On Wednesday, July 1st, California’s Governor Newsom announced a roll-back of certain previously announced openings of businesses and activities due to a substantial surge in COVID cases and hospitalizations. In addition, Federal, State, local and other entities continue to encourage the wearing of a face mask in public spaces including any workplace visited by members of the general public.

Over the last several weeks, your association has closely followed SBA activity as additional information and clarifying documents regarding the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) have been released. Most recently, a revised application and instructions have been provided detailing the process to seek debt forgiveness for PPP loan recipients.

Farm Credit West is pleased to announce the 2020 Director and Nominating Committee election results.

We recognize the COVID-19 pandemic and related closures have resulted in significant unforeseen hardship for agriculture in California and Arizona. To provide relief in the current environment, Farm Credit West’s Board of Directors recently resolved to distribute a partial advance payment of the 2020 end-of-year patronage distribution to every eligible customer.

In an effort to provide food to California families in need, Farm Credit, Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) and Hilmar Cheese Company, Inc., are partnering to assist the expansion of the state’s Farm to Family Program, as recognized last week by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

For more than a quarter-century, the Center for Land-Based Learning has operated its successful FARMS Leadership Program, educating thousands of high school students about career opportunities in agriculture. And up through March of this year, the nonprofit had planned and implemented dozens of Field Day hands-on experiences throughout the state to get kids out of the classroom and onto working farms to learn more.

The 40th EcoFarm Conference – the oldest and largest organic farming conference in the West – went off without a hitch in late January, providing some 1,600 attendees with a wide range of information about how to grow food sustainably.

Farm Credit understands the vital connection between farmers and their land, as well as the importance of preserving our natural resources. These beliefs have motivated Farm Credit to be a long-standing sponsor of the Leopold Conservation Award.

The Farm Credit Alliance was recently presented with FFA’s Distinguished Service Citation for its longstanding contributions to FFA and agricultural education. Katie Otto, development director for the California FFA Foundation, the state organization’s fund-raising arm, said the California FFA nominated Farm Credit for the award because of its generous and enduring support.

Latinos have been the largest ethnic group in California since 2014 and make up an even larger portion of the population in many of California’s farming regions. To support the entry of Latinos into agriculture, the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) and the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) will hold the fifth-annual Latino Farmer Conference in November.