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Monterey County Farm Bureau Honored at Annual Meeting on December 9!

 

Salinas, CA - California Farm Bureau held their Annual Meeting in Monterey and on Monday, December 9 awarded Monterey County Farm Bureau with several awards.


 


Monterey County Farm Bureau received the “County of the Year” Award for Farm Bureaus with 300 to 700 members for membership recruitment and retention and for being politically active in its region. The Farm Bureau was recognized for fostering relationships with elected officials at all levels of government and working with regulatory agencies; Board members are engaged on several issues, including water, labor, land use and food safety.


 


Monterey County Farm Bureau is involved in consumer education and provides volunteer and financial support for three annual Farm Day events that educate 6,000 third graders about food production and processing. It also partners with the community on issues such as housing, homelessness, and illegal dumping.


 


Monterey County Farm Bureau is often a source used by the local media and has an active social media presence. Their e-newsletters target three audiences: agricultural members, Young Farmers & Ranchers, and community leaders and business partners.


 


“It is indeed a great honor to be recognized for our Farm Bureau’s work this past year,” stated Norm Groot, Executive Director of Monterey County Farm Bureau. “The agricultural sector has been challenging this year, amidst water and land use issues that are changing the way our crops will be produced in the future. Farm Bureau has led on many issues that are impacting the farming and ranching sectors of Monterey County’s economy; we take great pride in winning "County of the Year" for the 9th time in the past 11 years.”


 


The Central Coast Young Farmers & Ranchers (YF&R), a committee of Monterey County Farm Bureau, took home the state“Committee of the Year” Award for its engagement in the community and its work with the Monterey and San Benito County Farm Bureaus. Members were involved in numerous community-service activities. For example, the committee’s annual Crab Feed raised more than $42,000, allowing it to donate $16,000 in collegiate scholarships in both Monterey and San Benito counties.


 


Jynel Gularte, a fifth-generation farmer from Gonzales in the Salinas Valley and currently serving as the Chair of the Central Coast YF&R, is the winner of the California Young Farmers & Ranchers “Excellence in Agriculture” Award. Gularte has been the controller and compliance officer on her family’s Monterey County vegetable farm, Rincon Farms Inc., since 2018. She graduated summa cum laude from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural business in 2016 and spent time traveling the world and working various jobs in agriculture. Jynel will compete at the American Farm Bureau Annual Meeting for the same award in late January.


 


An intensive, monthslong training program concluded this week for nine Farm Bureau members from California who participated in the Leadership Farm Bureau program, graduating during a ceremony at the Farm Bureau Annual Meeting.  The class learned about communication, team building, advocacy, and the Farm Bureau organization during 10 months of instruction. They participated in training on governmental policy, personal development and key issues affecting California farmers, ranchers, and agricultural businesses. They also advocated on behalf of Farm Bureau with lawmakers in Sacramento and Washington, D.C.


 


“The members we grow today through Leadership Farm Bureau are the future leaders of this organization, and I look forward to seeing all that they do in their counties and for California Farm Bureau,” said Ryan Amaral, who manages the Farm Bureau Leadership program.


 


Graduates of the 2024 Leadership Farm Bureau class include Alex Arroyo from King City, employed at King City Transplanting and a member of the Monterey County Farm Bureau Board of Directors.


 


Monterey County Farm Bureau, founded in 1917, represents family farmers and ranchers in the interest of promoting and protecting agriculture throughout Monterey County, CA. We strive to improve the ability of those engaged in production agriculture to provide a reliable source of food and fiber through reasonable stewardship of our local resources. 

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