From the Director

Early Spanish settlers described the area as the "land of eternal summers" and the county name is a shortened version of the Spanish expression for "good fortune": (Buena) Ventura County. Gateway to the Channel Islands National Park, a 250,000-acre wilderness and marine sanctuary to the west, and adjacent to the 860-square-mile Los Padres National Forest to the east, Ventura County is also situated directly north of the second largest metropolitan county in the country, Los Angeles.

Oleg Daugovish, Ventura County farm advisor, reviews cover crop characteristics at an organic farming field day in March 2002. (photo by Sean L. Swezey)

On this remarkable urban/ natural border, agriculture remains Ventura County's strongest industry, bringing in more than $1 billion in farmgate sales in 2001 on over 100,000 acres. Ventura County farmers are blessed with some of the best soils in the nation, many of which are located in a subtropical coastal microclimate where average annual temperature hovers near 74 degrees F. Ventura County ranks 10th among all California agricultural counties in total agricultural production, and is among the leaders in the production of lemons, strawberries, celery, nursery stock, and avocados.

With a growing population of 750,000 residents, millions of annual tourist visitors, and nine million urbanites to the immediate south, Ventura County agriculture is not without problems. The same attributes that make the county ideal for agriculture are also highly valued by new and prospective urban residents. One of the greatest threats to Ventura County agriculture is the threat of urban sprawl and the reduction of farmland and farm business "critical mass." Successful ballot measures have recently been implemented to plan urban development and stop loss of farmland, which is estimated at 3000 acres over the last ten years. However, these measures did not pass without opposition, and future costs to farmers will need to be borne increasingly by publicly financed agricultural open space districts, purchasing of development rights, and other public and private measures supportive of agriculture. One new and highly visible area of growth and support for Ventura County agriculture is the emergence of a successful organic production community in the county. In 2001, Ventura County ranked seventh among all California counties in number of registered organic producers (57) and organic acreage (over 4,400 acres). Organic growers and processors declared a farmgate sales value of over $5 million in Ventura County in 2001. Lemons, oranges, berries and avocados lead the list of organic crops in the county. Growth in sales in the organic farm production sector in California has averaged nearly 20 percent per year in recent years. Given these trends, a new group of Ventura farmers and cooperative extension staff is aiming to strengthen agriculture that is environmentally friendly and responsive to consumers. A new partnership among the farming community, SAREP and the Ventura County Cooperative Extension office is a positive response to economic and environmental trends in the region.

In March 2002, under the leadership of Cooperative Extension Director Larry Yee, SAREP made a three-year grant of $30,000 available to support the organic vegetable and row crops farming systems research and extension activities of farm advisor Oleg Daugovish. Daugovish has led a series of innovative and well-attended extension meetings with the production community. At a March 2002 meeting at the UC Hansen Trust Faulkner Farm in Santa Paula, Daugovish and more than 20 farmers established program research priorities including cover crop evaluation, compost quality, and soil fertility management in organic systems. Thirty-five organic and other growers met in October in Ventura at Cooperative Extension offices to hear farm advisors Daugovish, Ben Faber, Mark Gaskell, and Jim Downer present recent research results relevant to organic production priorities. Each meeting featured a roundtable discussion on research needs and compliance issues relevant to the organic farming community. Future research and extension topics will be established in an on-going spring meeting each year.

I would like to take this opportunity to recognize the important work for organic farming research and extension in Ventura County being supported by the first-ever collaboration among UC Cooperative Extension, the Clarence E. Heller Charitable Foundation and SAREP in Ventura County. A remarkable cross-section of farmers and professionals is helping organic production become part of the overall economic health of agriculture in Ventura County. SAREP strives to leverage these partnerships and will continue to advocate and support the role of University programs in the demonstration of successful action models.—Sean L. Swezey, director, University of California Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program