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Ag Expo information flyer
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Ag Expo agenda highlights sustainability
Members save $50
The Fifth Annual Sustainable Ag Expo will be held on November 16 and 17 at the Embassy Suites in San Luis Obispo. Attendee registration is now open; all members of the Monterey County Farm Bureau receive $50 savings on registration fees for being a member of a partner organization. For more information visit www.sustainableagexpo.org or call 805.369.2288.
Sustainability is highlighted in the agenda for the November Ag Expo, which includes:
Monday, November 16:
8:00 - 8:30 Registration
8:30 - 10:30 Welcome Remarks and Laws & Regulations: Opening Remarks • Kris O’Connor, Executive Director, Central Coast Vineyard Team; Challenges and Opportunities for California Ag in the Evolving Food System • A.G. Kawamura, Secretary, California Department of Food and Agriculture; California Labor Law Update • George Daniels, Executive Vice President, Farm Employers Labor Service; Hazardous Communications and Sulfer Dioxide Licensing • Janice Campbell, Deputy Ag Commissioner, San Luis Obispo Department of Agriculture;
10:30 - 11:00 Trade Show
11:00 - 12:30 Remembering the Other Sides of Sustainability: Social Equity and Economics: Moderator • David Gates, Vice President of Vineyard Operations, Ridge Vineyards, Innovative Approaches to Social Sustainability • Walt Platkus, President, Duneworks, LLC; Workers Compensation: Understanding Claims, the Process, and Ways to Minimize Expense • Cathy Child, CRM PHR, Workers Compensation Claims Analyst, Western Growers Insurance Services
12:30 - 1:30 Lunch in the Atrium Sponsored by California Organic Fertilizers
1:30 - 3:00 Afternoon Breakout Seminars: Ag Preservation Strategies: Tools for Long Term Viability, Moderator• Kevin Kester, Kester Ranch and Bear Valley Vineyards, Erin Davis, Director of Communications, California Rangeland Trust, Andrea MacKensie, Former Executive Director, Sonoma County Ag Preservation and Open Space District; Sustainability in Practice (SIP™) Vineyard Certification: Grower and Winery Roundtable, Moderator • Kris O’Connor, Executive Director, Central Coast Vineyard Team, Amy Freeman, Winemaker and Vineyard Manager, Saucelito Canyon Vineyards and Winery, John Niven, Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Niven Family Wines, Matt Merrill, General Manager, Pomar Junction Vineyards and Winery, Daryl Salm, Vineyard Manger, Paraiso Vineyards; Succession Planning for America’s Agricultural Community, Moderator • George Work, Work Ranch (Third generation rancher with ranch in transition to fourth and fifth generations), Kevin Spafford, Certified Financial Planner, Founder, Legacy By Design;
3:00 - 3:30 Trade Show
3:30 - 5:00 Growers’ Perspectives on Various Farming Philosophies: Technology, Certification, and Experiences: Moderator • Hunter Francis, Program Associate, Sustainable Agriculture Resource Consortium; Sustainable Farming • Blair Richardson, President, FreshSense, Representative on Behalf of SunWest Fruit Company; Organic Farming • Neil Collins, Executive Winemaker and Vineyard Manager, Tablas Creek Winery; Biodynamic Farming • Gena Nonini, Marian Farms;
5:00 - 7:00 Exhibitors’ Showcase: A Wine and Hors d’oeuvres Reception
Tuesday, November 17th
8:00 - 8:30 Registration and Continental Breakfast
8:30 - 10:00 Water Issues and Regulations, Moderator • Lowell Zelinski, President, Precision Ag, Inc.; Irrigation Systems Performance: Central Coast Trends and Opportunities to Save Money and Water • Charles Burt Ph.D., Chairman, Irrigation Training and Research Center; Water Quality in Agricultural Watersheds of the Central Coast: Cooperative Monitoring Program Results • Sarah Greene, Technical Program Manager, Central Coast Water Quality Preservation, Inc.; Water Quality Regulations and the New Ag Waiver • Alison Jones, Environmental Research Associate, Regional Water Resources Control Board;
10:00 - 10:30 Trade Show
10:30 - 12:00 Morning Breakout Seminars: Bridging the Gap: Community and Media Relations, Moderator • George Donati, General Manager, Pacific Vineyard Company; Farming with the Community: Right to Farm, Ag/Urban Buffers, and Community Programs • Bob Lilley, Ag Commissioner, San Luis Obispo County Department of Agriculture; Getting your Message Out Through Media • Richard Gearhart, Director, Brock Center for Agricultural Communications, Cal Poly; Energy and Agriculture; Energy Efficiency Opportunities in Agriculture Production and Processing • Jeremy Howard, Senior Project Manager, Pacific Gas and Electric Company; Farming in the Carboniferous Age • John Garn, Consultant, California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance; Spanish Breakout: Free Session (limit two per company) Space is Limited: Understanding the Three E’s of Sustainability: Environmental Stewardship, Social Equity, and Economic Viability • Walt Platkus, President, Duneworks, LLC; We All Live Downstream: Irrigate to Avoid Water Losses and Protect the Environment • Monica Barricarte, E.S., Agricultural Regulatory Program Pajaro River and Elkhorn Slough, Watersheds Lead Staff, RWQCB;
12:00 - 1:30 Lunch (on your own)
1:30 - 3:00 Afternoon Breakout Seminars; Viticulture; Moderator • Paul Crout, CCA, PCA, Crop Advisor, Farm Supply Company; Reducing Vineyard Water Use Under Limited Availability: Results of a Sonoma County Demonstration Project • Mark Greenspan, Ph.D., Viticulture Consultant, Advanced Viticulture, LLC; Dry Farming at Turley Wine Cellars: Success, Challenges, and Opportunities • Brennan Stover, Vineyard Manager, Turley Wine Cellars; Berry Sensory and Harvest Decisions: The Missing Link • Nick Dokoozlian, Ph.D., Viticulture, Chemistry and Enology, E&J Gallo Vineyards; Orchards and Olives: Olive Fruit Fly: UC IPM Guidelines • Hannah Nadel, Associate Specialist, Entomology, UC Riverside and UC Kearny Ag Center; Colony Collapse Disorder • Scott Jeffreys, Beekeeping Lecturer, Deptartment of Horticulture and Crop Science, Cal Poly; Light Brown Apple Moth: Coastal Update • Mary Bianchi, Horticulture Advisor, UC Cooperative Extension; Row Crops: Moderator • Richard Quandt, Executive Director, Grower and Shipper Vegetable Association; The Effects of Vegetative Treatment Systems to Improve Tailwate Quality • John W. Hunt, Ph.D., Department of Environmental Toxicology, UC Davis; Practical Experience in Reducing Irrigated Runoff, Sedimentation, and Pesticide Use on Strawberries • Dave Peck, General Manager, Manzanita Berry Farms;
3:00 - 4:30 Sustainability Initiatives in the Marketplace: How Going Green has Changed the Rules of Business • Gail Kirby, Ph.D., Professor, Marketing Department, Santa Clara University; Beyond BMPs: How the Marketplace is Measuring Sustainability • Daniel Sonke, D.P.M., Senior Scientist, SureHarvest; Representative, Stewardship Index for Specialty Crops;
4:30 - 4:45 Closing Remarks
Thursday, October 01, 2009 01:19:37 PM
