CNAS

Members, 2010-11

Dennis J. Atkinson

Vice President, Agriculture
Tejon Ranch

Dennis J. Atkinson, a Kern County native, is the Vice President of Agri-Business at Tejon Ranch Company. Dennis was born and raised in the farming community of Shafter, California where his still resides with his wife Marlene and two children, Ryan and Melanie. Dennis attended local schools including Bakersfield College and received his B.A. in 1974 from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo.

Upon completion of his studies, Dennis began work as a Foreman/Supervisor at Tejon Farming Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Tejon Ranch, which managed a Limited Partnership. His steady progression of responsibility ranged from Orchard Manager, Assistant Manager, Operations Manager and finally Vice President until the partnership was dissolved in 1994. In 1994 he began employment as a Special Projects Manager at Wilson Ag Company, a diversified custom agricultural service with row crops, vineyard and almond operations in Shafter, California. After completion of those projects and some retirements at Tejon Ranch Company, Dennis was asked to return to manage the Agricultural Division at Tejon Ranch Company.

Founded in 1843, Tejon Ranch is a diversified real estate development and agribusiness company, the principal asset of which is 270,000 acres of land located approximately 60 miles north of Los Angeles and 30 miles south of Bakersfield, California. Company operating revenues are generated by four divisions.

Currently, nearly 4,600 acres of Ranch land in the southern San Joaquin Valley are planted in pistachios; almonds, walnuts and wine grapes, while more than 1,900 acres of Kern County are available for lease for annual row crops. In addition to revenue from harvested crops, the Farming Division generates income from agricultural land leases, farm management and consulting services and for hulling/shelling and processing of almonds. Dennis is responsible for the day-to-day operation and overall management of the agricultural division, budgeting commodity sales, strategies, water management, environmental concerns and regulations and direction for the company.

Ted A. Batkin

President
Citrus Research Board

Ted Batkin, a fourth generation Californian with extensive experience in association management as well as production agriculture, was appointed Board Manager of the California Citrus Research Program on July 1, 1993. This program is the grower-funded, grower-directed state marketing order program, which enables the citrus producers of California to sponsor and support the research essential for the current and future well being of the industry. The program operates under the authority of the California Department of Food and Agriculture and is administered by a 12-member Citrus Research Board (CRB) comprised of 11 grower members and one public member appointed by the Secretary. The CRB office is in Visalia.

Ted is a Tulare County native whose family has produced citrus, tree fruit, wine grapes and cotton in the Alta District since 1885. Prior to becoming CRB Manager, Ted was president of Adobe Ranch Management, Dinuba, whose clients have included the California Christmas Tree Growers and the Biomass Processors Association. From 1982 to 1989, he was a vice president of Monfort Management, Inc. of Dinuba, managing the affairs of the Fresh Market Tomato Advisory Board, Celery Research Board, Melon Research Board, Potato Research Board, and Cantaloupe Advisory Board. During that period, he served on the organizing task force for the Center for Produce Quality, a national educational program for the fresh fruit and vegetable industry. He also served on the original development committee for the 5-A-Day for Better Health program.

In addition to his responsibilities as Citrus Research Board Manager, since January of 1994 he has also been the Statewide Medfly Action Coordinator for the California Ag Issues Forum and the Vice President of the Exotic Fruit Fly Coalition. Ted has served as the Co-Chair of the USDA-Aphis Safeguarding Review and Secretary of the National Invasive Species Advisory Committee. He currently is a member of the California Biotechnology Task Force and Vice Chairman of the National Citrus Research Coalition.

Ted is a member of the California Farm Bureau Federation, the Entomological Society of America, the American Chemical Society, and the United Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Association. Ted received his bachelor degree from Cal State Fresno and holds a master's degree in physics from the University of South Carolina.

Frieda Rapoport Caplan

Founder and Chairman of the Board
Frieda's, Inc.

Frieda Caplan has been recognized by Inc. Magazine as the woman who changed the way America eats. Add to that her title as "Queen of Kiwifruit" and it will be no surprise that Frieda Caplan, founder of Frieda's, Inc., is considered the nation's leading marketer of exotic fruits and vegetables, both rare and the more commonplace. In the late 1970s, Frieda was credited with being "the biggest influence in the produce industry over the last 25 years" by Marvin Cross, then Vice President of the National Tea Company. In 1986, Working Woman Magazine awarded her its first ever Harriet Alger Award as one of the most brilliant marketers in the world of business. Shortly after this, the Governor of California named her as one of the outstanding women in business. On January 1, 1990, in a very special edition, the Los Angeles Times named Frieda as one of a dozen Californians who have shaped the 1980s for American business. Today, Frieda's, Inc., is the nation's leading marketer and distributor of specialty produce best known for introducing close to 200 new items to the nation's super market produce departments.

Frieda is a Board Member of the YWCA of Greater Los Angeles, and is also a member of NAWBO and the Vegetable Research and Information Center at UC Davis. She sits on the University of California's Agriculture and Natural Resources Advisory Board and the UCR Agricultural Advisory Council. Frieda is a native of Los Angeles, and received her Bachelor of Arts degree from UCLA. She is on the Board of Directors of the Women Against Gun Violence and is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Westerly School of Long Beach.

