Hollister
– San Benito County was visited by a few agriculture celebrities
Thursday as the local Ag Commission hosted a regional meeting for
central coast Ag Commissioners, attended by State Department of
Food and Agriculture Secretary A.G. Kawamura and California
Agricultural Commissioners and Sealers Asso
ciation President Jerry Prieto.
Hollister – San Benito County was visited by a few agriculture celebrities Thursday as the local Ag Commission hosted a regional meeting for central coast Ag Commissioners, attended by State Department of Food and Agriculture Secretary A.G. Kawamura and California Agricultural Commissioners and Sealers Association President Jerry Prieto.
“This doesn’t happen every day,” San Benito County Ag Commissioner Paul Matulich said.
The association is divided into five regions; San Benito County belongs to the Central Coast division. Commissioners from the region meet up once a month to discuss ag issues specific to their area and the industry on a state and national level. San Benito County hosts the meetings about once a year. This one was held at De Rose Winery in order to honor the special guests who were present.
“Farmers farm across county lines,” Prieto said. “We try to make sure that we’re doing similar things, if not the same things, to cut down on confusion.”
Hot topics Thursday included foreign pests, disease prevention and proper pesticide use in the face of new mandates regulating exactly what and how growers can use, as well as the aftermath of July’s heat wave.
“We all have to deal with the same problems,” Matulich said. “So these meetings give us a chance to talk them through and try to work towards some solutions.”
Kawamura was present to brief association members on state ag issues as well as to congratulate Santa Cruz Ag Commissioner David Moeller, who is celebrating his retirement. He also shared a little bit about which issues he believes will affect California growers in the near future.
“There is still a lot of growth potential in this industry, but growers need support,” he said. “And the industry needs to work with governments and the public.”
Kawamura cited the “CA Grown” campaign as an important effort to ensure the future of a healthy ag industry in the state.
“We need to differentiate California-grown products as better, safer and certainly fresher, if you’re eating food grown in your own state,” he said. “And those dollars stay within our economy.”
Representatives from the Board of Supervisors were also present at the meeting.
“We’re very happy to have so many people here,” Matulich said. “It really is a special occasion.”
The next central coast CASCA meeting will be in November in Napa county, and a larger conference will be in December in Monterey.
Danielle Smith covers education for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or [email protected].
