Russel Efird
Russel Efird has been a part of Fresno County agriculture his entire life.
The new FCFB president-elect resides in Caruthers, and farms in the Caruthers, Riverdale and Raisin City areas. On his family operation, he farms almonds, walnuts, grapes, dried prunes and fresh fruit, and also provides custom almond and wine grape harvesting services. Efird farms with his son Matthew, who is a fifth generation farmer in their area. Russel’s father, Irwin, served as FCFB president from 1982-1984.
The Efird family has been farming in the Caruthers area for over 70 years. “I love the country,” Efird said. “Being part of a family-owned farming operation, it gives you an opportunity to set your own schedule and agenda. It allows you to spend more time with your family.”
Efird has been an active member of FCFB since he joined the organization’s Young Farmers and Ranchers program as a teenager. He has served on the board for 18 years, most recently serving three years as the second vice president. “The Farm Bureau gives you a voice. Anybody and everyone can have an input. Even a simple phone call to the office can give the Farm Bureau an avenue to spread a message.”
One of the main issues Efird will address as president is the labor shortage. He wants to have a plan to locate qualified workers, and find ways to keep them within agriculture. “In many cases, farm labor is like a revolving door,” Efird said. “Farmers constantly have to re-train employees.”
Efird sees a need for a guest worker program. He feels Farm Bureau has a role in the issue. “When working with immigration, we need to find ways to keep relaying the message to the legislators who don’t want a guest worker program. This is what agriculture needs to be successful, so that we can have the ability to harvest perishable commodities.”
Other key areas for concern are water issues and new regulations placed on farming operations. “We have to be able to communicate the message to legislators on what our business is. If we don’t make an effort to educate them, we have only ourselves to blame.”
Efird takes pride in the agriculture industry. “If you believe in the profession you chose, then I believe you need to spend time to make that profession as liable as possible, and part of that is civic duty.”
Outside of his involvement with FCFB, he has served on other boards, including the Caruthers Unified School District, Fresno County Fire Protection District Board of Directors, Western Cotton Growers Association and the Laton Co-op Cotton Gin Board. While his children were growing up, he spent time with local youth sports organizations. Efird also graduated from the Class X of the Ag Leadership Program.
Efird has been married to Kathleen for 32 years, and has lived in Caruthers his entire life. He has four grown children: Matthew, John, Adam and Elizabeth. Efird graduated from Fresno State with a civil engineering degree in 1974, and at one time served as a professional engineer.
Efird is grateful for the opportunity and looks forward to serving as the FCFB president for the next two years. He will be installed at the Board of Directors meeting on Nov. 2.
Meet Your Board Members Profile: Ag Today, Oct 06
By: John Migliazzo