Her two daughters, Karen Caplan and Jackie Caplan Wiggins, are now owners of Frieda's Inc.and Frieda has the joy of working for them.

Grant M. Chaffin

General Manager
Chaffin Farms

Grant Chaffin is General Manager of Chaffin Farms, founded in 1946 by Dr. Lawrence Chaffin. The family grows alfalfa, cotton wheat and sudan grass on the 3,200-acre farm in Blythe.

Grant has been president of the Progressive Farmers-Palo Verde Valley chapter since 1998. The group works closely with UC Cooperative Extension. In 2002, Grant was appointed by then-Governor Gray Davis to the Board of Directors for the Colorado River Fair (54th District Agricultural Association). He received his Bachelor of Science degree with honors from the University of Southern California in 1990.

Vernon Crowder 

Vice President & Agricultural Economist
Rabobank, N.A. 

Vernon Crowder is a vice president and agricultural economist for Rabobank’s Food & Agribusiness Research and Advisory (FAR) group. He analyzes and conducts market research on California agribusiness as well as the North American fresh fruit and produce sectors. Before joining Rabobank in 2010, Vernon served as senior vice president and agricultural economist for Bank of America for 11 years, analyzing the agricultural industry, agribusiness, commodity prices and food processors. Most recently, he served as senior client manager for Bank of America in Fresno for seven years.

A banker for more than 30 years, Vernon began his career at the former Security Pacific National Bank where he progressed to vice president and agribusiness specialist. Vernon earned a bachelor of arts degree and an MBA at the University of California, Riverside. He is a graduate of the California Agricultural Leadership Program and attended the Pacific Coast Banking School at the University of Washington.

A resident of Clovis, Vernon served on the board of directors for the California Agricultural Leadership Foundation and on the water resources and agriculture committees for the California Chamber of Commerce. He also served on the ag lending committees for both the California Bankers Association and the American Bankers Association.

Rabobank’s FAR team provides information and analysis covering all of the major sectors throughout the food chain. The Americas-based FAR team is part of Rabobank’s global FAR group, which is comprised of approximately 70 analysts around the world. They research subjects of strategic interest to companies and customers within the food, agribusiness and agriculture sectors.

Thomas Delfino 

Executive Director
California Citrus Nursery Society 

Tom Delfino is the Executive Director of California Citrus Nursery Society, the industry association for citrus nurseries in California. Prior to appointment to his current position, he worked for Geomatrix Consultants (now AMEC Geomatrix), a geosciences and environmental engineering and consulting firm, where he specialized in matters related to process and environmental chemistry, statistics, and decision analysis.

Tom has a bachelor’s and master’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley. Additionally, Tom is donor to and supporter of, the Citrus Variety Collection and other citrus-related activities at the University of California, Riverside. He is also a citrus hobbyist with more than 30 varieties of citrus planted in his garden in Moraga, California.

Cindy Domenigoni

Partner
Domenigoni Brothers Ranch
Co-owner/Manager
Sky Canyon Enterprises, LLC

Cindy is the First Vice President of the Riverside County Farm Bureau and the President of the Winchester Homeowner's Association. She is also the past Chairman of the Riverside County Commission For Women. Cindy is the co-founder and director of the Domenigoni Ranch Poker Ride for Juvenile Diabetes Foundation. Cindy is a member of the Temecula Valley Chamber of Commerce and the Murrieta Chamber of Commerce as well as an appointee on the Riverside County Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Advisory Committee. Cindy and her husband Andy have been farming and ranching for 30 years. They dry farm cereal grains, irrigate corn, alfalfa and Sudan. They also have a cow/calf operation.

Ben Drake

President/Owner
Drake Enterprises, Inc

Ben Drake has been in the vineyard management business for 22 years. He is the President of Drake Enterprises, Inc. and is currently managing 300 acres of wine grapes and 450 acres of avocados in the City of Temecula, located in Southern California.

Ben is a fifth-generation farmer in Riverside County. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree from Fresno State, and was a member of Class XII of the California Agricultural Leadership Program. Ben is currently serving his first term as a Member of the Board of Directors for the Rancho California Water District. He is the President for the Temecula Valley Winegrowers Association, Vice Chairman for the California Association of Winegrape Growers, past president of the Riverside County Farm Bureau, a director of the American Viticulture Foundation, member of the Murrieta/Temecula Group, board member for the California Association of Winegrape Growers, member of the California Wine Grape Grower Foundation Board, a founding school board member of Hillcrest Carden School, and 4H All-Star in Riverside County.

Ben Drake is on the State Task Force for Pierce's Disease as well as the California State GWSS-PD Board. Over the past four years he has been combating Pierce's Disease by lobbying the State and Federal Government to secure funding for this disease, through numerous meetings with government officials, university chancellors, research assistants, and members of the media, including television, magazines and newspapers.

