Following Gov. Brown's successful trip to China in April, California Department of Food and Agriculture Secretary Karen Ross will lead an agricultural trade delegation to China and Vietnam Sept. 16-21 as part of the California State Trade and Export Promotion (California STEP) program.

This mission will visit Shanghai and Ho Chi Minh City with the goal of providing export business opportunities and sales for California farmers, ranchers and food processors.

The California-China Trade and Investment Office in Shanghai, opened by Governor Brown during his trade mission, will play an important role for delegation members by connecting California businesses with Chinese counterparts interested in purchasing California products.

The California-China Office of Trade and Investment provides in-market assistance to California companies and furthers foreign direct investment opportunities in California.

California businesses participating in the trade mission will have individual meetings with foreign importers, briefings by U.S. agricultural officials, and visit wholesale/retail market outlets to learn about in-market distribution and sales formats.

China is California's third largest export destination for agricultural products, with more than $1.7 billion in exports.

Vietnam currently ranks as the 12th largest export destination for California agriculture products, with exports valued at more than $196 million – a 43-percent increase in exports from the previous year.

On average, California farmers export globally about 25 percent of their production, generating nearly 115, 000 jobs and $21.6 billion in economic activity. Over the last 10 years, California has more than doubled the value of its agricultural exports. In 2011, California agricultural exports were valued at $16.8 billion.

This trade mission is conducted in partnership with the State Center Community College District, the California Centers for International Trade Development, the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development, and the California-China Trade and Investment Office.  

Funding for this trade mission will come from a grant administered by the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Companies interested in participating in the trade mission should contact the Fresno Center for International Trade Development at 559-324-6401 or visit www.fresnocitd.org .

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lake County Chapter of California Women for Agriculture is pleased to announce its 2013 scholarship recipients.  

Jennifer Keithly of Lakeport, Lindee Jones of Middletown and Erick Orozco of Clearlake have each been awarded a $1,000 scholarship for the 2013-14 school year.

Jennifer Keithly has recently been accepted to the University of California Davis’s very competitive Veterinary Medicine program.  

She holds a bachelor’s degree from Chico State University and a master’s degree from Montana State University. In 2010, she returned to Lake County and has been actively involved in agriculture.   

Lindee Jones has been awarded a scholarship from LCCWA for a second year. Jones currently is attending Shasta Community College.  

She plans to transfer to Chico State University to receive her bachelor’s degree in plant science with an emphasis in crop management and become a pesticide control advisor. This summer, she is interning for the Lake County Farm Bureau.

Erick Orozco is currently attending Mendocino College. He wishes to transfer to University of California Davis to earn his bachelor’s degree in enology and become a winemaker.

Keithly, Jones and Orozco have proven to be very dedicated individuals and the Lake County CWA organization is proud to assist them in their pursuit of careers in agriculture.    

Each spring, LCCWA offers scholarships up to the amount of $1,000 to graduating high school seniors and college or vocational students whose educational emphasis is related to agriculture.  

For more information about LCCWA’s scholarship program visit http://www.lakecountycwa.org .

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake County Farm Bureau is preparing for Celebration 2013, which combines the Love of the Land Dinner with its 90th annual membership meeting.  

Celebration 2013 will be held Thursday, July 18, at Cole Creek Equestrian Center in Kelseyville.

This new format blends Farm Bureau’s fundraising efforts to benefit farm-focused programs and scholarships, with a very brief annual meeting of the members into one memorable evening.

The evening begins with a wine social provided by the Lake County Winery Association as they pour award winning local wines. A delicious barbeque dinner will be prepared by the Kelseyville FFA.  

Scholarship recipients Bonnie McCallister of Kelseyville and Lindee Mae Jones of Middletown will be on hand to receive recognition plagues.

The 2013 Ag Appreciation Award, chosen by the Lake County Farm Bureau Directors, will be awarded to Michelle Malm and Colleen Rentsch for their nationally recognized farm to school program and their efforts to educate our youth about where their food comes from.

The second annual dessert auction will round out the evening, along with other fundraising efforts that benefit farm-focused programs and scholarships. The Kelseyville Boy Scout Troop No. 45 will be on hand for assistance at the event.

Farm Bureau members and the general public are welcome and encouraged to attend.

Seating is limited and reservations are required. Tickets are available at the Lake County Farm Bureau office located at 65 Soda Bay Road in Lakeport or by calling 707-263-0911.

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Planning Commission of the County of Lake, State of California, will hold a public hearing on application UP 13-02 proposing a Major Use Permit to install a two megawatt photovoltaic solar farm for power generation.

The project is located at 4705 Soda Bay Road Kelseyville CA, APN 008-027-06.

The project applicant is Steve Locher/Apparent Inc.

The staff report will be available for review at the Community Development Department, Lake County Courthouse, 255 North Forbes Street, Lakeport, CA, ten (10) days before the hearing.  

The Planner processing this application is Keith Gronendyke, (707) 263-2221 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

The public hearing will be held in the Board of Supervisors’ Chamber in the Courthouse on June 27, 2013 at 10:15 a.m., at which time and place interested persons may attend and be heard.  

If you challenge the action of the Planning Commission on any of the above stated items in court, it may be limited to only those issues raised at the public hearing described in this notice, or in written correspondence delivered to the Lake County Planning Commission at, or prior to, the public hearing.

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
Richard Coel, Director

By: ____________________________________
Danae Bowen, Office Assistant III

LAKEPORT, Calif. – Members of the Lake County Chapter of California Women for Agriculture (LCCWA) participated in a statewide California Women for Agriculture meeting on May 6 in Sacramento to learn about pending agriculture legislation.  

On May 7, these members, along with dozens of CWA members from chapters throughout the state, spent the day in the Capitol communicating with California state legislators about pending ag-related legislation.  

Terry Dereniuk, LCCWA AgVenture coordinator; Annette Hopkins, LCCWA president; and Bonnie Sears, LCCWA Facebook coordinator, met with seven legislators, including Assemblymember Mariko Yamada and Sen. Noreen Evans.

“California Women for Agriculture is one of the largest all-volunteer agricultural organizations in the state,” said Hopkins. “We’d like legislators and administration officials to consider CWA as an informational resource about the food and fiber produced by California growers. Our Lake County chapter also provided a personal invitation to our legislators to come and visit Lake County farms.”

“We believe it is very important to educate our newly-elected legislators about California’s No. 1 industry,” said Dereniuk. “We feel that we can do this by not only talking with our legislators, but by actually showing them what we do by bringing them to the orchards, fields, ranches and vineyards where we work.”

The May 7 CWA legislative visit was organized months in advance by members of CWA including Terry Dereniuk.

LCCWA actively educates their members and the public about matters concerning agriculture at both the County and State levels.

LCCWA awards scholarships to students pursuing agricultural-related education and provides mini-grants to teachers in local schools who are educating their students about agriculture and food.

In addition, LCCWA sponsors AgVenture, an educational program for community leaders who wish to learn more about agriculture in Lake County.

To learn more about the Lake County Chapter of California Women for Agriculture, visit their Web site at www.lakecountycwa.org .