LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake County Chapter of California Women for Agriculture (CWA) announced it is offering 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 and agribusiness and who will be attending a two or four year program as a full-time student.  

Scholarship applications and accompanying materials must be received by CWA on or before April 1, 2013, to be considered for an award.  

The application and criteria may be obtained by calling Sausha Racine at 707-245-4787.  

Students must be a resident of Lake County and have achieved a grade point average of 3.0 or greater.  

The application must include a statement of educational and career goals, a personal history statement, a letter of recommendation and a copy of a current transcript.  

The applicant must be willing to participate in an interview with the CWA scholarship committee if requested and agree to attend a CWA Chapter meeting if selected as a scholarship recipient.  

Scholarship recipients will receive funds in two installments: one at the beginning of the first semester conditioned on proof of full-time enrollment, and the second at the beginning of the second semester conditioned on proof of full-time enrollment and a GPA of 3.0 or better for the first semester.

Last year, Lindee Jones and Mary Brown were recipients of the Lake County CWA scholarship award.

CWA is an all volunteer grassroots agricultural support organization, committed to maintaining a healthy and vibrant agricultural industry through education of members and the public, agricultural promotion and legislative action. 

LAKEPORT, Calif. – Opportunities are growing with Lake County Farmers' Finest, the certified farmers' market organization and host of the Saturday morning farmers' market held at Steele Wines, which runs from the first Saturday in May through the last Saturday in October each year.

Lake County Farmers' Finest (LCFF) is seeking a concessionaire to provide coffee, tea, and ready-to-eat foods such as bread, pastries, and other pre-approved items for customers and vendors to purchase at the Saturday farmers' market held at Steele Wines, 4350 Thomas Drive in Kelseyville.

Concessionaires are contracted with LCFF to provide this service, and as such, are the only vendors at the certified farmers' market allowed to resell pre-approved items that they have not produced themselves – coffee, tea, water, pastries, bread and more – which gives the concessionaire a unique opportunity for a lucrative small business or to expand operations of a current business.

LCFF also is seeking a seasonal part-time co-Market Manager to work with the current Market Manager and assist in operations of the farmers' market.

Skills required for the co-Market Manager position include excellent communication and organizational skills, experience with computers, social media, and the ability to learn. Also required is enthusiasm for working with the public, farmers, and vendors, and the ability to lift and carry equipment up to 50 pounds for short distances.

LCFF also is seeking more Lake County agricultural producers to offer vegetables, leafy greens, eggs, meats, fish, berries, mushroom, and fruits for sale at the market. Home gardeners registered with the Agricultural Commissioner are welcome!

With the passage of the California Homemade Food Act (AB 1616), there also are new opportunities for residents who love to cook.

After registering and being inspected by Lake County Environmental Health, some foods prepared at home – and not in a commercial kitchen – now have the ability to be legally sold at the farmers' market by the person who prepared it, creating opportunities for local residents to increase their income and participate in the growing local food system.

For more information on the California Homemade Food Act, registration requirements, and to confirm what is allowed to be prepared in a home kitchen and sold directly to the consumer, visit the Lake County Environmental Health Web site at www.dhs.lakecounty.gov or call 707-263-1164.

For more information on becoming a LCFF concessionaire, vendor or the co-market manager position, contact Cornelia Sieber-Davis at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 707-263-6076.

People who are “apple-shaped” – with fat more concentrated around the abdomen – have long been considered more at risk for conditions such as heart disease and diabetes than those who are “pear-shaped” and carry weight more in the buttocks, hips and thighs.

But new research conducted at UC Davis Health System published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism provides further evidence that the protective benefits of having a pear-body shape may be more myth than reality. The journal article posted online Jan. 10 and will appear in the March 2013 print edition.

The UC Davis study found that fat stored in the buttock area – also known as gluteal adipose tissue – secretes abnormal levels of chemerin and omentin-1, proteins that can lead to inflammation and a prediabetic condition know as insulin resistance in individuals with early metabolic syndrome.

Metabolic syndrome refers to a group of risk factors that occur together, doubling the risk for heart disease and increasing the risk for diabetes at least five-fold.

Risk factors include having a large waistline, low levels of high-density lipoproteins (HDL), or “good” cholesterol, high blood pressure as well as high fasting blood sugar ( insulin resistance) and high triglyceride levels.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, metabolic syndrome affects 35 percent of American adults over age 20.

“Fat in the abdomen has long been considered the most detrimental to health, and gluteal fat was thought to protect against diabetes, heart disease and metabolic syndrome,” said Ishwarlal Jialal, lead author of the study and a professor of pathology and laboratory medicine and of internal medicine at UC Davis. “But our research helps to dispel the myth that gluteal fat is ‘innocent.’ It also suggests that abnormal protein levels may be an early indicator to identify those at risk for developing metabolic syndrome.”

