California Ag Network

Tag: Fresno State

  • Peach Blossom Festival Brings 5,000 Youth To Fresno State Campus

    Fresno, Calif., (March 14, 2018) – About 5,000 children representing nearly 145 elementary schools from the San Joaquin Valley will participate in the 60th annual Peach Blossom Festival of Oral Interpretation on Thursday and Friday, March 8 and 9, in various locations on the Fresno State campus.

    The festival, which attracts schools from Livingston to Delano, was created to help young people gain knowledge and appreciation of literature through oral interpretation and performance. The event also gives children an opportunity to visit a University campus.

    The festival begins at 9:30 a.m. Thursday and at 10 a.m. Friday. Check-in will be held in the lobby of the John Wright Theatre in the Speech Arts building (only teachers can check in their students). A full schedule and a list of participating schools is available on the Peach Blossom Festival website.

    The event is hosted by the Department of Communication in the College of Arts and Humanities at Fresno State.

    Parking is $3 for daily permits, available at dispensers located at parking lot entrances. Permits are valid in any green parking lot.

    For more information, contact Marcie Lierly, festival director, at 559.278.4419 or mlierly@csufresno.edu or visit www.peachblossomfestival.com.

     

  • Fresno State Student Wins 2018 Collegiate Discussion Meet

    Tim Traux of Fresno State

    Fresno, Calif., (February 27, 2018) – This past weekend, American Farm Bureau Federation’s Young Farmers & Ranchers held their 2018 Leadership Conference in Reno, NV. Among the many activities hosted was the Collegiate Discussion Meet, held annually at the conference. Representing California in the competition was Tim Traux of Fresno State, who was able to hold off competitors in the final round from Alabama, Florida and Michigan to become the 2018 Collegiate Discussion Meet National Winner. The final round topic was “With a growing demand for US farm products abroad, how can agriculture overcome public skepticism of foreign trade to negotiate new trade agreements and open new world markets?” Tim becomes the third Fresno State student in six years to win the national meet.

    The Collegiate Discussion Meet is a competitive event that stimulates a committee meeting where discussion and active participation are expected from each participant. This competition is evaluated on an exchange of ideas and information on a pre-determined topic. Participants build basic discussion skills, develop a keen understanding of important agricultural issues and explore how groups can pool knowledge to reach consensus and solve problems.

  • Recent Fresno State Alumni Creates Meat Science Scholarship Endowment

    Fresno, Calif., (February 23, 2018) – Six recent Fresno State graduates have started the Ag One Meat Science Laboratory Scholarship Endowment to support students who work in the unit and produce an array of popular meat products sold at the Rue and Gwen Gibson Farm Market.

    The former meats lab student employees graduated in 2013 or later and pledged a combined $25,000 to the Ag One Foundation.

    Four of the donors — Macc Rigdon, Chad Bower, Chance Reeder and John Woodcock — earned bachelor’s degrees in meat technology. Josh Hasty earned a master’s degree in meat sciences, and Kyle Mendes earned a bachelor’s in agricultural education.

    Bower, Hasty and Reeder are also former managers of the student-run facility, and five of the alumni were also part of the campus meat science judging team.

    “‘To whom much is given, much is expected’ is a quote that has rung loud in my ears since the first time I heard my ag teacher say it,” Hasty said. “In the Fresno State meat lab, we were given more than we could ever give back. The lessons that we learned and the friends that became family continue to shape us long after graduation. We loved our time working there and simply wanted to help another group of kids experience what we did. Plus, as Anne Frank put it, ‘No one ever went poor by giving.’”

    Their Fresno State educations have encouraged Bower and Rigdon to pursue doctoral degrees at the University of Nebraska and the University of Georgia, respectively. Hasty received his doctoral degree from Colorado State in 2017. Mendes is currently working on his master’s degree at the University of Florida.

    Hasty is a senior food scientist at Cargill in Wichita, Kansas. Reeder is a plant superintendent for the Yosemite Meat Company in Modesto. Woodcock is a food microbiology technician for Food Safety Net Services in Fresno.

    The Fresno State meat science laboratory is a full-service, USDA-inspected meat processing facility that employs seven Fresno State students and three volunteers. Faculty member Dr. John Henson serves as the unit adviser and teaches classes with Dr. Amanda McKeith that cover animal selection, food safety, meat evaluation, muscle biology production systems, technology and equipment.

