By Don A. Wright
The Punjabi American Growers Group, PAGG will sponsor an Agriculture Workshop on Saturday, May 18th from 8:00am to 3:00pm at the Madera Gurudwara Sahib, (the Sikh Temple) 23249 Avenue 14, Madera California. All are welcome to this event and it is an
opportunity for growers and anyone interested in the challenges Central Valley farmers are facing.
“We’re excited to be able to bring to one location many experts in ag related areas willing to share their knowledge,” said PAGG Director Jasbir Sidhu. “Farmers in California are facing unprecedented challenges. By working together, we believe we can all benefit and prosper. But that requires us to know what the real issues are and how to approach solutions. This event is for everyone, Punjabi or not. Growers or not. All who want to preserve this Valley’s ag way of life are welcome to join us.”
Many folks don’t know the Punjabi community farms more than 750,000 acres in California. Who are the Punjabi people? Punjab is a state in Northwest India, between Pakistan and the Himalaya Mountain Range. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica the word Punjab comes from two Persian words that mean five rivers. The temperatures are similar to the Valley, hot in the summer, it gets in the 100s and cool in the winter, in the 40s. But unlike here most of the rain and precipitation falls in the summer from July to September in the form of monsoons. It is one of the oldest and most extensively irrigated agricultural areas on earth.
This knowledge of farming and irrigation are some of the reasons for Punjabi immigration to the Valley. You’ll see many of them wearing turbans. Some, not all, Punjabis practice Sikhism with the turban being part of the expression of their of faith. In Punjabi, also the name of the language, the turban is called a pagg, but is pronounced pug. Yet another acronym for me to wrestle but with the added confusion of a written language with non-Latin alphabet characters.
The Workshop
The Workshop will be a combination farm show, education program and cultural fair. Several vendors will be on site to showcase their ag and water products and services. There will be panel discussions on a wide range of topics and speakers.
Amardeep Mann of Fowler said, “Farmers need to get together in organizations like PAGG and have their say in the AG policies, programs, laws and regulations. It is a very good opportunity for all California AG stakeholder to get together.”
California Secretary of Agriculture Karen Ross will address the gathering (by video) at 8:30am. Also speaking will be Congressman John Duarte, State Senator Melissa Hurtado and Assemblywoman Esmeralda Soria, who will also speak on the first panel discussion on the sustainability of family farmers.
There will be continuing education credits with talks on pest and disease given by representatives from the Fresno County Ag Commissioner’s office and the University of California. Dr. Josette Lewis of the Almond Board and Mel Machado of Blue Diamond will give talks on the almond industry and market.
There will be three panel discussions covering global marketing challenges, climate change, grant opportunities, public/private partnerships and my favorite – water.
I get to moderate a panel with some folks I respect and dig into what are some of the stressors and opportunities in irrigation policy and practice. Joining the panel are Professor of Ag Economics California State University Chico – Dr. Anita Chaudhary, Austin Ewell – Interim Executive Director of the Water Blueprint for the San Joaquin Valley, Kassy Chauhan – Executive Director North Kings Groundwater Sustainability Agency and Cristel Tufenkjian – Lt. General Manager of the McMullen Area Groundwater Sustainability Agency.
“The PAGG Agricultural Workshop is a must attend event for the California Ag community. From informative round table talks to networking opportunities with major vendors this event will provide opportunities to advance Farm operations”, said attorney Ameet Sharma. Sharma will be available to discuss agricultural related law questions.
Other panelists and speakers include: Brinderpal Singh – Fresno County Ag Commissioner’s Office, Jhalendra Riijal and Mohammad Yaghmour – University of California Agriculture & Natural Resources, Jasbir Sidhu – President PAGG, Dr. Serhat Asci – CSU Fresno, Dayadeepak Singh and Jonathan Groveman – Natural Resources Conservation Service, Dr. Caitlin Peterson – Public Policy Institute of California and Dr. Steve Blumenshine – Executive Director CSU WATER.
More than $50,000 worth of prizes such as a PlayStation, free cooler, free pump and irrigation inspections, free nursery trees, free pizza coupons, free bags of nuts and more. On the cultural side of things, a free breakfast and lunch will be served. It is a noble Sikh tenet to serve food to the hungry. As stated above, all are welcome.
The event is sponsored by the California Department of Food & Agriculture, Local Groundwater Sustainability Agencies, Farms-R-Us, Blue Diamond, American Pistachio Growers, the Almond Board, CSU WATER, the Valley Air Pollution Control District and www.WaterWrights.net.
Directions
For those unfamiliar with the Madera County grid system: from the south take the Avenue 12 exit from Highway 99 and go west until you get to Road 24 then head north. When you get to Avenue 14 take a left and head west. The site will be on your right side. From the north take Avenue 18 ½ at the Pilot Truck Stop and go south on Road 23. Continue south past the golf course, across the Fresno River and turn left on Avenue 14. The site will be on your left.
For more information on the PAGG Workshop go to: www.paggusa.com
Vendors
Here’s an updated list of vendors participating. An *denotes they are
www.WaterWrights.net clients: Valley Air pollution Board, GS Pumps, FBN, Fresno Madera Farm Credit, Garton Tractors, Superior Irrigation, Fertilizer Depot, Midland Tractors, *BrightSky Solar, California State University-Fresno, Flory, Preferred Pump, Verdisian, *Aqua4D, Genesis Nursery, Earthsol, Tudor Nursery, *Redtrac, California Women for AG, Phytech, Berdee Aerosol, California Almond Alliance, CDFA,
FSA Fresno, BeeHero, Aquaspy, *Duarte Nursery, American Steel, Pannu Construction INC, *Roscoe Moss Company, Beewise, Advanced Nut Crop Sciences, Vitidore Ag, FarmsRUs, Madera Sherriff’s Office, FSA Madera, NRCS Madera.
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