March 4, 2022
FARM BUREAU THIS WEEK
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In This Edition:
Calendar
Meetings This Week
New Members
Farm Bureau Benefits
County
State
Youth /4H
Classifieds
Other News
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April 29-May 1 Home & Garden Show
May 11 Ag in the Classroom's Farm Day
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Mar 28 7:30am Taxpayers Assn Online
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John Pile
Ben Varozza
Allyson Jolly
Julie Caplan
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Grainger: Savings suited for safety
Need to replenish your chemical safety supplies? Grainger offers Farm Bureau members free shipping and deeper discounts on all regular orders of safety goggles, rubber gloves, first aid kits, protective clothing, and even respirators. Start saving today at Grainger.com/FarmBureau
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Grow For It! The bones of a garden: evergreens
Conifers, like pine trees and cedars, are not the only kind of evergreen plants. Evergreens are considered as any plant that does not go dormant and keeps its leaves year-round.
Evergreens take a leading role in a garden plan. Interspersed with deciduous trees and shrubs, evergreens bring “pop” to a garden in several ways: variegated foliage, height, architectural structure, bright flowers and more. (continued)
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Lake levels as of Mar 16-17
Stumpy Meadows Percent full 100%
Folsom Reservoir Percent full 54%
Union Valley Reservoir Percent full 81%
Loon Lake Percent full 45%
Ice House Percent full 78%
Lake Aloha Percent full 70%
Caples Lake Percent full 82%
Echo Lake Percent full 5%
Silver Lake Percent full 44%
Sly Park Percent Full 80.8%
American River Flow 525.7 cfs (up from 317.3)
xx% indicates - reduction xx% indicates - increase xx% unchanged
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Cannabis and CEQA
On Tuesday March 15, Senator Laird amended his cannabis spot bill,
SB 1148. This bill would provide that the California Environmental Quality Act does not apply to the issuance of a state license to engage in commercial cannabis activity if the applicant is in compliance with all local ordinances that regulate commercial cannabis activity and if the local jurisdiction has filed a notice of exemption or a notice of determination following the adoption of a negative declaration or certification of an environmental impact report pursuant to CEQA that is specific to the applicant’s commercial cannabis activity or license. By removing a mandatory CEQA analysis on every cannabis business, the bill could make it easier for farmers to include cannabis as part of their business, and for local jurisdictions to establish cannabis manufacturing and retail industries more readily.
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Climate Change
The Air Resources Board will be hosting a workshop on dairy digesters and methane emission reduction practices by California dairies on March 29th from 9am to 5pm. Though the agenda has yet to be released, panel presentations will include various dairy representatives, digester developers, and researchers, among others. There will likely be two public comment periods in the morning and afternoon. We encourage dairy families to comment and will be offering more information as the agenda and programming is released. Please contact CAFB staff for more information.
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The California Air Resources Board hosted a meeting on Tuesday, March 15th to discuss various modeling proposals for natural and working lands in response to the state’s AB 32: Scoping Plan. Practices modelled by landscape type related to agriculture include biological/chemical/herbaceous treatments (e.g. herbicide application), grazing, prescribed burning, thinning, cover cropping, no/reduced till, compost amendment, transition to organic farming, avoided conversion of annual crop ag land through easements, riparian buffers, alley cropping, establishing windbreaks/shelterbelts, establishing tree and shrubs in croplands, and establishing hedgerows. Targets included increasing adoption of these practices (25,000/ 50,000/80,000 /100,000 acres/year), acres under easements (3,000/6,000/8,000), changes from annual to perennial plantings, and an increase in organic acreage by 2045 (15%/20%/25%/30%). The initial results can be found here.
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Commodities
The Senate Agriculture Committee will be meeting on Thursday, March 24th to hear two important bills of note. This includes SB 1308 (Anna Caballero, D - Salinas) which would create a 25% purchase preference for domestically produced agricultural products for community colleges, CSUs and K-12 schools. Farm Bureau is evaluating this bill for a potential to include a California - grown preference. Also, the Committee will hear SB 982 (John Laird, D - Santa Cruz). This bill would create an organic apple certification program at the Department of Food and Agriculture. Farm Bureau is in support of SB 982.