    The campus meat lab is the nation’s only university meat lab that specializes in Italian dry products such as a red wine and garlic salami and a spicy Calabrese salami. Students currently develop and market 30 different varieties of pork, lamb and beef sausages, jerky and snack sticks, and add new products regularly.

    Fresno State meat products are sold on campus at Bulldog Stadium and Save Mart Center, as well as China Peak, Cravings Wood Grill, Michelangelo’s Italian Pizzeria and Rocket Dog restaurants.

    “As an alumnus and former University meat lab employee, I find the passion, dedication and generosity of these six young people both humbling and inspiring,” Henson said. “It is satisfying to know that their time at Fresno State has played a part in fostering a love of hands-on education that will be shared by other students who take equally great pride in producing high-quality products for our community. I can think of no greater compliment as an educator than helping develop young people with this type of character, and I am very proud of the professionals that they have become.”

    The campus meat science laboratory is one of 22 student-managed units that are part of the 1,000-acrea University Agricultural Laboratory.

    Established in 1979, Ag One has raised more than $19.5 million to benefit, promote and support the Jordan College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology and its programs. In that span, more than 3,700 students have received more than $2.7 million in scholarships and grants. In the 2017-18 academic year, Ag One will provide nearly $600,000 to deserving students and programs.

    To discuss potential partnership opportunities, contact Alcidia Freitas Gomes at alcidia@csufresno.edu or 559.278.4266.

     

     

  • Mechanized Agriculture Lab Renovations Made Possible by Moller Family Gift

    Fresno, Calif., (November 14, 2017) – The Jordan College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology at Fresno State showcased initial renovations to its mechanized agriculture laboratory on Tuesday, Nov. 14 that were made possible by a $250,000 gift by Dr. James Moller and his wife, Carol Moller.

    The event was attended by University President Joseph I. Castro, Jordan College Dean Sandra Witte, faculty, staff, students, alumni of the mechanized agriculture program and James Moller.

    The donation was made in memory of Moller’s father, Leonard Moller, who owned and operated the Acme Machine Shop in Fresno until 1973. The shop was originally started by Herman Moller in the 1920s, and he later co-owned it with his son, Leonard.

    James Moller, a University of Minnesota professor emeritus of pediatrics and medicine, grew up in Fresno near the original Fresno State campus. On a visit in September 2016, he saw the laboratory’s traditional but outdated welding and mechanical equipment during a tour led by mechanized agriculture faculty member Ken Heupel.

    “Educational institutions, especially state universities and colleges, have pressing financial concerns, and Ken quietly expressed the program’s obvious needs,” Moller said. “The surroundings reminded me so much of my father’s machine shop that I could visualize him there, and it really touched me. Even though I moved away 60 years ago, I wanted to express my appreciation for the educational opportunities that I was afforded as a third-generation Fresnan while helping to create better opportunities for future students, many of whom are training to be educators and key members of the Central Valley ag industry.”

    The gift has already provided for a revamped welding area this fall with new multi-processing booths, racks, gas line manifolds, work tables, a computer numerical control (CNC) plasma cutting table and a freshly-painted interior.

    Future planned improvements will include new tungsten inert gas (TIG) welders, a hydraulic shear, hydraulic brake, drill press, iron worker, band saw and chop saw equipment, engine stands and metal material storage units.

    The mechanized agriculture program in the Plant Science Department is overseen by John Williams, a 2008 Fresno State agricultural education graduate and former student of Heupel’s. Williams has served as a part-time faculty member since January 2015, and he was elevated to full-time faculty after Heupel’s retirement in August.

    Heupel had directed the program since 1997, and his 51-year vocational teaching career also included 25 years at Merced College and six years at Manteca High School.

    “Thanks to Ken’s hard work and vision, our curriculum is essential in preparing students to safely operate and maintain a wide variety of modern production agriculture equipment,” Williams said. “Students from ag education, plant science, viticulture, industrial technology, ag business and our campus farm develop skills from the hands-on labs that will be essential for the rest of their careers.”

    Fresno State is the only California State University campus that offers a mechanized agriculture emphasis for agriculture education majors. Its curriculum includes six classes in small gas and diesel engines, power equipment safety, advanced farm machinery, tractor topics, mechanized agriculture skills and basic agricultural machinery. A permanent fabrication class is also planned so students will get experience building and designing equipment and projects.