Mark Draper

CEO
Mark Draper Enterprises, Oak Flat Hay Company, Del Puerto Harvesting, Inc.

Located in Indio, Mark Draper Enterprises and Oak Flat Hay Company include more than 600 acres of alfalfa hay and Bermuda grass. Del Puerto Harvesting, Inc. is a licensed farm labor company with approximately 7,500 employees. Services include weeding, thinning, transplanting and harvesting vegetable crops in the Coachella and San Joaquin Valley. Mark earned his Bachelor of Science degree in International Agricultural Development in 1976 from University of California, Davis. From 1977 to 1984, he worked for CARE, one of the world's largest private international relief and development organizations. During that time, Mark was stationed in Honduras, Egypt and Congo and was involved in projects that included agricultural credit and health and feeding programs. He also established a corn and peanut seed farm.

Mark is a former board member of the Western Growers Association. He is also a former board member of the Regional Water Quality Control Board and past President of the Riverside County Farm Bureau. He is a 1998 recipient of the Robert M. Howie Award for outstanding service to Riverside County agriculture. In 1996, he received the Outstanding Services Award from the California Women for Agriculture's Coachella Valley Chapter.

Hank Giclas

Vice President of Strategic Planning, Science & Technology
Western Growers

Henry L. (Hank) Giclas has worked for Western Growers Association for over 15 years. He began his career in the Phoenix office as the Director of Public Affairs where he was responsible for implementing WGA's government affairs and public relations agendas in Arizona. While in that office Hank developed an expertise in ag chemical and environmental issues and led the association in becoming more actively engaged in the science and technical aspects of agriculture and agricultural policy in California and Arizona. The Science and Technology focus allowed WG to take on managerial responsibilities for the Certified Crop Advisor programs in both California and Arizona, the Arizona Crop Protection Association and has led to WG being a lead trade association in many of the issues related to the production of specialty crops in Arizona and California.

Hank served a brief stint as Vice-President of Science and Government Affairs for WGA in their Sacramento office. There he oversaw the activities of the division in both Arizona and California including the legislative and regulatory advocacy programs, political action efforts, technical and registration projects as well as the management of a various local trade associations and other programs.

In July of 2002 he was asked by the WGA Board of Directors to return to the Phoenix office and help the association start a new division that would focus on the science and technological issues facing our industry. That division now has oversight on food safety programs, pesticide and chemical registration and policy issues, environmental programs including water and air quality issues and a host of other issue areas where sound science must drive agricultures involvement and government policy. In August of 2003 Hank took on strategic planning for WG in addition to the science and technology duties. Today Hank serves as Vice President Strategic Planning, Science and Technology for Western Growers and is actively developing association leadership in the areas of food safety, food security, crop production and protection as well as assisting in the implementation of the strategic plan.

Before coming to WGA Hank was a vocational agriculture instructor in Phoenix Arizona. He received his B.S. in Agricultural Education from the University of Arizona and is pursuing a M.S. in Agribusiness from Arizona State University.

John J. Gless

Owner
Gless Ranch, Inc.

John Gless married his wife, Janet, in 1958. As natives of Southern California, the Glesses saw a future in the citrus industry, purchased 20 acres of bare ground in Woodcrest, and planted the first grove in the area. In the years that followed, John expanded his operation to include orchard care for other landowners as well as a Christmas tree farm, pumpkin patch, roadside market, and shipping business. As the citrus industry has shifted with the availability of affordable water, Gless Ranch now has operations in the Coachella Valley and Kern County. John is the Director of the El Sobrante Mutual Water Company, and is very active in both professional societies and community groups, including the Lincoln Club, the Woodcrest Chamber of Commerce, the Raincross Club, and the Summer Ruby Red Grapefruit Growers Association. He is a member of the Valley Group, a select group of influential business and community leaders from Western Riverside County and San Bernardino County concerned with the economic and social advancement of the Inland Empire. He is also the Alternate Director for the Sunkist Growers, Inc. Board and is a board member and past president of the Riverside County Farm Bureau, and serves on the boards for the Riverside-Corona Resource Conservation District, the Blue Banner Fruit Exchange, the Gage Canal Company, Corona College Heights Lemon & Orange Association, the California Citrus Research Board, and the Yorba Orange Growers Association.

John is actively involved in many agriculture-related organizations and pertinent political issues. Gless Ranch continues to be owned and operated by John, his wife, and their four children. In 1997, he was the recipient of the Riverside County Farm Bureau's Robert M. Howie award for outstanding service to Riverside County Agriculture and the Family Service Association of Western Riverside County's Family of the Year Award.

Kevin Heaney

Executive Director
Southern California Golf Association

Kevin Heaney has worked for the Southern California Golf Association since 1984. During his tenure, he has served as the Director of Rules and Competitions and the Director of Course Rating. His current position is Executive Director. In his present role, he is responsible for the overall management of the organization, serves as staff member overseeing both the SCGA Foundation and the SCGA Golf Course, and directs all turf and agronomic activity for the association.