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Forestry and Wildfire
CAL FIRE Business and Workforce Development Grants
- CAL FIRE’s Wood Products and Bio -energy team (Wood Products) has an approaching deadline for CAL FIRE’s Business and Workforce Development Grants. Wood Products has four primary areas of responsibility, including existing and emerging technologies:
1. Facilities development, including solid wood and biomass processing and manufacturing, and tree nurseries
2. Bioenergy, including forest bio - material power generation and biofuels for domestic use and export
3. Forest - related workforce development at all levels including in - woods, transportation and manufacturing
4. Research and development that is ancillary to forest - related business and workforce development
Grant projects shall reduce greenhouse gas emissions, strengthen the economy, and improve public health. Grants will create financial incentives for industries to invest in clean technologies, develop innovative ways to process wood products, and support the growth of a strong forest sector workforce. Proposals must be submitted in full by March 31, 2022 to be considered for the initial round of project selections. Up to $24 million is available for eligible business development and workforce development projects. An additional $4 million is available for improvement or development of native seedling nurseries. Not quite ready to apply? Business and Workforce Development Grant proposals are accepted continuously and will be reviewed, scored, and selected for funding each quarter. Please see the Grant Guidelines document for more information. Also, the Wood Products Team has assembled a list of Frequently Asked Questions that addresses project eligibility, match funding, and other common inquiries. For more information about this solicitation, including Grant Guidelines and how to apply, please visit the Wood Products webpage. Please direct any questions to WoodProducts@fire.ca.gov
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Pesticides
The Department of Pesticide Regulation has announced they will be hosting a webinar detailing next steps and public outreach related to the pesticide mill assessment on March 30th at 10am. The mill assessed on a per dollar sales basis on all pesticidal products in California. In 2021, the Department attempted to adjust the mill assessment from a flat rate of ($0.021/$ sale) to a tiered assessment structure (with a maximum rate of $0.046/$ sale) based on toxicity. This attempt failed, but in lieu of a changed structure, the Legislature offered DPR funds to contract to engage stakeholders, assess weaknesses of the mill assessment structure and provide recommendations, which may likely include a tiered mill assessment. The webinar can be seen here live and will be available on DPR’s YouTube page. More information can be found here.
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Utility
SB 839 (Dodd), which enshrines the Base Interruptible Program (BIP) in statute passed from the Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee 12 - 0 and is headed to Senate Appropriations. The BIP provides a monthly bill credit to customers that commit to reducing their energy consumption to a predetermined level when extreme temperature conditions are impacting the system or during an emergency situation. While the BIP has been successful and offered for years, SB839 codifies the program and ensures it remains available. Farm Bureau worked with Senator Dodd and the sponsors of the bill to clarify agriculture remains included and filed a letter of support for the bill as amended.
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Water
A measure that would take a comprehensive approach to addressing California’s chronic water shortage was scheduled to be heard in the Assembly Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee next week, however the committee hearing has been postponed. AB 2078 (Heath Flora, R - Ripon) would take a balanced approach of providing flood protection and securing a safe and reliable supply of water for all Californians by expanding the Department of Water Resources Atmospheric Rivers research, mitigation, and climate forecasting program (AR Program) to include forecast - informed reservoir operations (FIRO) and integrate FIRO into the department’s water supply operations and flood and hazard risk mitigation efforts. The bill would also advance the department’s atmospheric river forecast capabilities and include refined climate projections for various environmental conditions. Farm Bureau is in support.
A measure that would provide the State Water Resources Control Board with authority to allow water diverters options to use remote sensing methodology to measure water diversion and use amounts was scheduled to be heard in the Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee next week, however the author pulled the measure from hearing. SB 832 (Bill Dodd, D - Napa) as amended last week would only allow “Open ET” as the option for remote sensing methodology. Open ET has been shown to consistently over estimate water use. Farm Bureau has a support if amended position, asking the author to amend the measure to allow for other proven and more accurate methodologies to be used.