The UC Davis team found that in individuals with early metabolic syndrome, gluteal fat secreted elevated levels of chemerin and low levels of omentin-1 – proteins that correlate with other factors known to increase the risk for heart disease and diabetes.

High chemerin levels, for example, correlated with high blood pressure, elevated levels of C-reactive protein (a sign of inflammation) and triglycerides, insulin resistance, and low levels of HDL cholesterol.

Low omentin-1 levels correlated with high levels of triglycerides and blood glucose levels and low levels of HDL cholesterol.

“High chemerin levels correlated with four of the five characteristics of metabolic syndrome and may be a promising biomarker for metabolic syndrome,” said Jialal. “As it’s also an indicator of inflammation and insulin resistance, it could also emerge as part of a biomarker panel to define high-risk obesity states. The good news is that with weight loss, you can reduce chemerin levels along with the risk for metabolic syndrome.”

To conduct the study, Jialal and colleagues recruited 45 patients with early metabolic syndrome — defined as having at least three risk factors for metabolic syndrome including central obesity, hypertension, mild increases in glucose levels not yet in the diabetic range (<126 mg/dl), hyperlipidemia without cardiovascular disease or diabetes.

A control group of 30 subjects had less than two risk factors for metabolic syndrome, with normal glucose and triglyceride levels. Both groups were matched for gender and age.

Complete blood counts, lipid profiles and blood glucose, blood pressure and C-reactive protein levels were measured in all participants.

Levels of four proteins secreted by adipose tissue — chemerin, resistin, visfatin and omentin-1 — were also measured in plasma and in subcutaneous fat samples from gluteal tissue.

The researchers found that chemerin levels were increased and omentin-1 levels were decreased in both plasma and gluteal fat of subjects with metabolic syndrome compared to those in the control group.

The abnormal levels of these two proteins were also independent of age, body mass index and waist circumference.

“Future large epidemiological studies should focus on evaluating the role of chemerin as a biomarker for the development of diabetes and cardiovascular disease in metabolic syndrome,” Jialal said.

The California Department of Food and Agriculture will discuss the Food Safety Modernization Act at its upcoming meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 5, in Sacramento.

The meeting is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the California Department of Food and Agriculture, 1220 N Street – Main Auditorium

“Food safety is the most important thing for California’s farmers and ranchers, and they rely on standards that evolve through research and scientific advances” said CDFA Secretary Karen Ross. “The Food Safety Modernization Act’s proposed rules create stronger protections for consumers and embrace many of the voluntary practices California growers are already using in their fields and processing facilities.”

In January, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) proposed two new food safety regulations governing the production and processing of food products.

The proposed rules, authorized by the 2010 Food Safety Modernization Act, are designed to minimize the risk of food borne illness in the nation’s food supply.

The FDA is currently accepting public comments on the proposed rules before final rules are published.

Invited speakers include: Barbara Cassens, U.S. Food and Drug Administration; Rick Jensen, California Department of Food and Agriculture; Dr. Annette Jones, State Veterinarian; Patrick Kennelly, California Department of Public Health; Scott Horsfall, California Leafy Greens Products Handler Marketing Agreement; Dave Runsten, Community Alliance with Family Farmers; Dr. Trevor Suslow, University of California, Davis and Jo Ann Baumgartner, Wild Farm Alliance.

“A large number of cultural and management practices are utilized on the farm for food production,” said President Craig McNamara, California State Board of Food and Agriculture. “How these practices interact – food safety, conservation, and employee training – is something we need to explore and learn more about.”

The California State Board of Food and Agriculture advises the governor and the CDFA secretary on agricultural issues and consumer needs.

The state board conducts forums that bring together local, state and federal government officials, agricultural representative and citizens to discuss current issues of concern to California agriculture.

Follow the board on Twitter at: www.twitter.com/Cafood_agboard .

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – The Kelseyville Pear Festival team is now seeking submissions for the 2013 Poster Contest for the 21st annual Pear Festival, Sept. 28.

The Festival Team is requesting that the art work be 18 inches by 24 inches in size and follow the theme of a Lake County pear harvest.  

The artist should include pear orchards, tools of the harvest and a red tractor.

The winner will be awarded a prize of $500.

The image will become the sole property of the Kelseyville Pear Festival, www.pearfestival.com .

The deadline for submissions is Friday, March 1, at 5 p.m.

Artwork should be delivered to Affordable Travel, 3850 Main St., Kelseyville.