Lakeport >> The Lake County Chapter of California Women for Agriculture (CWA) hosted Sen. Mike McGuire for a 90-minute presentation about Lake County and California’s agriculture concerns. The event, AgCitement, was an off-shoot of the AgVenture program, now in its sixth year.
McGuire said his legislative agenda for the coming year will focus on Proposition 1 (California water infrastructure), the Delta Tunnel Project, agriculture incentive grants for K-12 education and the creation of the Russian River Agriculture District. The senator indicated that he gathers his agriculture-related information from area farm bureaus, from Karen Ross, secretary of the California Department of California Food and Agriculture and local and state winegrape growers’ and vintners’ associations.
“I want CWA to be a resource for us,” McGuire said. “I’d like us to meet two to three times a year, minimum, for roundtable discussions. I prefer to be proactive, rather than reactive with regard to any issues.”
Lake County chapter of CWA presenters included CWA President Sharron Zoller who discussed the senator’s agriculture legislative agenda; Rebecca Southwick, Lake County Tourism Ambassador manager and AgVenture program coordinator, who spoke about Lake County crops; and Diane Henderson of Henderson Orchards and CWA vice president, who spoke about labor issues. Additionally, Toni Scully, owner of Scully Packing Company and CWA vice president, talked about the challenging business environment facing agribusinesses; Shirley Campbell, manager of Adobe Creek Packing Company and CWA member, spoke to the state and federal regulations of agriculture and Pat Scully, general manager of Scully Packing Company, provided McGuire with an overview of state’s irrigated lands in Lake County.
Active in developing the presentation and provided commentary during McGuire’s visit were Paula Bryant, Umpqua Bank vice president, commercial relationship manager and CWA treasurer, and Debra Sommerfield, president of the Lake County Winegrape Commission and CWA member. Annette Hopkins, former CWA president, and Terry Dereniuk, executive director of the Lake County Winery Association and a CWA member contributed to the presentation’s creation.
The event concluded with the introduction of some of Lake County’s next generation farm families that included Andy Scully, Pat and Michelle Scully, Beau and Gabriella Moore and Greg and Allison Panella.
“We used every single second of our morning with the senator and we’re heartened by his enthusiasm for not only agriculture in California, but by his commitment to Lake County’s agribusiness,” Zoller said. “We look forward to continuing our dialogue with him throughout 2015.”
California Women for Agriculture (CWA) is a nonprofit organization with 2,000 plus members across the state.