A measure that would provide that the approval of a groundwater sustainability plan by the Department of Water Resources (DWR) shall not determine groundwater rights was amended this week. SB 1372 (Henry Stern, D - Los Angeles) would not allow the approval of a groundwater sustainability plan by DWR to determine the allocation of groundwater pumping rights in the GSP to be consistent with groundwater rights law. Simply put, groundwater rights are ultimately determined by the courts in adjudications. Farm Bureau is reviewing these amendments favorably.
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Wildlife
CDFA’s Office of Environmental Farming and Innovation (OEFI) is accepting public comments for its draft Request for Grant Applications for the Pollinator Habitat Program. The program was established by the Budget Act of 2021 (SB 170, Skinner). An allocation of $15 million to CDFA was made for fiscal year 2021 - 2022 to provide grant funding for the establishment of pollinator habitat on agricultural lands throughout California. CDFA was directed to administer the program and to prioritize native habitats for the benefit of native biodiversity and the use of locally appropriate native plant seed mixes when feasible.
The Pollinator Habitat Program is aligned with the suite of Climate Smart Agriculture incentive programs administered by OEFI. The program’s primary objective is to support pollinators through provision of floral resources, host plants, and other elements of suitable habitat. Funded projects will be expected to provide benefits for California’s biodiversity and agricultural production. Projects will support integrated pest management, support beneficial species (beyond pollinators), enhance carbon sequestration, and improve soil health among other co - benefits. Pollinators are essential to many of California’s agricultural crops and to the vast biodiversity of California’s natural ecosystems. Unfortunately, due to a variety of factors including habitat destruction, pesticides, disease, and climate change, pollinators are in decline affecting agricultural and natural ecosystems. It is the goal of the Pollinator Habitat Program to help strengthen pollinator populations.
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Thinking about classes for next year?
Career Technical Education (CTE) and the Regional Occupational Program (ROP) are part of the California public school system. CTE's primary focus is to prepare students to successfully meet the ever-changing nature of today's technical workplace and the need to fill high-demand jobs with highly skilled applicants. ROP is a key component of the Career Technical Education Program, providing course concentrations and advanced training through its "capstone" courses.
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Calling ALL 4-Hers! Especially those enrolled in Home Arts projects... The 2022 El Dorado County 4-H Home Arts Day will be held at the El Dorado County Fairgrounds along with Skills Day on April 2, 2022.
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4‑H Youth in Action Awards
The 4‑H Youth in Action Program recognizes four confident young leaders with diverse backgrounds and unique perspectives in our core pillar areas: agriculture, civic engagement, healthy living and STEM.
Each year, Pillar Winners will experience an exciting year of telling their 4‑H story and celebrating their leadership. Winners receive:
- $5,000 higher education scholarship
- Opportunities to showcase their 4 H impact story
- All-expenses paid trip to National 4 H Council event
- Networking opportunities with 4 H celebrities and other prominent alumni
- Recognition as the official 4 H youth spokesperson for their pillar
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El Dorado County https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/edcgov
Placerville City https://www.cityofplacerville.org/jobs
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El Dorado Ag In The Classroom has opportunities on several committees: Program, Finance, Development, and Marketing. If you have interest in serving as a volunteer on one of these please send an email here.
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Is there a story you'd like to share with our members? Let us know at admin@edcfb.com
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California — the 5th largest economy in the world — must prepare for a 3rd straight drought year
There’s little relief in sight for the multiyear megadrought that’s sapped Western U.S. reservoirs, intensified wildfires and helped drive up costs in California’s bread basket for the nation, forecasters say. The region faces another spring and summer of dwindling water resources PHO and rising temperatures, according to an outlook this week from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. California produces over 25% of the nation’s food supply. Its ag sector is a nearly $50 billion industry, producing over 400 key commodities, according to the California Department of Food and Agriculture. California had nearly $20 billion in estimated annual agricultural sales put at risk by drought in recent years, as detailed in the Drought Aware app from Esri, which compiles layers of public data in one spot to show how conditions have changed in the U.S. over two decades and how much agricultural business may be at risk. The last time the state faced a drought nearing this magnitude, such as in 2014, food economists said consumers could expect prices to rise about 3% directly related to water conditions. An inflationary post-pandemic recovery is also currently a factor. But the experts predicted the state’s agriculture industry could feel residual impact for years. Already, severe drought last year caused the California ag sector to shrink by an estimated 8,745 jobs and shoulder $1.2 billion in direct costs as water cutbacks forced growers to fallow farmland and pump more groundwater from wells.
