LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Community leaders attended the final session of the AgVenture 2019 program on Nov. 8.

This session marked the close of the AgVenture Program’s 10th year.

AgVenture was inspired by an agricultural education program in Santa Cruz and implemented in Lake County by the Lake County Chapter of the California Women for Agriculture in 2009.

It is an agricultural educational program devised for community leaders who aspire to understand the vital role that agriculture plays in Lake County.

In Session one, class members learned about the pear industry. They heard from speakers including Dr. Broc Zoller, Myron Holdenried and Michelle Scully. They also toured the Henderson pear orchard and Scully Packing.

Session two focused on the wine industry with morning sessions about water and the lake. Class members toured Beckstoffer Vineyards and Kendall Jackson Winery with lunch sponsored by the Lake County Winegrape Commission.

In session three, class members heard presentations from a Pest Control Advisor panel, Fidel Perez with the California Department of Pesticide Regulation, learned about fire suppression goats with Gonzalez Brush Busters, and toured Seely’s walnut orchard.

In session four, students learned about olive production, biotechnology presentation and labor.

Diane Henderson moderated a farm labor panel with Octavio Jimenez from Scully Packing, and Juan Sanchez and Jacklyn Rodriquez from Bella Vista Farming Co. Class members also enjoyed a tour of Chacewater Winery and Olive Mill.

The 2019 class graduates were ESL Educator and Kelseyville High Teacher Lily Woll; city of Lakeport Finance Director Nicholas Walker; Lake County Tax Administrator Patrick Sullivan; retired Lake County Fair CEO Debbie Strickler; Hope Rising Lake County Executive Director Allison Panella; Seigler Springs Community Redevelopment Executive Director Eliot Hurwitz; Avela Carretero with the Lake County Ag Department; Assistant CAO Susan Parker; Twin Pine Casino Hotel Director Larry Galupe; Natural Resources Conservation Service Soil Conservationist Ut Huynh; and Jessica Pyska, who serves as the chair of economic development for the Cobb Area Council and works as a garden educator for the Middletown Unified School District.

Class members are selected yearly through an application process. Selection for the program is based on the applicant’s interest in the program, their professional position in the community and their ability to help maintain a viable agricultural industry in Lake County. Program acceptance is competitive.

Generous sponsors for the 2019 series of seminars include the following people and businesses: Wilda Shock, Biotechnology Innovation Organization, Beckstoffer Vineyards – Red Hills, Community First Credit Union, Chacewater Winery & Olive Mill, Kendall Jackson Winery, Lake County Farm Bureau, Lake County Winegrape Commission, Lake County Winery Association, Lisa Wilson, Monica Rosenthal, Savings Bank of Mendocino County, Lincoln Leavitt Insurance, Rosenthal Vineyards, Bernie Butcher, Twin Pine Resort & Casino, The Dock Supply Factory and Lake Limos, Scully Packing, Seely Orchards, Sutter Lakeside Hospital, Tallman Hotel, and Umpqua Bank.

The AgVenture program Steering Committee, all Lake County Chapter of the California Women for Agriculture members, are Annette Hopkins, Toni Scully, Diane Henderson, Terry Dereniuk, and Brenna Sullivan.

California Women for Agriculture is the largest all-volunteer agricultural advocacy organization in California.

The Lake County Chapter focuses on agricultural advocacy and education; its activities include AgVenture, School Garden mini-grants and educational scholarships for Lake County students.

For more information on Lake County Chapter of the California Women for Agriculture’s programs, visit https://www.lakecountycwa.org/.