Local Ag News

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Fresno County Agricultural Commissioner Jerry Prieto, Jr. officially retired on June 27, with a send-off dinner held the next evening at the Clovis Rodeo Grounds Hall.

About 250 people attended the retirement dinner, paying tributes to Prieto for his more than 35 years of service to Fresno County government. FCFB Director and Clovis Rodeo Association President Mark Thompson served as master of ceremonies for the event.

Prieto’s 35 years of service to County government included nine years as agricultural commissioner. He started his career with the Fresno County Department of Agriculture in 1974, working on the regulatory and compliance side of the industry. Prieto also served as Fresno County Resources Manager at the County’s Public Works Department before he became head of the county Agricultural Department in 1999.

After a brief vacation, Prieto will return to the Department to assist until the new agricultural commissioner is hired.

Nominations are now being accepted for the sixth annual Salute to Small Business awards program, which honors small business owners in Fresno County. An awards luncheon on Oct. 21 will honor the winners, who also will be recognized through local advertising and promotions. [More]

The National Farm Business Management Conference, which is affiliated with two national agricultural trade associations the National Association of Farm Business Analysis Specialists and the National Farm & Ranch Business Management Educators Association, was in Fresno last month, the first time the conference has been in the nation’s largest farm state.

The two trade associations are active in the mid-west and south and included California as its conference destination because of its diversity and specialty agriculture. The conference was held from Sunday through Thursday. On Monday several local agricultural representatives participated in panel discussions and presentations. On Wednesday, FCFB members assisted with providing five tours of the local region, including a conference business session in Visalia.

Serving as tour guides were Jerry Prieto, Debbie Jacobsen, Laurena Johnson, Greg Thoneson and Liz Hudson. The buses visited the U.C. Kearney Ag Center in Parlier, Simonian Fruit Company in Fowler, Hammertime Farms in Kingsburg, Bravo Cheese and Elkhorn Dairy in Traver, Baloian Packing Company in Fresno, Southeast Asian Farmer Chia Lee in Fresno, Sunwest Fruit Company in Parlier, and Sun Maid Raisins in Kingsburg. FCFB appreciates the help from these businesses and tour guides to help showcase Fresno County agriculture. Most of the attendees were from the mid-west and south and were not familiar with irrigated agriculture.

Family Farmers Urge Continued Fight Against Invasive Moth- Farm Bureau: Agencies must address concerns of trading partners, farmers and residents [More]

Although the blooms are a few weeks away, local officials heralded the start of the Fresno County Blossom Trail on Friday in Sanger. [More]

Although the blooms are a few weeks away, local officials heralded the start of the Fresno County Blossom Trail on Friday in Sanger. [More]

Hanna Bopp, a third grader from Kerman-Floyd Elementary School in Kerman is a state winner in the California Foundation for Ag in the Classroom’s “Imagine This…” writing contest. Her teacher is Marie Motta.

Bopp’s story, “The Best Orange Tree Ever,” is one of six state winners and two honorable mentions that have been chosen from thousands of stories written by students from across California. Each story will be published in a soft cover book. The state winning stories will be fully illustrated by high school art students. The book will be released during National Ag Week, March 16-22, and stories are available on-line here.

The Greater Fresno Area Chamber of Commerce announced the Agriculturists of the Year

With Fresno County‘s diverse agriculture, some type of crop is harvested every month,...