Why California hunters are fighting a bill that would make it easier to kill wild hogs
A bill making its way through the California Legislature would make it easier for landowners and hunters to kill wild pigs doing damage to agricultural lands. Yet hunting associations are lining up to fight Senate Bill 856, authored by Napa’s Democratic state senator, Bill Dodd. The bill encapsulates the longstanding contradictions in how California manages the destructive feral pigs that have invaded 56 of California’s 58 counties. Wild hogs — an invasive species not native to California that live almost entirely on private agricultural lands — are despised by vineyard owners and other farmers for the damage the voracious, rooting animals cause to their properties and crops. Wild pigs are estimated to cause at least $2 million in crop damage in California each year. At the same time, wild pigs are prized by California’s big game hunters, who regularly pay outfitters close to $1,000 to kill a single hog. So why are hunters opposed to a bill that would make it cheaper and potentially easier for them to kill pigs? For one thing, fewer hogs on the landscape would mean fewer hunting opportunities. For another, if landowners are allowed to kill hogs without the hassle of needing licenses and state permits, it could take business away from a group of influential hunting outfitters who make their livings by taking out clients to shoot pigs on private lands under the current highly regulated system.
This Ancient Fertilizer Is a Skeleton Key for Saving Earth
California has a methane problem. The state’s dairy industry is the largest in the nation, but all those dairy cattle are producing more than milk. Foul-smelling slurry ponds of manure dot the Central Valley, and methane-producing bacteria thrive in these lagoons, expelling the potent greenhouse gas into the atmosphere. But researchers at the University of California, Merced, are investigating a potential emissions mitigation tool for dairy farmers in the climate-conscious state, one that farmers around the globe have been using for millennia: biochar, a feather-light, pure black material that smells like charcoal and has the structure of a sponge. Biochar, long championed by soil scientists, has become a darling of the climate mitigation movement as well for its ability to sequester carbon, as the impacts of climate change have grown increasingly apparent and destructive. “It’s really an ancient technology,” said Rebecca Ryals, an agroecologist at the University of California, Merced. For generations, Indigenous communities in the Amazon put charcoal into the ground, transforming the region’s notoriously nutrient-poor soils into pockets of dark, fertile earth known as terra preta.
Agriculture Giants Stay in Russia Despite Calls to Exit Over Ukraine War
The world’s largest agricultural companies are continuing to sell seeds and handle crops in Russia, despite pressure to sever ties following the invasion of Ukraine. Companies including Cargill Inc., Bayer AG and Archer Daniels Midland Co. say humanitarian concerns over food availability for Russian citizens and other countries justify the companies’ continued operation in Russia, while Western oil companies, fast-food chains and other companies have pulled out or paused operations there. Advocacy groups and employees of some agricultural companies have urged executives of businesses still operating in Russia to pull back further, however, and last week Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for continued pressure on Western companies to exit Russia. Companies in other industries, like drugs and consumer products, have also cited humanitarian grounds for their decisions to keep operating certain parts of their business in Russia. Those include Johnson & Johnson and AmerisourceBergen Corp. , which said it has stopped doing new business in Russia, though it will keep distributing certain cancer drugs and finish clinical trials.