Heaney is a charter member of the University of California, Riverside Turf Research Advisory Committee. He recently was invited to participate on the UCR Chancellor's Agricultural Advisory Committee. In addition, Heaney is a member of both the United States Golf Association Green and Course Rating Committees and serves on the Board of Directors of the California Golf Course Owners Association. Heaney is a member of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of Southern California and serves on the Green Committee for the International Association of Golf Course Administrators. He is also an active participant on the California Golf Alliance for Water.

Heaney received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of California, Davis in Agricultural Economics and Managerial Science as well as a Master of Business Administration degree from the same institution.

Gerald Hillier

Owner and Principal
Hillier Consulting and Management

Gerry has spent his professional life involved with agriculture and natural resources management in the West. Raised in Sacramento, his undergraduate work was in Range Management at UC Davis and Washington State. He did graduate work in natural resources economics and public administration at George Washington, University of Montana and Oregon State.

Gerry completed a 35-year career with the Bureau of Land Management in 1992, spending the last 16 years as the District Manager for the California Desert District, leading planning, management and regulation of the Federal public lands in Southern California. He has had a consulting firm since 1993, providing services involving natural resources and public land use to public and private sector clients in the Mojave Desert region. He serves as Executive Director of QuadState County Government Coalition, providing representation on public land issues to 7 counties in the Mojave. Since 1993 he has represented the University of California as a member of the Council for Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching, a lay advocacy group for the land grant universities. He is also active with the wine industry, has taught wine appreciation classes with UCR Extension, and continues to offer domestic and international wine education experiences. He is a member of a variety of professional and interest groups associated with natural resources and wine, and serves on the Board of Governors of the CSU System's Desert Studies Center at Zzyzx.

Reuben Hofshi

President, Hofshi Foundation

Reuben Hofshi is an avocado farmer and a partner in Del Rey Avocado Company, an avocado packing house in Fallbrook.  Reuben has been an active member in the avocado industry for over 25 years.  He has contributed not only as a member of many industries and societies such as the California Avocado Society, but has also acted as a grower, packer, and current President of the Hofshi Foundation, which sponsors avocado research.  Reuben is also a member of the California Avocado Commission (CAC) Production Research Committee since the late 1980s.

Edward C. "Ted" Horton, CGCS

Consulting Superintendent
ValleyCrest Golf Course Maintenance
Executive Director
California Golf Course Owners Association

After more than 40 years of highly successful work experiences in private golf and country club, resort and public daily fee golf course maintenance operations, "Ted" Horton is currently a consultant to the golf course industry. His services offer proactive advice on environmental stewardship; golf course safety, security and risk management; tournament preparations; mentoring of new superintendents; long range planning, agronomic programs and administrative functions of large property maintenance. He is currently Consulting Superintendent for ValleyCrest Golf Course Maintenance, assisting the company to oversee maintenance of over 45 golf course properties, while also serving as Executive Director of the California Golf Course Owners Association and Vice President of the California Golf Alliance (CAG). Recipient of numerous professional awards, Ted was recently listed in Golf Digest Magazine as one of the top 100 most powerful people in golf and in the top four golf course superintendents. In 2006, he completed two cycles as a member of the UC President's Advisory Commission on Agriculture and Natural Resources.

Ted Johnson

COO
AG Accounting LLC

Mr. Johnson earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Fruit Industries from Cal Poly Pomona in 1981. After graduation, he began his career as Packing Foreman for Sun World International, Inc. During his 21 year career with Sun World, he held numerous positions and was ultimately promoted to Vice President of Southern Operations. Mr. Johnson left Sun World in 2003 to work for Ag-Accounting, LLC, where he is currently Chief Operating Officer. He manages 1,300 acres of citrus, 400 acres of grapes, 200 acres of mangoes, and 50 acres of dates.

Albert P. Keck

President
Hadley Date Gardens, Inc.
Chairman
California Date Commission

Albert is a third generation Californian and farmer. A lifelong native of the Coachella Valley, Albert grew up following his father John in the date orchards and cotton fields of the Coachella and Imperial Valleys. After completing his undergraduate and graduate education at Stanford, Albert returned to the Coachella Valley and the family farming business. He currently is President of Hadley Date Gardens and Chairman of the California Date Administrative Committee and the California Date Commission.

David G. Kelley

Former California Legislator

The Honorable Dave Kelley, a Republican, was elected to the California State Assembly in 2000 to represent the 80th Assembly District. Before that, Dave served eight years in the California State Senate. Prior to term limits, Dave served fourteen years in the Assembly where he was first elected in 1978.

Born and raised in Riverside County, he attended local schools and graduated from California State Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo, majoring in citrus fruit production. His education was interrupted by service as a pilot in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean Conflict. Dave has been a successful citrus rancher for over forty years in the Hemet area, where he first became concerned with the increasingly complicated relationship between government and the agricultural industry. Active in the Riverside County farm Bureau since 1955, Kelley served as both president and vice president for a total of eight years, and also served on the board of directors of the California Farm Bureau Federation.

