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John and Joanne Van Eck hosted the event at their Cole Creek Equestrian Center on Steelhead Drive.
About 225 people gathered to enjoy local wines and hear from local and state Farm Bureau officials about the state of farming, according to a count done at the event.
“This is one of the biggest we've had in many years,” Lake County Farm Bureau President Bob Gayaldo said of the meeting.
Farm Bureau Executive Director Chuck March – sporting a pink California Women for Agriculture t-shirt that he claimed he had to wear due to losing a bet – gave a brief update on activities Farm Bureau members and staff have been involved in over the past year.
He said they've taken an active part in working on air quality rules as well as water, noting “water issues tend to be forefront” – involving both quality and quantity.
The Farm Bureau also helped look for solutions to water issues for the Spring Valley Lakes subdivision near Clearlake Oaks, March said.
California Farm Bureau President Paul Wenger, who grows walnuts in the Modesto area, was on hand for the evening, thanking local members for their support.
Wenger pointed out that California is the leading agricultural state, with 350 commodities grown year round.
It's also the most populous state, which Wenger said results in high property values and pressure on agricultural land.
“We create a huge amount of economic wealth,” he said of farmers and ranchers, adding that agriculture itself is economic stimulus.
Some of the legislative issues ahead for agriculture include Williamson Act subventions and an overtime bill that could end up with agricultural workers having their time cut back from 60 hours a week to 40, Wenger said.
“It does take a community to support farming,” he told the group.
Congressman Mike Thompson – who Wenger called “ a great friend” of California agriculture – was the evening's main speaker, stepping in when California Department of Food and Agriculture Secretary A.G. Kawamura had to cancel at the last minute.
Thompson explained that California – which now has more than 35 million people who call it home – is expected to have 50 million residents by 2025.
“California is trending toward losing a tremendous amount of ag land to developers,” he said.
The situation is serious, according to Thompson, who used a startling statistic to illustrate what's at stake.
He said California stands to lose more agricultural land between now and 2025 than it did from the time of the Gold Rush – which began in 1848 – to the year 2000.
At the same time, that land is imperiled by societal shifts, with Thompson pointing out that the average age of farmers is 57 and the average age of forest land owners is 65.
He said the United States is set to experience the largest intergenerational transfer of forest land in its history.
Other issues Thompson highlighted included food safety – which he said he believes many Americans take for granted – and legislation he's working on to extend conservation easement benefits and reduce or remove estate tax for farming and foresting families.
Thompson said he believes one of the worst things that can be done if agricultural and forest land is to be preserved is to have a large estate tax which, in many cases, has forced families to have to sell land to pay the taxes.
He said his estate tax bill proposes that if an individual has owned land for eight years and farmed it for at least five, and if they gain 51 percent of their income from that farming activity, there will be no estate tax for their heirs unless it's taken out of production or sold.
Referring to the current crisis on the Gulf Coast, Thompson said it was a reminder of the importance of getting the country's energy policy fixed.
Another reason to do so – he said 40 percent of the countries that export oil to the United States are on the US State Department's list of countries not to visit.
Thompson also touched on fiscal responsibility, saying it's always been important but it's especially so now, with the country's national debt at $13 trillion.
He said President Barack Obama's commission on debt reduction currently is developing a set of recommendations, set to be released later this year.
Thompson guaranteed, “When that list comes out, everybody is going to say, 'That's an ugly list.'”
Some of the ugly on that list likely will include a wine tax increase, he said.
He said federal spending in Lake County includes $200 million in Social Security, $170 million for Medicare and $17 million for veterans.
Spending, Thompson concluded, needs to be both smart and balanced.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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