Wheat prices soar on Ukraine fears, but U.S. growers can't cash in
After Russia's invasion of Ukraine sent global wheat futures soaring, U.S. farmer Vance Ehmke was eager to sell his grain. Local prices shot up roughly 30% to nearly $12 a bushel, about the highest Ehmke could recall in 45 years of farming near the western Kansas town of Healy. Instead of reaping a windfall, Ehmke found a commodities market turned upside down. He and his wife Louise told Reuters they couldn't sell a nickel of their upcoming summer wheat harvest for future delivery. Futures prices for corn and wheat had rocketed so abruptly that many along the complex chain of grain handling - local farm cooperatives, grain elevators, flour millers and exporters - stopped buying for fear they couldn't resell at a profit. While some North American millers have said they have enough grain on hand from past harvests to continue producing for several months, prolonged or repeated disruptions to grain trading could eventually contribute to already-inflated food prices. Meanwhile, the inability to sell some of their winter wheat - whose harvest starts in June - is putting the squeeze on U.S. farmers
‘Historic dry conditions’: California warns that mandatory water cuts are likely coming
State regulators gave a bleak drought warning Monday to the farms and cities that draw drinking and irrigation water from California’s major rivers: Prepare for mandatory cutbacks. The State Water Resources Control Board announced it was sending letters to approximately 20,000 water right holders — farmers and cities with historical legal claims to river water. Facing a third straight year of drought, the letter says they should expect to stop pulling water in the coming weeks — and even earlier than last year. It wasn’t until last August that the water board ordered thousands of water users to cut their water use on the Sacramento and San Joaquin river watersheds — arguably the two most important rivers in the state. The fact that the board is warning in March about similar curtailment orders is a sign of the deepening severity of the drought. “We are experiencing historic dry conditions: February is usually California’s wettest month, but January and February 2022 were the driest we’ve seen in recorded history,” the letter reads. Like last year, the state warned those who pull water from the waterways that feed into the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to expect cuts. That affects a massive swath of the state — from Mount Shasta to Modesto to Bakersfield — due to the various tributaries that flow into the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers. Also receiving letters were those who use water from smaller rivers not connected to the Central Valley: the Russian, Scott, Shasta, Mill Creek and Deer Creek watersheds.
As it enters a third year, California’s drought is strangling the farming industry
The hard truth here, the one that fundamentally shapes the lives of those in the valley, is that water is disappearing. So is a way of life, a core of California economic culture, and a place that provides a nation struggling under the rising rate of inflation with a quarter of its food. Wind and wildfire have been more common than rain this year. The whiplash has prompted the federal Central Valley Project, the vast Depression-era system of pumps, aqueducts and reservoirs that provides much of this region’s surface water, to declare a second straight year of no water deliveries. The announcement means farmers across the valley must rely on depleted groundwater supplies and what they have been able to store. Last week, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) announced an additional $22.8 million in aid for what his office called “an immediate drought emergency.” The state, too, announced earlier this year that it would provide only 15 percent of its scheduled water deliveries, which primarily serve residential customers in Southern California. On Friday, given the withering recent weather, state water officials cut deliveries to 5 percent. About one-third of the drought relief money will go toward encouraging conservation efforts, which have proven unsuccessful so far.
In Clampdown on U.S. Methane Emissions, Belching Cattle Get a Pass
The Biden administration is taking aggressive steps to curb the energy industry’s methane emissions, tightening pipeline regulations and spending billions of dollars to clean up abandoned coal mines and other sources of the potent greenhouse gas. Agriculture, just as big a source of methane, isn’t getting the same tough treatment. The Biden administration said it would spend more money to research cattle diets and expand gas-capturing manure-disposal systems for farmers to voluntarily reduce methane emissions, after supporting more than $200 million in such projects last year. But it hasn’t proposed any new air-pollution regulations targeting the agricultural sources. “We’re taking a look,” Environmental Protection Agency administrator Michael Regan said when asked recently about regulating methane from agricultural sources. Some environmentalists say the Biden administration is going easy on big agriculture to avoid a bruising political battle with the powerful farm lobby. Agricultural groups say reducing methane from cattle isn’t as simple as plugging leaks from pipelines and oil wells.