Concern for the effects of property tax on agriculture led Kelley to become active in the establishment of an agricultural preserve program in Riverside County. He signed the first prime agricultural land preserve contract in the state in 1966. Later, he was appointed by then Governor Ronald Reagan to a committee to advise the Legislature on development of a policy on open-space lands.

In 1968, the Peace Corps approached Kelley to help instruct trainees for service projects in Southern India. During 1970 and 1971, he supervised replacement trainees on location in India. Dave has always been active in community affairs. He served as director of the Hemet-San Jacinto Basin Resource Conservation District for ten years, served as president of the Century Club of Riverside County, is a member of the Lincoln Clubs of Coachella Valley and Riverside County, The Western growers Association, and the Farm Bureau.

Joseph MacIlvaine

President
Paramount Farming Company, Bakersfield California

Joe MacIlvaine has held the position of President of Paramount Farming Company since May 1987. He is responsible for general management of the company's operations, including the management of 100,000 acres of agricultural properties. The company's primary crops are almonds, pistachios and pomegranates. In each of these products, Paramount is the largest grower in the country.

Prior to his employment at Paramount, Joe was General Manager of Tejon Farming Company, part of Tejon Ranch. He is President of two water districts, Director of Western Grower's Association, Chairman of the International Committee of the Almond Board of California, Past Chairman of the Almond Board of California, and active in a number of community organizations.

His education includes a Bachelor's degree from the University of California, Berkeley, a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a Master's of Business Administration from UCLA.

Agenor Mafra-Neto, Ph.D.

Founder
ISCA Technologies, Inc., Riverside

Dr. Agenor Mara-Neto, the founder of ISCA Technologies, Inc., has a doctorate in entomology with considerable experience in insect behavior, chemical ecology, agricultural ecology, monitoring programs and the development of tools to monitor and suppress insect pests. He has ample experience with insect monitoring technology, behavior assays, and data analysis. Dr. Mafra-Neto has been directly involved with the conceptualization and development of large area-wide integrated pest management projects in Brazil, one of them involves multi-state monitoring and eradication effort of major quarantine pests present in urban areas

Edward I. McGrew

Imperial Valley

Ed McGrew, a lifelong resident of the Imperial Valley, began his farming career after receiving his farm management degree from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. After serving his active duty military obligation, he has been involved in general farming and cattle feeding for 42 years. Major crops include asparagus, bermuda, wheat and alfalfa.

During the past four years he has been downsizing his farming operation to devote more time and energy to various water issues, which are affecting Southern California. During the midsummer of 1997 he became a consultant to Western Farms and subsequently became Director of Ag Resources for U.S. Filter/Ag Group.

His civic responsibilities include serving as a board member of the California Department of Food and Agriculture, Valley Independent Bank, Imperial Stores, Imperial Valley Vegetable Growers Association and the Sweet Onion Commission. On the latter two boards he is a charter member. He is an active member of the Imperial County Farm Bureau and Past President of El Centro Chamber of Commerce and Past President of the El Centro Rotary Club and past board member of the Imperial Valley Stockmen's Club. He currently serves as a member of the University of California Riverside Agricultural Advisory Board.

He is firmly committed to economic betterment of the Imperial Valley and the benefits which might be derived by the pending water transfer. Since leaving U.S. Filter he is actively pursuing the establishment of the dairy industry in the Imperial Valley as well as sugar cane production as a source of ethanol. In order to best serve the relocation of dairies to the Imperial Valley, he has formed NuDairy One LLC, which provides dairy relocation services. His recently divested family-owned and operated RV park and golf course complex; Rio Bend RV Resort is the prime winter attraction of the snowbirds to the Imperial Valley.

Pauline Mazzetti McGuigan

Co-Owner
Blue Banner Citrus Packing Company

Pauline is a Riverside native, and received her Bachelor of Arts degree in History from the University of California at Riverside. She was an elementary school teacher for several years. The Blue Banner Packing Company of Riverside, has been owned by Pauline's family since 1948. Currently, she is a member of the California State Citrus Historic Park Board, the UCR Agricultural Advisory Council, the Junior League the Raincross Club, and the Orange Blossom Festival Board of Directors. Pauline is the past president of the National Charity League (1981-82), a member of the Riverside Community Hospital Board (1988-94), a Board Member for Riverside County Arts Foundation (1987, Chair in 1989-90), a member of the task force of City of Riverside's Year 2,000 study committee, a Riverside Municipal Museum docent for five years, and a member of the Mayor's Commission for Performing Arts (in 1987). She also participates in the Greater Chamber of Commerce "Leadership Riverside" program, and has acted as Chair of the "History and Culture Day" from 1985 to the present and was Chair of the Steering Committee from 1987-93. She is the recipient of several awards, including the Greater Riverside Chambers of Commerce Citizen of the Year Award and the UCR Alumni Community Service Award.

Mike Mellano, Sr.

Mellano & Co.

