Sonoma County teachers are invited to attend this yearly event, which focuses on all aspects of local agriculture. Teachers are asked to step out of their comfort zone and explore what’s really going on down on the farm. While goat milking and digging fence posts are not a part of the curriculum, getting to know the issues farmers have to deal with and how farms work is certainly on the agenda. The workshop includes influential keynote speakers and trips to area farms and ranches. Lunch is provided each day. In addition to providing an insider’s view of Sonoma County agriculture, the seminar offers one unit of continuing education credit from Sonoma State University.

Sonoma County Farm Bureau Recruits 21 Teachers for Ag Boot Camp 2010
Two-Day Program Gives Educators an Insider’s Look at Agriculture.
(Photgraphs by Jacki Strand)

Educators participating in Sonoma County Farm Bureau’s Ag Boot Camp learned the challenges of growing top-tier wine grapes, the diligence of honey bees and other valuable agriculture lessons during a two-day crash course on the county’s farms and ranches.

“Your program is an enjoyable way of learning about agriculture, both the good points and the challenges that farmers face. I’m going to weave learning about local agriculture into our curriculum in order to foster an understanding and appreciation for a key part of our culture,” said Mary Pat McCann, a teacher and school garden coordinator at Apple Blossom School in Sebastopol.

“Participating in Ag Boot Camp has increased my feeling of connectedness to Sonoma County,” said Judy Ludovise, who oversees the 400 volunteers in the Sonoma County 4-H program.

Farm Bureau leaders welcomed the positive response from educators who came to faceto- face with leading farmers like Steve Dutton of Dutton Ranches and Kelley Parsons, who grows hydroponic tomatoes in a green house. They were inspired by the dedication of smallscale farmers JoAnn and Rick Wallenstein, who own the Lavender Bee Farm in Petaluma, and 4-H club members Brooke Parsons, Ryan Beretta and Patrick Hinde during a tour of the Sonoma-Marin Fair in Petaluma.

The group also visited Redwood Hill Creamery in Sebastopol and County Line Harvest Farm in Petaluma.

Ag Boot Camp, formerly known as Summer Ag Seminar, is designed to provide teachers with an insider’s view of agriculture and the issues facing Sonoma County farmers. The aim is to open eyes and separate fact from fiction when it comes to agriculture and its impact on the environment.

The seminar’s approach is simple and straightforward: let farmers and ranchers tell their stories, sharing the joys and challenges of producing crops and livestock in a fast-growing county where commuters outnumber cows. Ranchers talked about the vagary of Mother Nature and the ups-and-downs of the markets in producing everything from honey to wine grapes and organic veggies to specialty mushrooms.

This year 21 educators from schools throughout Sonoma County participated in Ag Boot Camp, held June 23-24. The seminar’s mission is to educate the educators about Sonoma County’s most important and visible industry by showing them the diversity of the farms, ranches, orchards and vineyards that propel the county’s $3 billion farm economy.

The program kicked off with a presentation by Lisa Larsen of the Dairy Council of California, who shared the hands-on nutrition education programs the Council offers teachers. She provided an overview of the nutrition education resources available to teachers.

Lisa Preschel, director of the school garden program at the Occidental Arts and Ecology Center, was the featured speaker on the second morning of Ag Boot Camp. Lisa presented resource information about school gardens and offered advice on how teachers can get started with a school garden.

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