Crops Extend Gains With Looming Ukraine Shortfalls in Focus
Wheat and soybeans traded at the highest in more than a week on added signs of the disruption looming for Ukraine crop supplies. The country may only plant about half a normal sunflower crop and a third less corn than last year, according to estimates from analyst UkrAgroConsult. For winter-crops like wheat that are already sown, some fields could also be damaged from the war or see yields suffer from a lack of inputs. At the same time, crop conditions are in focus across other major shippers as wheat emerges from dormancy. The U.S. Plains will see some beneficial rains, while crop ratings are still low after a lengthy dry spell. Wheat futures in Chicago rose as much as 4.5% to $11.6925 a bushel, the highest for most-active futures in over a week. Soybeans traded at their highest since March 9.
Fertilizer prices just hit a record high sparking fears of worst food insecurity level since World War II
Farmers worldwide are feeling the sting of sanctions, as the Ukraine War has sent fertilizer prices soaring to new all-time highs, prompting concerns over a global food shortage. Fertilizer prices last week were nearly 10% higher than the week before according to Green Markets North America Fertilizer Price Index, the highest price point ever recorded. Prices are now 40% higher than a month ago, before the invasion of Ukraine. The surge in fertilizer prices reveals how dependent many of the world's farms are on Russian exports. Countries already afflicted by food insecurity now risk further production bottlenecks and food shortages at the worst possible time. Before the invasion of Ukraine, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization had already warned that “acute food insecurity” was plaguing dozens of countries spanning Latin America, central Africa, the Middle East, and central Asia due to conflict and erratic environmental conditions. The economic fallout of the Ukraine War could further add to this insecurity.
Russia's Ukraine war threatens to blow US food prices sky-high
As war continues to ravage Ukraine, Americans, particularly those who live paycheck to paycheck, are beginning to feel the financial squeeze on their food prices from the conflict half a world away. It began with a rapid rise in gas prices. Now, with Russian oil banned in the United States and energy scarcity heightened globally, experts say shoppers can expect their grocery bills to rise in coming months – especially if Ukraine misses its wheat planting season. "It comes an absolutely horrible time for American consumers because we're looking every day at inflation almost reaching 10%," Dan Varroney, a supply chain expert and founder of Potomac Core, told FOX Business. "Last month's figures were close to 8%. And that means that consumers, including those that are living paycheck to paycheck, are going to pay more for food." Robb MacKie, the president and CEO of the American Bakers Association (ABA), said bread makers are starting to feel the pinch of higher demand on their inputs. "A lot of ingredients come out of Ukraine, particularly wheat, oilseeds, barley and a number of other crops," MacKie told FOX Business. "The challenge is that that [region] is one of the top three wheat growing areas of the world. And if we're taking that out of production, which it looks like if the conflict goes much longer, that is going to happen. That's going to have a significant impact on the price of U.S. and Canadian wheat, which is what U.S. bakers primarily use."
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2020/2021 Board of Directors
President . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mike Ranalli
Secretary . . . . . . . . . . . . . Maryann Argyres
Treasurer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gordon Helm
Jim Davies
Chuck Bacchi
Bill Prosser
Carolyn Mansfield
Norm Krizl
Staff
Managing Director . . Barb Kildow admin@edcfb.com 530-622-7773 530-957-5837 (cell)
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El Dorado County Farm Bureau News is a weekly publication for its members. Dues for membership are $185 for agricultural members, $150 for Business Ag Support, $72 for Associate members and $25 for Collegiate. Non-profit postage paid at Placerville, CA. Postmaster: Send changes to 2460 Headington Road, Placerville, CA 95667 El Dorado County Farm Bureau does not assume responsibility for statements by advertisers or for products advertised in El Dorado County newsletter, nor does Farm Bureau assume responsibility for statements or expressions of opinion other than in editorials or in articles showing authorship by an officer, director or employee of El Dorado County Farm Bureau or its affiliates.
A private nonprofit organization serving El Dorado County agriculture since 1917.
2460 Headington Road, Placerville, CA 95667
530-622-7773
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