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| Media Release | ||||
FEATURED SPEAKERS - Ag 2006: Maximizing Your Bottom Line
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Brent Warner, Victoria, BC BREAKOUT SESSION The New Face Of Agriculture, “Adapt or Die” Farmers and ranchers in Hawaii cannot compete in the race to the bottom in global pricing for agricultural commodities. But neither can or should any other family farm in North America. Yet many farms are growing, prospering and even expanding. What do they know and what are they doing? Brent Warner is the Industry Agritourism Specialist with the BC Ministry of Agriculture and Lands and the past secretary of the North American Farmers Direct Marketing Association. (NAFDMA), in Massachusetts. His career spans over 25 years of working with farm families across North America. Due to the rapid change affecting agriculture world wide, he has been invited to share his insights on family farm survival from Hawaii to Prince Edward Island and stretching across North America from California to Boston to the North West Territories. In 2000 he was the recipient of the NAFDMA “Outstanding Leadership Award” and in 2002 he co-authored a marketing guide for progressive farmers, “Marketing on the Edge”, which is available across North America. He created the BC Agritourism Alliance in 2004, which is the first Association of operators in North America that offers an inspection of facilities and a comprehensive liability insurance program for members. In January of 2006 he was the keynote speaker with Dr. Ed Mahoney from Michigan State University at the North American Farmers’ Direct Marketing Conference in Austin, Texas where they detailed the trends and evolving opportunities in agriculture and agritourism, based on their survey results of 1200 operators across North America. This research of North American farmers and ranches studied in 2005, resulted in insightful and provocative recommendations for enhancing success. In his keynote address, he will apply these findings to Hawaii's agricultural sector.Brent is a realist, and I think it fair to say they he cares less about bruised egos than he does about finding ways to make farming work. If that means promoting agri-tourism, corn maizes, farm tours and direct farm marketing—all of which are anathema to many conventional commodity farmers—then so be it. After all, watching the farm go bust isn’t good for the ego either. Tom Henery Brent Warner photo available
Joe Cialone, Boynton Beach, FL Joe Cialone has contributed to the field of commercial horticulture as an entrepreneur, inventor, and leader. He began his career as a plant physiologist and researcher in weed science at Rutgers University. In 1971 Joe co-founded Tropical Ornamentals based in Florida, a major supplier of interior plants in the United States. He also developed a sub- irrigation system called “Everlife” and a notched-cane propagation technique for Dracaena species. Joe’s enthusiasm and activism are legendary; he has served on the boards of the Florida Foliage Association, the Florida Nurseryman and Growers Association, the Associated Landscape Contractors of America, Mounts Botanical Garden, Palm Beach Wholesale Growers Association, the National Foliage Foundation, and The Fund for Interior Horticultural Research and Education. Joe received the Paul Ecke, Jr. Commercial Award from the American Horticultural Society in April 2004. The individual award is given to a person, who, because of his/her commitment to the highest standards of excellence in the field of commercial horticulture, contributes to the betterment of gardening practices, everywhere. Joe’s dedication to education keeps him involved in speaking at industry conferences around the US and the world. Over the years he has logged many miles traveling to speak in Canada, Europe, and Australia. Joe spoke at the first Ohio Short Course Interiorscape session in 1979. Still frequently seen on the program of the Mid Atlantic Interiorscape Conference, Joe’s retirement has yet to slow him down. The Florida Nurseryman and Growers Association inducted Joe into The Foliage Hall of Fame in 1995, followed in 1997 with the Wendell Butler Award - Nurseryman of the Year. The Palm Beach, Wholesale Growers Association awarded Joe the "Jim Lufts Industry Service Award" in 1999. Most recently he is the recipient of the 2005 Lifetime “Achievement Award” presented at the Mid-Atlantic Interiorscape Conference and sponsored by the Pennsylvania Floral Industry Association. Enthusiasm for learning and teaching, along with a tenacious dedication to the marketing and promotion of the Green Industry are the legacies Joe gives those who follow. He will always be remembered as the man who is making the world a better place with plants, flowers and a ready smile.Dr. Joseph C. Cialone, President photo available
Lon Inaba of Wapato, Wash., BREAKOUT SESSION One Farm - Two Production Systems: Come and learn how innovative thinking allows a farmer to take advantage of different production systems. Lon Inaba of Wapato, Wash., is the operations manager for Inaba Produce Farms. His third generation farm family grows sweet corn, onions, peppers, melons, tomatoes, asparagus, and many other crops on 1,200 acres, including 200 acres of certified organic produce. They sell primarily to supermarket chains, and employ 100 to 200 seasonal farm workers from Mexico during the harvest season. The Inaba Produce Farm is in the Yakima Valley of Washington, an area dominated by apple and hops production. The farm is within the borders of the Yakama Indian Reservation; the family owns about a third of the land and leases or rents the rest from tribal members. Inaba figures 20 percent of seasonal farm workers live in the area year round. The rest move back and forth from Mexico. The Inabas are known as good employers. Working with a Washington state program, the Inabas built a row of affordable duplexes that can accommodate 40 employees. Their next step is building family housing units. The farm is a big spread at 1200 acres, yet it is a good example of how environmentally friendly and socially responsible practices are commercially viable values in food production, even on a large scale. The Inabas conserve water with drip irrigation systems. They use composting and cover crops to improve soil health. They've diversified the crop mix to extend the growing season to provide a longer term of steady employment for workers. And they are one of the few places that provide housing for their seasonal employees. Lon Inaba
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