was a special guest for the tour. |
Bill Swanson,
Principal Engineer at MWH Americas, Inc. working with the Bureau
of Reclamation on a water storage study, talks about water needs
in the Central Valley. |
Blain Farms President,
Brian Blain, talks about pecan processing in Visalia and their
retail store Naturally Nuts while Visalia Mayor Bob Link and
others look on. |
The ag tour group
watches as pecans are sorted at Blain Farms’ processing plant in
Visalia. |
Rep. Nunes and Fresno
City Councilman Jerry Duncan inspect live crickets being prepared
for packaging and shipping at Bassett’s Cricket Ranch near
Visalia. |
Bassett’s Cricket
Ranch President, Russ Bassett (far right in green), explains the
ins and outs of raising and shipping live crickets, meal worms and
other creepy crawlers. |
Bruce George, General
Manager of Kaweah Delta Water Conservation District, watches as
live crickets are collected for packaging and shipping. |
Rep. Nunes and Bruce
Myers of Golden Maid Packing discuss the tree fruit business in
Strathmore. |
Fresno County
Supervisor Bob Waterston watches from a catwalk as employees
package plums at Golden Maid Packing in Strathmore. |
Bill Swanson,
Principal Engineer at MWH Americas, Inc., and Porterville City
Councilman Richard Stadtherr watch as cows are milked at Kasbergen
Dairy near Tulare. |
|
Some members of the ag tour pose for
a photo at the end of Rep. Nunes’ first annual Central Valley Ag
Tour.
|
|
|
|