    The laboratory also provides students with applied learning experience by helping conduct Future Farmers of America high school state judging contests in farm power and machinery, small gas engines and mechanized agriculture.

    To discuss potential partnership opportunities to fund further research or academic programs, contact Alcidia Freitas Gomes at alcidia@csufresno.edu or 559.278.4266.

  • Alumnus Montgomery Returns As New Fresno State Winemaker

    Fresno, Calif., (August 31, 2017) – Thomas Montgomery, an award-winning winemaker and Fresno State alumnus, is the Fresno State Winery’s new winemaker.

    The Sanger native, who honed a reputation for award-winning Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Bordeaux varieties as a winemaker for well-known wineries in Napa Valley and Sonoma Valley, began his Fresno State assignment July 31. His career began at E&J Gallo Winery in Fresno and at United Vintners in Reedley upon graduation from Fresno State in 1979.

    “Fresno State offers a unique opportunity to teach students how to create world-class wines in a place that’s near and dear to me,” said Montgomery.  “I feel very fortunate to be able to return to the Central Valley and give back to the program that first fostered my love for the profession. Fresno State was a national leader in the field of enology when I was a student, and its winery facilities make it an even better training ground for students to produce an outstanding assortment of wines. I look forward to partnering with valley producers and growers to help train our future winemakers to be the best.”

    Montgomery most recently served as the winemaker at Vine Cliff Winery in Napa and as the director of winemaking at Papagni Wines in Madera since 2015. This past year at international wine competitions, his 2014 Monte Smith Cabernet Sauvignon won a San Francisco Chronicle double gold medal, and the 2014 Barbera was a Wine Enthusiast magazine editor’s choice recipient.

    He served the previous 20 years as a winemaker at B.R. Cohn Winery, Conn Creek Winery and Villa Mt. Eden Winery where he produced 25 to 30 wines annually that ranged from small lots to 70,000 cases. He managed all aspects of processing from crush through bottling, product development, staff, sales support, events, and marketing and promotion. His experience also includes work with growers and grapes from California’s more than 107 recognized wine-growing regions, otherwise known as appellations.

    Earlier in his career, Montgomery served as an associate winemaker at Cosentino Winery and a winemaker and vineyard manager at Mission View Vineyards in Paso Robles.

    “Tom’s vast winemaking experience and knowledge is an excellent fit for our enology program and will enable Fresno State to build upon its reputation of training the best winemakers for today’s global wine industry,” said Sandra Witte, dean of the Jordan College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology at Fresno State.  “The Fresno State Winery also looks forward to expanding grower and industry partnerships under his leadership.”

    Montgomery graduated with a bachelor’s degree in enology and viticulture and studied under the department’s legendary founder, Vincent E. Petrucci. Montgomery also conducted undergraduate research in spore formation and germination of Botrytis Cinerea, a wine grape fungus, and its initiation of bunch rot complex.

    His father, Richard Montgomery, was a Fresno State geography department chairperson and faculty member from 1966 to 1986.

    Tom Montgomery is currently a master’s in business administration candidate at Humboldt State with a thesis in progress on qualitative problems in contracting grape and bulk wine sales in the California wine industry.

    He replaces Matt Brain who served as the campus winemaker and campus lecturer since July 2015.

    Fresno State houses the nation’s first commercial winery on a university campus. Founded in 1997, it has won more than 600 wine competition honors.

    For more information about the Fresno State Winery, visit www.fresnostatewinery.com.

     

     

  • Plant Science Students Receive National Agronomy Awards

    Fresno, Calif., (August 8, 2017) – Fresno State senior Nancy Valdez and junior Georgina Reyes Solorio were honored as Greenfield Scholars by the American Society of Agronomy and the International Certified Crop Adviser program.

    The plant science students were among four selected nationally based on their grade point averages, experience and awards, career goals and educational and certification plans to become crop advisers or professional agronomists.

    Recipients will be honored at the associations’ annual conference Oct. 22 to 25 in Tampa, Florida, that will include 7,000 scientists, professionals, educators and students, and will be matched with Certified Crop Adviser mentors to develop leadership skills.

    Both students are founding members of the Fresno State soil judging team that advanced to the national competition the past two years.

