As agriculture continues to be a top industry in San Benito County, with more than $250 million worth of crops grown locally in 2010, the Farm Bureau received a grant that will draw more awareness to the types of produce that is grown along local thoroughfares.
Mindy Sotelo, the executive director of the Farm Bureau, said the agency received a grant from the United States Department of Agriculture through the California Department of Food and Agriculture. The specialty crop block grant will be used to design and install 10 crop signs around the county, support two school gardens and add to the Ag in the Classroom program.
Dong Sun Kim, an artist based in Monterey County, who designed the sign at Swank Farms, has been enlisted to design the signs for local crops. Sotelo said the idea is to put up five permanent signs and then there will be one sign where five different types of crops will rotate seasonally, for a total of 10 types of produce to be featured.
The goal is to get the signs up along prominent roads in the county so that they are highly visible, such as Hwy. 156, Hwy. 25 and Fairview Road. Sotelo has talked with some growers who have agreed to have a sign designed and placed on their property, but the agency is still waiting on the county planning department to complete an update of the sign ordinance this summer. The goal is to have the first three signs up in August, if the sign ordinance is completed in time.
So far, B&R Farms is on board to highlight apricots as well as the Rajkovich family, which sells cherries through its Fairhaven Orchards brand. Sotelo said she is hoping to add grapes, walnuts and apples to the mix for the permanent signs. The rotating sign may include tomatoes, peppers, broccoli, leafy greens and more. But it all depends on finding willing growers in locations that are highly visible.
“It’s all just to promote specialty crops, which is the majority of what we grow,” Sotelo said.
The apricot sign has been designed. It features three of the Rossi family’s grandchildren, an apricot tree, bushels of fresh apricots and a wooden table with apricots drying on it.
Kim, who has designed farm signs that are visible in south Salinas and murals around the region, used a photograph of the Rossis’ grandchildren to design the sign. Sotelo said he stuck closely to what he was provided with, down to the hairstyles the kids have and the color of their socks.
“He’s really excited to have his artwork around,” Sotelo said. “We are hoping in August to get something up and installed.”