Mike Mellano was the Senior Vice President of Mellano & Company, a third generation family owned floral business, which has growing operations in San Luis Rey and Carlsbad, CA.  Initially established in Los Angeles in 1925, Mellano & Company has not only expanded its wholesale division in the Los Angeles Flower Market, but also has locations in Carlsbad, CA and Las Vegas, NV.  Mellano & Co. is a company of firsts. It was one of the first operations to implement integrated pest management and scouting, also to utilize irrigation systems to minimize runoff and water flow. Mellano & Co. was one of the first to utilize a pre-cooling system ¬which allows flowers to be shipped at their optimal level, and to recognize and develop the usage of smaller boxes for packaging flowers, allowing for improved quality control and handling.

Mike Sr. graduated from Cal Poly Pomona in 1960 with a Bachelor of Science in Horticulture, and from UC Riverside in 1969 with a Ph.D. in Plant Pathology. He is a member of many organizations and boards including Alpha Zeta Agricultural Honor Society and the American Phytopathological Society, and was past President of the California Floral Council.

Paul Murai

Owner
M&M Ranch

Born in Texas in 1946, Paul Murai is a third-generation Japanese-American farmer. During World War II his family was interned in Poston, Arizona. Following their release, and when Paul was 2 years old, the family moved to Santa Ana and started a farm growing row crops. As a child he worked on the farm. He attended California State University, Long Beach and is a graduate of the California Agricultural Leadership Education Program. He returned to his family farm in 1968 to work full time. During the next 25 years he helped transform the business into a 200-acre entity with growing, packing, cooling and shipping operations. In 1993 he started his own 100-acre farm in Irvine, where he raises strawberries and row crop vegetables.

He is a member of the California Strawberry Commission and has served for four years on the California Tomato Commission. His is also a past president of the Orange County Farm Bureau. His hobbies include golf and cars.

Mark Nickerson

Managing Partner
Prime Time International

Mark Nickerson was born in San Francisco, California and attended California State University at Fresno, graduating with a degree in agribusiness/agronomy in 1969. He has worked in agriculture in the Coachella Valley since 1972 and is a managing partner at Prime Time International, a Coachella-based grower/shipper of fresh produce.

Mr. Nickerson is currently serving on the board of directors of Western Growers Association. He is a member of Alpha Zeta honorary agriculture society and an alumnus of the California Agricultural Leadership program.

Mr. Nickerson has been a board member of the Boys and Girls Club of Coachella Valley since 1982, serving on the Founders Board and various committees within the club. He is a board member of the College of the Desert Foundation. He also serves on the board of directors of Hidden Harvest, a local distributor of fresh produce to the less fortunate in the valley.

Victor Pankey

Owner/Manager
Pankey Farms

A fourth generation farmer in California, born in the city of Orange in 1941, Vic attended schools in Tustin, received his A.B. degree from Pomona College in Mathematics, and completed his Masters of Science and Ph.D. degrees at the University of California at Davis in Agricultural Economics. Vic spent two years in the United States Army (intelligence) during the Vietnam War. He is the owner and manager of citrus and avocado producing orchards in San Diego County, and is a member of the Farm Bureau, the San Luis Rey River Planning Council, Irvine Valencia Growers Association, the San Luis Rey Municipal Water District Board, and an emeritus member of the UCSD Board of Overseers.

Jim Rietkerk

President
Kallisto Greenhouses, Inc.

Established in 1976, Kallisto Greenhouses and Kallisto Greenhouses, Inc. is a family-owned and -operated wholesale nursery business. About 35 people are employed at the 257,000-square-foot greenhouse facility in Fontana. The tropical foliage plants grown there are used primarily as indoor decorative accents and are sold in cities throughout California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Washington, and Calgary, Canada.

Jim received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1971 from the University of California, San Diego. He is presently serving on the Board of Directors of the California Farm Bureau Federation (CFBF) representing District 2 (Riverside, Inyo and San Bernardino counties) and is a member of the CFBF Finance Committee as well as a current member and past President of the San Bernardino County Farm Bureau. He was recently elected to the Grower Council for the Society of American Florists Association Region III, which includes thirteen Western States. He also serves as a Board member on the Mt. San Antonio College Horticultural Advisory Committee and is a sponsoring grower and founding Board Member of the Marketing Group of Southern California's Plant Tour Days.

Jim is a member of the San Diego Flower & Plant Growers Association, the Society of American Florists and the Ohio Florist Association.

John Snyder

Agricultural Commissioner
County of Riverside

John Snyder was appointed by the Riverside County Board of Supervisors as Agricultural Commissioner in 2003, succeeding the retiring James Wallace. Mr. Snyder was born in Cuba, N.Y., and moved with his family to Orange County when he was 2 years old. He is a graduate of Cal Poly, Pomona, and lives in Riverside.

One of his greatest concerns is making sure agriculture remains competitive and viable within Riverside County's vision for the future. In a world where exotic diseases threaten wine grapes, citrus crops and poultry, government must regulate industries and sometimes restrict the movement of certain high-risk commodities, he has said.

Through community outreach, he promotes locally grown produce and develops more certified farmers' markets. The Riverside County Integrated Project - a three-pronged plan that covers transportation, habitat conservation and land-use planning - provides for continuing agricultural uses as the county develops. In his role as an advocate, Snyder identifies issues and maintains contact with legislators to keep the agricultural agenda fresh in their minds. The issues include pesticide use, the availability of labor and farmers' access to affordable utilities.

