Young farmers and ranchers urged to engage, be involved

By Christine Souza

Young farmers and ranchers from across the state gathered at the 2024 California Young Farmers & Ranchers State Conference, where they reaffirmed the importance of collaboration within their communities to boost involvement and address key issues essential to the future of agriculture.

The event brought together California YF&R members—farmers, ranchers and agricultural professionals ages 18 to 35—for workshops on critical issues, strategies to strengthen YF&R programs and celebrations of member achievements.

The conference took place in Monterey Dec. 7 and 8 and was held in conjunction with the 106th California Farm Bureau Annual Meeting, held Dec. 9 and 10.

California Farm Bureau President Shannon Douglass, who raises beef cattle and grows walnuts and other crops in Orland, highlighted how grassroots advocacy and engagement by the Farm Bureau has helped shape outcomes for agriculture.

“The work that we can do here at Farm Bureau is a huge piece to the solution,” Douglass said.

She cited recent successes, including the Sonoma County Farm Bureau’s defeat of Measure J, an initiative backed by activist groups that would have effectively eliminated animal agriculture in the county. Public education campaigns led by the county Farm Bureau resulted in the measure’s defeat by more than 85% of voters, she said.

Douglass also pointed to the 2020 defeat of Proposition 15, which would have rolled back property tax protections under Proposition 13, potentially raising taxes for farmers. One case study showed the tax increase for one midsize farm estimated at $60,000.

“It was a great success and an important example of our farmer voices,” she said.

With farmers facing a challenging political environment in California, Douglass told YF&Rs that their voices have value and to get engaged.

“Whatever your background, whatever your farm experience or whatever your work in service industries looks like, you have value as a member, and you can be a huge leader on behalf of agriculture— locally, statewide and even at the national level,” Douglass said. “My ask to all of you is to continue to engage and lead in whatever way you can.”

As part of a panel discussion on activating the YF&R program in local communities, California Farm Bureau Chief Operating Officer Dan Durheim challenged the young agriculturalists to deepen their involvement or start or reignite a YF&R program in their area.

“In this organization, grassroots is key,” Durheim said. “There are many organizations that lobby, advocate and bring value, but what makes the Farm Bureau unique is our reliance on grassroots and activating that grassroots.”

Panelist Kristina Chavez Wyatt, president and owner of Hollister-based Farmhouse Communications, stressed the importance of working to make change happen because people are more disconnected from agriculture than ever before.

“You need to be at the table because if you are not at the table, you are on the menu,” she said. “A lot of it is being at the table and a voice to community members—and specifically to (the) staff of your elected officials.”

At an awards banquet that closed the conference, the program presented its Committee of the Year Award to the Central Coast YF&R for engagement in the organization and work with the Monterey County and San Benito County Farm Bureaus. Members were involved in numerous community-service activities, including an annual crab feed that raised more than $42,000, with $16,000 donated for scholarships in Monterey and San Benito counties.

State Committee member Maddie Cook of Fresno received the Star YF&R Award, which recognizes a young farmer or rancher for service to agriculture. Through involvement in the Fresno-Madera YF&R Committee since 2020, she has managed fundraisers and events and holds multiple leadership roles. She has served on the Fresno County Farm Bureau Board of Directors for the past two years. Cook has a background in produce sales and now focuses on fruit procurement and grower relations.

Walter Hardesty, a cattle rancher from Elk Grove, received the Hometown Hero Award in recognition of his support of the YF&R program in Sacramento County. The award recognizes county Farm Bureau members for their outstanding service to the YF&R program and young Farm Bureau members.

“Walter plays a significant role in the success of our Sacramento County YF&R program,” Adriana Toste of the Sacramento County YF&R Committee wrote in nominating Hardesty for the award. “He greatly enjoys socializing with our committee and mentoring our young, developing Farm Bureau leaders.”

Hardesty, a Sacramento County Farm Bureau member since 1986 and a 21-year board member and multiple-time officer, donates his family’s property for the YF&R committee’s annual barbecue.

The YF&R State Committee established the Hometown Hero Award in 2022 in memory of Randy Rocca, a Fresno County farmer who was a state YF&R Discussion Meet winner and longtime YF&R supporter.

For 2024, the YF&R State Committee recognized the following county YF&R committees for achievements in different categories:

• Kern YF&R was honored for its contributions to Harvest for All, a national campaign to provide food for those in need. Committee members volunteered approximately 326 hours, donated $10,310 and gave 600 pounds of food to the California State University, Bakersfield, Food Pantry.

• Napa YF&R won the most innovative event prize for its booth at the Napa Valley Farmers Market, where members promote Napa YF&R and Napa County Farm Bureau and provide general agriculture-education resources.

• Sonoma-Marin YF&R earned the top award for community involvement, highlighting its extensive volunteer efforts and organization of various community events. Additionally, the committee played a significant role in the “No on Measure J” campaign coordinated by the Sonoma County Farm Bureau.

• Merced YF&R was recognized with the FarmPAC® Award for its fundraising efforts to support the political action committee. This included a raffle at the Merced County Farm Bureau Annual Meeting that raised more than $1,000 for FarmPAC®.

As part of the YF&R conference, Madeline Schenken of Sacramento County emerged as the winner of the YF&R Open Discussion Meet for her discussion on how Farm Bureau can work with energy companies, local governments and rural communities to increase domestic energy production, minimize loss of agricultural land and protect private property rights. Schenken of Elk Grove is communications director of CalAgJobs.

Discussion Meet participants from across the state advanced to the final competition from earlier regional rounds in which they were challenged to demonstrate their ability to exchange ideas and offer detailed opinions on important issues. The contest was moderated by last year’s winner, Timothy Collins of Kern County.

Jynel Gularte of Monterey County was the first runner-up in the contest. She works as controller and oversees compliance at Rincon Farms in Gonzales. The other finalists were Cheyenne Erickson of Contra Costa County and John Tamayo of Imperial County. Erickson is general manager of the Pacific Coast Farmers’ Market Association’s North Bay region and lives in Antioch. Tamayo is an agricultural sales representative at Rain for Rent and is based in Holtville.

As the winner of the Open Discussion Meet, Schenken earned $6,000 and will represent California in the national contest at the American Farm Bureau Federation annual conference Jan. 24-29 in San Antonio. First runner-up Gularte received $2,000, and finalists Erickson and Tamayo each received $1,000.

In the weeks prior, Andrew Angulo, a student at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, won the Collegiate Discussion Meet, held Nov. 16 at Modesto Junior College. Eighteen YF&R members from seven colleges competed and discussed how young farmers and ranchers can access and own farmland amid increasing land prices.

Angulo earned $2,500 and will represent California in the national competition during the AFBF 2025 Fusion Conference March 7-10 in Denver. Becca Hamman of Shasta College was the first runner-up and winner of $1,000. Finalists, who each won $500, were Joseph Aguiar of Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, and Madeline Zweegman of Modesto Junior College. The champion team, which won $500, is Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo.

The 2025 State YF&R Committee Chair Daniel Jones of Solano County thanked 2024 State YF&R Committee Chair Trelawney Bullis of Fresno County for her service to the program. Bullis told the YF&Rs that the program’s opportunities and experiences have “changed my life for the better.”

“You’ll have the opportunity to grow stronger as leaders in this organization and within the industry,” Bullis said. “Everyone has their individual strengths that they bring to the table, but it is at the table together that we become stronger.”

(Christine Souza is an assistant editor of Ag Alert. She may be contacted at csouza@cfbf.com.)