Twenty community leaders selected for Focus Agriculture program
This “first-in-the-nation” program is designed for community leaders to learn about agriculture in Santa Cruz County and the Pajaro Valley. Class 32 members include Yvette Brooks, Councilmember, City of Capitola; Jim Brown, Executive Director, Arts Council of Santa Cruz County; Erica Padilla-Chavez, CEO, Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Cruz County; and Krista Snelling, CEO & President, Santa Cruz County Bank. Each year, more applications are received for this program than spaces available, and the Agri-Culture Board of Directors selects 20 participants.
The program consists of once-a-month, daylong seminars, held over a period of nine months. The first session will be held on Friday, March 10. Speakers ranging from farmers to elected officials, to representatives from environmental groups will address the class. The sessions will cover topics including ethnic groups in agriculture, new technology, and the diversity of commodities locally grown. In addition, there are many farm tours and hands-on experiences. Participants will also spend one day working on a farm.
In announcing the selected participants of Class 32, Agri-Culture President Steve Bontadelli, stated, “Community leaders will find this program beneficial and, in turn, growers who present information to the class will learn the public’s current perspective of local agriculture. The program is designed to be a two-way learning process.”
The Focus Agriculture program received a national award for its innovative approach to bringing the public and the agricultural community together.