Vladimer G. Tudor

Vice President, Operations
Tudor Ranch, Inc.

Vladimer (Vlady) Tudor graduated from the University of Southern California with a major in Business Finance in 1986. He immediately returned to Tudor Ranch, Inc., the family farm upon which he had been working on all weekends, vacations, and holidays since he was 9 years old.

Vlady worked under his father and uncle until his father's death in 1996, after which he became the head of labor operations. Currently, Vlady and his uncle are responsible for the labor and farming operations for over 1,300 acres of table grapes and citrus and a 45,000 square foot cold storage facility located in Mecca in the Coachella Valley. Under Vlady's supervision, Tudor Ranch, Inc., is a cooperator involved in the UC Riverside vine mealy bug project headed by Dan Gonzalez and the lemon/Dormex research headed by Carol Lovatt.

Vlady is the President of the Desert Grape Co-op, the Secretary for the Desert Grape Growers League of California, and an alternate for the Desert Grape Administrative Committee.

John C. Veysey

Chair
John C. Veysey Farms, Inc.

John Veysey has farmed in the Imperial Valley for more than twenty years. His general farming and produce commitments are varied, and include management/ownership of a produce cooling and shipping plant. He has served as commissioner of the California Wheat Commission and the California Iceberg Lettuce Commission. He has chaired various agricultural research committees in the USDA and in the University of California system, including acting as Chair of the Imperial/Palo Verde valleys Grower Advisory Committee for the UCR Institute of Desert Agriculture. John has extensive working knowledge of water policy problems, and pest and pesticide issues plaguing agricultural and metropolitan communities.

Bob L. Vice

President/Owner
B.L.V. Agribusiness Consultants

Bob Vice of Fallbrook, San Diego County, formed B.L.V. Agribusiness Consultants in January of 1998. The firm has clients in agriculture, banking, public broadcasting and related businesses. Bob retired as President of the California Farm Bureau in December of 1997, after serving seven and a half years as Vice President and eight and a half years as President. The Farm Bureau is the largest general farm organization in California. He was elected to the American Farm Bureau Federation board of directors in 1994 and also named to the six member AFBF executive committee. Bob also served as chairman of the AFBF international trade committee. Bob is the current President of the Washington D.C. based National Council of Agricultural Employers.

Born in Manitou, Oklahoma, in 1939, Bob is a former president of the San Diego County Farm Bureau, and is a member of the California Association of Citrus Nurserymen and the California Avocado Society. He is also a member of the President's Cabinet, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, and the Agricultural Advisory Council at the University of California, Riverside. Governor George Deukmejian appointed him director of the 22nd Agricultural District Fair board (Del Mar) in 1984. In 1987, Deukmejian appointed Bob to the Board of Directors of the State Race Track Leasing Commission. Governor Pete Wilson reappointed him to both positions in 1992 and 1996. He is a member of the Advisory Council on Small Business and Agriculture of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. In 1984, Bob was honored as the San Diego Farmer of the Year. He participated in a number of trade delegations abroad on behalf of American agriculture and has led trade missions to over forty countries in Europe, Asia, the former Soviet Union, and South America. Bob is active in community and church activities.

Currently, Bob grows avocados in Fallbrook and Valley Center.

Noel "Joe" P. Walker Jr.

Obra Verde Growers

Joe and his wife, Julie Walker, started Obra Verde Growers in 1975. Located in Valley Center in northern San Diego County, the Walkers grow and ship fresh cut flowers. Over the past 15 years, Obra Verde has expanded its operation to include more than 50 varieties of mostly South African and Australian filler flowers and greens. The Walkers also operate a wholesale nursery that offers many of the varieties in plant form. Introducing new varieties to the market on a yearly basis, Obra Verde not only plants and cuts from its personally developed fields, but also buys quality cut flowers from plant customers as well.

Joe earned his bachelor of science degree from San Diego State University, with a major in Anthropology and a minor in Archaeology. Before he started Obra Verde, Joe worked as a supervising Archeologist for the Arizona State Museum in Tucson. He is a member of several professional organizations, including the Society of American Florists, the Wholesale Florists and Florist Suppliers Association and the California Association of Flower Growers and Shippers. He is also a Board Member of the California Cut Flower Commission.

William Witman

Partner
Witman Ranch, Inc.

Bill Witman is a native of San Diego County, having begun life at Rancho Santa Margarita (now Camp Pendleton) in 1928. He served three years in the Army during the Korean War, and upon his discharge, began farming. Gradually the ranch acreage has grown to its present 1,000 acres. Most of the land is in the San Pasqual Valley and is leased from the city of San Diego.

Bill's family operates a diversified farm in the inland San Diego County near Escondido and has approximately 650 acres of various citrus fruits and avocados, and 350 acres of row crops, mainly seasonal vegetables produced and grown for local consumption.