    Reyes Solorio (of Livingston) finished second in the regional soil judging competition in February and led the six-member Fresno State team. The former plant science club president also serves as a vice president for the California Women for Agriculture area chapter, agricultural ambassador for the Jordan College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology and as a FFA field day and state conference committee member. She has worked for SynTech Research and assists with agricultural research and product development, field trials, crop and soil sampling and crop and pest evaluation.

    Valdez (of Wasco) has gained practical experience through internships with Wonderful Citrus and Grapery Inc. She also assists in campus research on oomycete water molds found in irrigation water that have damaging effects on pistachio seedlings. She has helped organize student career fairs and dinners, assisted with the state FFA field day judging competition and worked with the Fresno Chaffee Zoo, 4-H, FFA and plant science club community education programs.

    Plant science senior Vivian Maier (of Belmont) was one of 22 ASA Golden Scholar honorees chosen nationally based on her contributions to agronomy through education, service and research. She will also attend the ASA national conference in October.

    In February she was one of 28 college students selected to attend the USDA Outlook Forum in Arlington, Virginia, as part of its student diversity program and met with federal and state, agency and industry leaders. She serves as legislative director of the California Women for Agriculture area chapter and president of the campus plant science club. This summer she is conducting research on hydroponics and will make a research presentation at the University of Jonestown in Guyana.

    Fresno State students have previously received four Greenfield Scholar honors: Sarah Parry in 2015 and Aldo Garcia, Yie Wu and May Nhia Yang in 2016 plus two Golden Opportunity Scholar awards in 2015 (Sarah Parry and Julie Pedraza).

    For more information on the American Science of Agronomy and its college student awards, visit www.agronomy.org/awards/view.

     

  • Borba Family Salute Raises $850,000 For Fresno State Ag Students, Programs

    Fresno, Calif., (August 7, 2017) – The family was also presented with a painting of Tina and her late husband Ross Borba Sr. that was created by David Hembree, Fresno State director of development for student affairs and enrollment management.

    “The Jordan College is so fortunate to have the Borba family’s commitment to supporting the next generation of agriculture industry and community leaders,” Witte said. “It was such a wonderful evening for such a deserving family.”

    Borba Farms, Inc. was established in 1976, but its Central Valley roots date back to the early 1900s when A.J. Borba started a family dairy near Hardwick with 40 cows and 120 acres, then moved it to Riverdale in the 1940s. Today’s 9,000-acre operation grows almonds, tomatoes, garlic, melons, lettuce, wheat and cotton and the Rancho Vista del Rio horse ranch near Fresno.

    Since 1987, the Community Salute has honored extraordinary individuals for their devoted service to California agriculture as well as their unwavering commitment to the community.

    Past honorees include Antonio “Tony” Campos (2015), John P. “Phil” Larson (2014), Stewart Resnick (2012), Ed Baloian (2010), Fred R. Ruiz (2007), Jack Woolf (2006), Virgil E. Rasmussen (2005), Fernando C. “Fred” Machado (2003), Bill Jones (2003), Sidney B. “Sid” Cox (2001), Rodger B. Jensen (1999), Vernon Conrad (1996), Vince Petrucci (1994), Harry Kubo (1991), Dick Markarian (1990), Joe Souza (1988) and Fred Rau (1987).

    The Ag One Foundation, which started in 1979, encompasses more than 100 named funds totaling more than $19.5 million and will provide nearly $600,000 to deserving students and programs in 2017-18.

     

  • Fresno State Horticulture Nursery to host Iris Society sale Aug. 12

    Fresno, Calif., (August 2, 2017) – The Fresno Iris Society and Fresno State Horticulture Nursery will host its annual rhizome plant fundraiser from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday, Aug. 12, at the campus Horticulture Nursery (3150 E. Barstow Ave.). The Fresno Iris Society’s largest fundraiser of the year will feature hundreds of varieties of plants, including reblooming iris and other unique varieties. Rhizomes will be available for a donation of $3 each and grab bags with a collection of colors and sizes are $5. Iris Society members will host dividing, planting and growing workshops and answer plant and gardening questions. The sale benefits the non-profit organization’s efforts to promote area interest in irises. Attendees can also join the club that meets monthly for an annual cost of $10 for individuals, $15 for families and $5 for youth 15 and under. Fresno State horticulture staff and students will also sell an array of house and landscape plants and fruit trees. Also on display will be the John Weiler Memorial Garden that has a growing collection of drought-tolerant perennials and hybrid plants. The garden honors the memory of Weiler, a Fresno State botany and plant science professor from 1962 to 1989 and  founder of the Fresno Iris Society in 1967. He later became president of the Reblooming Iris Society. He began hybridizing reblooming iris in 1970 and developed more than 90 varieties of new colors and vigors before he died in 2011. INFO: Calliope Correia at 559.278.2952 or ccorreia@csufresno.edu, or visit www.fresnoirissociety.org.

