Backyard Orchard News
Why You Should Bee-Coming to the California Honey Festival
Here's why you should bee-coming to the second annual California Honey Festival, set from 10 a.m....
Extension apiculturist Elina Lastro Niño (left) demonstrates how to open a hive to a UC Davis summer camp. She'll be giving three live bee demonstrations at the California Honey Bee Festival: the first at 11:15, then 1 p.m. and the third at 3:45 in the bee tent. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Amina Harris, director of the UC Davis Honey and Pollination Center, stands ready to greet visitors to the second annual California Honey Festival, set all day Saturday, May 5 in downtown Woodland. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
UC Davis Symposium to Target Zika, West Nile and Other Vector-Borne Diseases
They'll target Zika, West Nile, Chikungunya and other vector-borne diseases. The annual UC Davis...
This is Aedes aegypti, also known as "The Yellow Fever Mosquito." It transmits Zika and other viruses. (CDC Photo)
In the News: Hammock and Zhang Labs Target Obesity-Enhanced Colon Cancer
Bruce Hammock, a distinguished professor of entomology with the UC Davis Department of Entomology...
Bruce Hammock is a UC Davis distinguished professor of entomology with a joint appointment at the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Co-authors Bruce Hammock (center) with Jun Yang (left), a lead co-author and Sung Hee Hwang. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Fly Fishers of Davis: Tying One On
It was difficult to say who enjoyed this event the most: the Fly Fishers of Davis...
While mom (right) observes, Steven Mao, 7, of Davis, watches Dave Driscoll of the Fly Fishers of Davis tie a fly during the 104th annual UC Davis Picnic Day. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
This is how you do it, Fly Fisher Dave Driscoll of Vacaville tells Steven Mao, 7, of Davis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Steven Mao is totally fascinated with Dave Driscoll's fly-tying demonstration. An avid angler, Driscoll retired in 2004 as a Solano County deputy district attorney. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
All finished, and it's yours! Steven Mao gratefully accepts the gift from mentor Dave Driscoll. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
County Agricultural Ombudsmen Help Bridge the Divide
California agritourism operators report regularly that navigating the permitting and regulatory process is a major challenge for farmers trying to invite the public onto their land for festivals, tours, dinners, classes, lodging or other activities. Some help is now available, at no cost, in some places.
Five Northern California counties offer non-enforcement person-to-person consultation to farmers and ranchers exploring the regulations and permitting requirements for agritourism, food processing or other farm-related activities. If your farm or ranch is located in Marin, Sonoma, San Mateo, Yolo or Solano Counties, you can call your Agricultural Ombudsman or Farmbudsman to discuss your ideas and plans.
County Agricultural Ombudsmen help farmers and ranchers understand what rules and regulations will apply to an individual diversification idea or plan, and will help them to navigate the various permits and departmental approvals that might be required. The ombudsman will make the process approachable and accessible, and will explore options and alternatives with the person planning an expansion or a new activity on his or her farm or ranch, including giving the farmer or rancher a sense of where "red flags" might be in the process. Importantly, these services are confidential. Marin County Agricultural Ombudsman Vince Trotter explained the job this way, "We try to bring the conversation to "How can we make this work?" We don't expedite the process ourselves, but we do try to bring the rancher together with the regulator."
Examples of Agricultural Ombudsmen's help include:
- Helping a rancher understand the state registration process required for a new pond.
- Helping a poultry farmer understand the state, federal and local regulations they needed to confirm to for on-farm commercial slaughtering.
- Helping a pumpkin patch operator know when a permit is required for a farm dinner.
- Explaining the size limits for starting a small winery under an administrative permit.
- Helping a brewery and winery design their expansion to avoid buffer issues
- Researching an existing use permit to clarify that a vineyard operator with short-term lodging was allowed to hold one-day open house events without an additional health department food permit.
In addition to their consultation work with individual farmers and ranchers, most of the agricultural ombudsmen organize useful information online - guides, factsheets and links to common permit applications. See the end of this story for contact information and websites links.
Contact your local Agricultural Ombudsman:
Marin County:
Vince Trotter, Agricultural Ombudsman
tvtrotter@ucanr.edu
415-473-4204
http://growninmarin.org/Resources/Resources_for_Farmers/GIM_Factsheets/
Sonoma County:
Karen Giovannini, Agriculture Ombudsman
klgiov@ucanr.edu
707.565.2328
http://ucanr.edu/sites/CESonomaAgOmbuds/
Solano County:
Sarah Hawkins, Farmbudsman
SolanoFarmbudsman@gmail.com
925-984-4548
https://www.solanocounty.com/depts/county_admin/farmbudsman.asp
Yolo County:
Stephanie Cormier, Farmbudsman
530-406-4800
Stephanie.Cormier@yolocounty.org
San Mateo County:
Adria Arko, Agricultural Ombudsman
adria@sanmateorcd.org
650-712-7765 x 105
https://agwm.smcgov.org/agricultural-ombudsman