For the major part of his professional life, Bill has maintained a close relationship with the University of California to augment his agricultural education and to benefit his ranch. He is a member of the San Diego County Farm Bureau Board, and the Blue Banner District Exchange.

Charles J. Wolk

Owner
The Bejoca Company

Charley Wolk is the owner of the Bejoca Company, a farm and landscape management firm in Fallbrook, California, established in 1977. He has served four terms as Independent Commissioner for District 2 for the California Avocado Commission and Chairman of the Board, 1994-1995. He also served as president of the San Diego County Farm Bureau and the California Fuyu Growers Association, and is a member of the American Society of Agricultural Engineers. Charley has been very active in the greater San Diego community, including being a member of the Private Industry Council (appointed by Supervisor John McDonald), a member of the Regional Water Control Board, Region 9 (1996 appointment by Governor Wilson), and a member of the Strategic Trade Alliance of the Region of San Diego (appointed by Mayor Susan Golding).

Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Charley attended Marquette University where he earned his bachelor of Mechanical Engineering, which he followed with a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from George Washington University. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1959 to 1980, retiring with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. In 1988, he was awarded the San Diego County Farmer of the Year award presented by the San Diego Union/Tribune and sponsored by the County Farm Bureau, the Escondido Chamber of Commerce, and area Kiwanis. He has been listed in Who's Who in California since 1993 and, in 1993, was given the Fallbrook Chamber of Commerce Distinguished Citizen Award.

Michael Wootton

Vice President Corporate Relations
Sunkist Growers, Inc. 

Established and directed Sunkist Growers office of federal government affairs in Washington, D.C. in 1997 and relocated to Sunkist’s headquarters in Sherman Oaks, California to serve as Vice President for Corporate Relations.

Prior to working for Sunkist, served on the congressional staffs in California and Washington for four Republican Members of Congress and two Republican U.S. Senators, all from California, over a period of 24 years; (Chief-of-Staff/Administrative Assistant for Senator John Seymour 1991-93; California State Director for Sen. Pete Wilson 1986-91; Chief-of-Staff for Reps. Elton Gallegly (1994-97), Robert J. Lagomarsino (1974-81; 1983-86), Michael Huffington, 1993; Legislative Assistant and District Director for Rep. Charles M. Teague 1971-74.)

Served as District Director of the International Trade Administration, U.S. and Foreign Commercial Services, U.S. Department of Commerce, San Diego 1981-83.

Legislative Director for the Washington, D.C. law firm of McDermott, Will and Emery (1993-1994) specialized in legislative and regulatory issues affecting agricultural clients including avocados, strawberries, kiwi, peaches, potatoes, Florida Fruit and Vegetable Assn., Minor Crop Farmer Alliance and the Crop Protection Coalition involved in availability of needed crop protection tools.

 Currently serves on Board of Directors of: United Fresh Produce Association, Agriculture Council of California, California Citrus Quality Council, Coalition to Support U.S. Agricultural Exports (Chairman), Chairman Emeritus of the Government Affairs Committee of the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives, International Trade Advisory Committees of United Fresh Produce Assn. and the California Farm Bureau Federation, Member of Safeguarding Alliance for implementation of the National Plant Board Report on SPS reforms in federal policy at USDA.. Serve as Industry Representative on the USDA/USTR Agricultural Technical Advisory Committee for Trade, (ATAC) for fruit and vegetables (1999 – present).

Education: Graduate of the University of San Francisco with B.A. degree in Government (1968) and Masters program graduate studies in International Relations (1969-71);

Honorable Discharge, Captain, U.S. Army Signal Corps

Duane Young

W.D. Young & Sons

 Duane Young is a partner in W.D. Young & Sons, a family business he started in 1977 with his father Dale and his brothers Darl and Greg. Located in Indio, the company’s operations include a citrus and date packing plant, retail and wholesale nursery, a dirt moving division, a landscape maintenance company, and the famous Shields Date Gardens. In the farming operations, they grow citrus, mangos, jojoba bean, grapes, early stone fruit, alfalfa hay, cattle, ornamental palms, and date palms both for the fruit and to sell to the landscape industry. They have supplied and/or planted a variety of palms in far away places such as United Arab Emirates, Japan, the Carribean Islands, as well as the original palms planted in the World Trade Center and Las Vegas.

Duane serves on several boards, including local schools and his church, and is an officer with AWARE (an organization to preserve agricultural water rights). Additionally, he serves on local chapters of the California Farm Bureau, is a member of Western Growers, several county planning task forces, and is a governor appointed member of the Alluvial Fan Task Force. He graduated from Coachella Valley High School, received an AA degree at College of the Desert, a BA degree in Biological Sciences at UC Santa Barbara, and holds elementary and secondary teaching credentials from Point Loma University. Duane taught 9th grade physical science curriculum in Moore, Oklahoma for two years before returning to California to fulfill a promise to his father; eventually obtaining his General Engineering contractors license and later a landscape contractors license in both California and Nevada.

Duane is married to his high school sweetheart, Paulette, and has six children (five girls and one boy) and six grandchildren. His faith is central to his life and business.