     

  • Fresno State Students Tour Agriculture Facilities In Azores

    Fresno, Calif., (June 9, 2017) – Twelve Jordan College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology sstudents returned recently from a study abroad trip to the Azorean islands of Terceira and Sao Miguel as part of Fresno State’s academic exchange agreement with the University of the Azores.

    Students visited dairy, fish, floral, food processing, fruit, sugar, tea, vegetable, vineyard and winery production facilities from May 22 to May 31 and were joined by faculty members John Cordeiro (animal science) and Dr. Maggie Ellis (plant science). University and government officials also presented to the visiting group on international economic, cultural and historic topics.

    Several attending Fresno State students have Portuguese heritage, and the group was composed of viticulture student Kathleen Amaral (San Jose); animal science students Gabriela Arias (Tracy) and Hannah Price (Leona Valley); plant science students Brian Coelho (Riverdale), Elizabeth Gingles (Lemoore) and Lindsey Vieira (Tulare); and agricultural education students Trevor Autry (Nipomo), Lauren Dutra (Hanford), Madison Galvez (Bakersfield), Natalie Gutierrez (Lindsay), Jonathon Porter (Tulare) and Cameron Rocha (Newman).

    The trip was made possible by a $49,000 grant by the Lisbon-based Luso-American Development Foundation to encourage educational and research opportunities between the institutions announced in March 2016.

    Fresno State hosted a similar trip by seven University of the Azores students last September who toured the 1,000-acre campus farm and other area industry locations and attended an area Portuguese cultural celebration and dinner sponsored by the Tulare-Angra Do Heroismo Sister City Foundation.

    For more information on future academic exchanges between the institutions or to discuss support opportunities for this program or the Jordan College, contact Alcidia Freitas Gomes at 559.278.4266 or alcidia@csufresno.edu.

     

  • First Day Sales For Fresno State Sweet Corn: Record 38,586 Ears

    Fresno, Calif., (June 6, 2017) – The first day of sales for the 2017 harvest of Fresno State sweet corn, Friday, June 2, produced record results with 38,586 ears sold (the previous high was 36,892 ears in 2016).

    This includes 36,134 ears of yellow corn and 2,452 ears of white corn in 77 bins for a record total corn sales of $15,834, reported Jeremy Lewis, manager of the Rue and Gwen Gibson Farm Market on campus.

    The sweet corn for the first day sold out at 5:01 p.m., two hours before closing time yesterday. Sales resumed today at 8 a.m. until closing at 6 p.m. or supplies run out and again 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday before summer hours begin on Monday.

    Corn is scheduled to be available everyday through Labor Day. The student-run market is located at 5368 N Chestnut Ave north of Shaw.

    Fresno State’s campus-grown sweet corn will be available for the first time this year at 7 a.m. Friday, June 2, at the Rue and Gwen Gibson Farm Market (5368 N. Chestnut Ave.).

    Customers can choose from the traditional yellow and white varieties of the market’s most popular product.

    Corn will be sold at 40 cents per ear throughout the summer with supplies expected to move fast. A dozen-count bag of yellow corn will also be available for $6 during opening weekend to save customers time.

    The product was first grown on campus fields in 1981 and was first sold to the public in 1982.

    Sweet corn is raised on the 1,000-acre University Agricultural Laboratory that sponsors 22 enterprises and provides student-made dairy, food processing, fruit, horticulture, livestock, meat, nut and wine products to the Gibson Farm Market.

    About $1 million in products are sold each year at the market to support Jordan College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology students and programs.

    The store will resume its normal summer hours on Monday, June 5: 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays.

    For more information, contact 559.278.4511 or farmmarket@fresnostate.edu or visit the Gibson Farm Market’s Facebook page at Fresno State Farm Market