Our Mission is to . . .
PROTECT
Protecting agricultural lands from overregulation ensuring that someone is always in your corner and fighting for your rights.
PROMOTE
Promoting local agriculture to keep it viable for future generations by starting positive conversations about agriculture in Sonoma County and beyond.
EDUCATE
Educating the public about agriculture grows trust and respect and teaches tomorrow’s leaders the importance of agriculture.
UNITE
When we join together in support of agriculture, we can make our voices heard at the local, state and national levels. Join or Renew today!
In the News
Ettamarie Peterson, Petaluma’s Bee Queen, Builds Awareness One Hive at a Time
Ettamarie Peterson of Petaluma is known as the Bee Queen of Sonoma County. It’s a title she has earned fair and square after decades of educating and inspiring kids about bees and their crucial role in food production and the planet’s well-being. Ettamarie has shared her passion and knowledge about bees at Farm Bureau’s Ag Days for 30 years and is the longtime beekeeping leader for Liberty 4-H, launching hundreds of young people and their families into beekeeping. She has invited students to her farm Continue reading →
Duttons Will be Honored as Farm Bureau’s Farm Family of the Year
In Sonoma County, the Dutton name is to farming, what Clover is to milk and Kendall-Jackson is to wine. For nearly 200 years, the Dutton family – now in the sixth generation and firmly rooted in Sonoma County’s good earth – has farmed everything from potatoes and prunes to barley and apples in the region’s changing agricultural landscape. To stay in farming and keep their land, the Duttons were among the first fruit farmers transitioning to wine grapes as the markets died for prunes and Continue reading →
Nurseryman Ed Grossi Honored with Friend of Farm Bureau Award
Ed Grossi’s Sweet Lane Nursery has cultivated a thriving horticultural niche by providing “instant gratification” for wealthy clients who don’t blink twice about spending $3,000 for a mature tree to adorn their landscape. Indeed, Grossi’s clients include some of the wealthiest people in the San Francisco Bay Area, customers like Larry Ellison, cofounder of software giant Oracle, who has an estate in Woodside. Rich enclaves like Woodside and Atherton as well as the multi-million-dollar estates in the hills and valleys of Sonoma, Napa and Marin Continue reading →
Harvest Fair Honors Nick Leras for Farming His Land for the Future
Over the years, 83-year-old farmer Nick Leras of Windsor has been described as “salt-of-the-earth,” the “real deal” and a “genuine character and true original.” Leras is all of that and a lot more, becoming something of an agrarian folk legend in Sonoma County’s Wine Country, where he’s true grit among the more manicured gentlemen farmers. He calls himself one of the “old-timers,” and to many he’s a valued link to the past, farming land on Woolsey Road where his immigrant Greek parents settled in 1918. Continue reading →
Scrapbooks Provide A Window into Mid-Century Sonoma County “Farm Labor Doings”
Richard Conger, an antique and pinball collector and former Analy High School auto shop teacher, purchased seven scrapbooks at a garage sale in 2015 and gave them to Steve Dutton. Steve, a fifth-generation Sonoma County wine and apple grower, was president of the Sonoma County Farm Bureau at the time. Steve donated the scrapbooks, which document post World War II Sonoma County farm labor, to the Farm Bureau this past March. Charles D. Grant (1896-1971), a Farm Placement Representative for the California Department of Employment, Continue reading →
March Farm News Member Profile Garton Tractor
Garton Tractor Inc. is a full-service dealership serving the agricultural and construction markets in Sonoma, Marin, Napa, and Lake Counties. The long-time Sonoma County Farm Bureau member and supporter provides service, parts, sales, and rentals for New Holland, Kubota, and Takeuchi Brands. The company mission is “To consistently provide our customers with an experience that exceeds their needs in sales, service, parts, and rentals with quality people, products, and facilities.” Established in 1954 by the Garton and Nance families in Turlock, Garton Tractor has always Continue reading →
Seasonal Reminders and Updates from Department of Agriculture Weights & Measures
As crop protection efforts ramp up, we would like to offer a few reminders to help protect your employees and stay in compliance with regulations. Following are a few reminders: Employees and field workers who handle pesticides must be trained annually and must be trained on all specific pesticides they will be handling. All trainings must be documented. As you begin your spray programs for the new season, please remember to adjust your application equipment to match the current conditions in your vineyards and orchards. Continue reading →
How to Sell at Certified Farmers Market
Have you considered selling at a certified farmers market? Perhaps you want to expand your customer base, or you really like interacting with the public and educating them about your operation, or you grow niche produce. These are all great reasons to consider selling at certified farmers markets. The purpose of certified farmers markets is to allow farmers to sell their produce directly to customers, getting the freshest produce from the farm to the consumers. The high quality, fresh produce brought to the farmers markets Continue reading →
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