By Doug Beretta, President

As you are reading the March Farm News, Sonoma County Farm Bureau will be approaching one of our biggest Ag education events of the year. I am happy to tell you that Sonoma County Ag Days are back in person after a couple of years off due to Covid.

We just finished our biggest fundraiser of the year, The Great Sonoma Crab Fest. At this event, we had about 1500 people from throughout our community and state to raise money for ag education events and scholarships. This money also helps Sonoma County Farm Bureau with other events that educate and fight for agriculture in the county.

I am always amazed at the generosity of this community and the way they support us in agriculture. I know it was very loud at the event and hard to hear as I gave my introduction. So for all of you that weren’t there (and to those of you who were but may not have heard me), I want to say thank you again to all of you that attended, all of you that donated auction items, all of our wineries, breweries, and distilleries that donated their products and attended to pour for our reception before the crab dinner. The feast is presented by Preferred Sonoma Caterers and Amber and her group do an amazing job preparing the crab and salad and coordinating the meal with pasta from Pasta King and clam chowder from the Tides. With the help of local 4-H and FFA kids, the meal is served to you, our guests, by our local youth and the future of our Ag community. They have done an amazing job year after year, and they even help to clean-up so I want to send a big thank you to all of them. The countless volunteers that help set up days before and days afterward deserve a huge thank you also. Without them we couldn’t do it.

Then there is our Farm Bureau staff that starts working on this event in August. The weeks prior to the event, our board room and storage area start to fill up with items, drinks, and decorations for the event. They mobilize them, deliver them to the fairgrounds and then bring everything back after the event. Without this group of employees, this event would not happen. The board members of Sonoma County Farm Bureau are there also helping with set-up and clean up.

So, again, I just want to thank everyone who attended, supported the event in many ways, and volunteered. This event is often referred to as “The Crab Feed” and has become one of the premier events to attend in Sonoma County.

Thank You.