Michelle Ganci

Michelle Ganci is the Poultry Commodity Chair

Michelle Ganci, of Clovis, saw more of the world as a child then many people see in a lifetime. Ganci moved 21 times before the age of 22, having lived in multiple states and along the Pacific Rim, including Guam, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Hawaii.

“My father was a legal attaché to the government,” Ganci said. “His job required us move all over the world.”

Ganci’s family eventually moved back to Southern California to be close to relatives, and then moved to Arizona where Ganci went to high school in Tucson. Graduating from high school a year early, Ganci, began her college education at the University of Arizona in Tucson, majoring in animal science.

Ganci’s parents were not directly involved with agriculture, but her mother was a buffalo photographer for a buffalo trade magazine, at a time when buffalo were still used for meat production.

“My path in agriculture started as a passion for livestock,” Ganci said. “In South Dakota, we had a few horses and some cattle, and I enjoyed being around the animals.”

“No matter what I do, I always seemed to come back to a career in agriculture,” Ganci said. “Agriculture is so important to society, and there is so much history in agriculture. Whenever agriculture fails, the economy always seems to follow.”

After one-and-half years attending Arizona University, she transferred to Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, CA, where she was one of the last agricultural students at Orange Coast before the agricultural program was cut.

Ganci first visited California State University, Fresno, when she attended a field trip provided by her agriculture professor at Orange Coast. She transferred to Fresno State shortly after.

“I immediately liked the hands-on style of learning at Fresno State,” Ganci said. “Going to Fresno State, I learned more about animal anatomy and physiology working on the school farm than I could ever learn in the classroom.”

Ganci also participated as a member of the Livestock Judging Team and Meats Judging Team. The teams provided a way for Ganci to utilize her classroom and hands-on experience to compete with elite teams throughout the country.

Ganci graduated in 1990 from Fresno State with a bachelor’s degree in animal science with an emphasis in meat technology. Ganci also graduated in 2002 from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, with a master’s degree in agricultural education.

After graduating in 1990, Ganci began her career as a field supervisor at Zacky Farms. In 1992, she became an embryo technician, working for both PCR Corporation in Porterville and Precision Embryonics in Oregon.

Ganci returned in 1994 to Zacky Farms to work four years in quality assurance. In 1998, she moved from Zacky Farms to Foster Farms where she worked four years as quality control manager. To add to her credentials, Ganci is a certified poultry health inspector for the State of California.

Meanwhile, Ganci began teaching agriculture. She taught animal science from 1994 to 1996 at West Hills College in Coalinga, and from 1999 to 2005 at Reedley College.

In 2000, Ganci decided it was time to use her expertise in poultry production and provide a service to the industry. She became owner and consultant of California Poultry Consultants, where she provides assessments in areas of processing plant operations, USDA, Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points and regulatory issues. In addition to on-site consulting, she has become a go-to person on agricultural policy and public awareness of animal welfare and livestock production.

Ganci was first approached by Fresno State to teach because of the need for poultry production and career development. “Here in the Valley, poultry production is a significant employer of agricultural students,” Ganci said. “We saw the need for training and education in that area of production.”

Ganci was hired in 2004 to teach poultry production, but now teaches a variety of topics. “I really enjoy the classroom,” she said. “I really want to stress in the classroom the processes that provide our food supply. Our students need to know about the role that animals and livestock play in our lives, not only as companions, but as an important source of our protein diet.”

Ganci’s focus on animal welfare

“Our industry is doing well raising animals humanely, but we still need to continue to look at ways to ensure we are doing the right things given the scientific data available to us,” Ganci said. “Livestock is an integral part of the protein diet, but we need to continue to find better ways to raise livestock.”

Ganci has a passion for animals, and she acknowledges the need to continue to monitor how the industry is progressing in livestock treatment. Ganci, though, stresses to her students that animals are not people, and should not be afforded the same rights as human beings, because their role in society is extremely different.

“My goal is not to tell the students what to think. It is to teach students how to think when it comes to our food supply,” Ganci said. “Animals play an important role in our lives.” Ganci said some requests provided by animal activist, such as allowing animals to roam free without confinement, would dilute animals’ roles in society.

“We live in an urban society, and people do not understand where their food comes from,” Ganci said. “We need to educate people on these practices and why we do them.”

Ganci recently made a presentation on the impact of Proposition Two at the American Farm Bureau Federation Convention in San Antonio, Texas. Proposition Two bans cages of egg laying hens, gestation crates for swine and calf crates for veal calves.

“I don’t think we completely understand what [Proposition Two] is going to do to the [poultry] industry, but you will see many farms, large and small, go out of business,” Ganci said. Even though its impact is still unknown at this time, the proposition has exposed some areas of concern for the industry.

“Challenges to animal welfare will never go away,” Ganci said. “Unfortunately, we missed some opportunities to educate the public with the recent proposition. We need to get out there and tell our story. Otherwise, someone else will tell the story for us, good or bad.”

Ganci’s recent presentation to the Farm Bureau delegation focused on the dampened image of the industry and the precedence that Proposition Two sets for future animal welfare legislation. She stressed education, improving the industry’s message and being proactive instead of reactive to animal welfare concerns.

Ganci has been the FCFB poultry commodity chairperson since 1993, and served for four years on the executive committee as commodity chair. She first became involved with Farm Bureau through the Young Farmer and Ranchers group in 1990.

Ganci has been an effective spokesperson on animal welfare issues since joining Farm Bureau. She also serves as vice chair CFBF’s Animal Health and Welfare Committee, a committee becoming more and more involved with industry-wide issues.

Ganci also involves herself in her children’s activities, which include various activities with Our Lady of Perpetual Help School in Clovis, the Assistance League of Fresno, California Equine Foundation and 4-H and FFA projects at the Fresno Fair.

Ganci has been married to Gary for 14 years. They first met while on a ski trip at Sierra Summit. They have two children: their daughter Kelly, 13, and their son Gary, 12. The family travels often to visit Ganci’s parents in Hawaii and have traveled to foreign countries, including Costa Rica, Italy and Asia.

One of the Ganci family’s favorite hobbies is to ski. Ganci has been skiing her whole life, and has passed down her skills to her children. In addition to skiing, they enjoy working with their horses. Growing up, Ganci showed American Saddlebreds and Quarter horses, another activity passed down to Kelly.

For 13 years, the Ganci family has owned and operated their own engineering consulting business, called California Utility Consultants. The business specializes in the design, installation and management of dry utilities. The company provides designs for electric, gas and joint-trench construction within a couple of months of their customer’s request.

Meet Your Board Members Profile: Ag Today, Jan 09
By: John Migliazzo