15 minute read
Cattleman of the Year
By Camille DeVaul
There is a special day each July when farmers and ranchers on the Central Coast gather in one place, all at the same time and share a meal together. That day is the annual Cattlemen and Farmers Day held at the California Mid-State Fair.
As tradition goes, three individuals are recognized for their contributions to the agriculture community as Cattleman of the Year, Cattlewoman of the Year, and Agriculturalist of the Year. The honorees are selected by the San Luis Obispo County Farm Bureau, San Luis Obispo County Cattlewomen, and San Luis Obispo County Cattlemen’s Association.
The anticipated day is filled with socializing, a barbecue steak dinner made by friends and family, plus the Industrial Arts Awards and Auction — and don’t forget the announcement of the coveted awards ceremony.
This year’s recipients are:
Tom Bordonaro Jr.: Agriculturalist of the Year Sarah Kramer: Cattlewoman of the Year Paul Tognazzini: Cattleman of the Year
TOM BORDONARO Agriculturalist of the Year
San Luis Obispo County Farm Bureau selected Paso Robles farmer and community leader Tom Bordonaro Jr. as the 2022 Agriculturalist of the Year.
“I was quite surprised, very honored, and very grateful to the Farm Bureau for the recognition,” said Tom.
The Agriculturalist of the Year award recognizes distinguished success in the agriculture industry and a lifetime of dedication to advancing San Luis Obispo County’s rich farming and ranching heritage. Through his community service to local youth and his advocacy as an elected official, few have done more for SLO County’s agriculture community than Tom.
While Tom wasn’t born into a generational agriculture family, he was drawn to the lifestyle at a young age. At the age of 9, he began 4-H and continued showing animals through FFA in high school. To this day, Tom is a key supporter of the organizations.
“It is a great program that helps develop good leadership skills in youth,” he says, “It teaches all of those things that you don’t learn in school.”
Tom headed to Cal Poly with aspirations to become a veterinarian, but being left paralyzed from a car accident at the age of 18, he switched gears while remaining in the agriculture industry.
“I was not supposed to live through the night, and I did,” said Tom, “so I have been taking advantage of that and taking life as it comes and making the best of it. Not wining about things but understanding it could always be worse.”
By 1986, Tom had earned his bachelor’s degree in ag management from Cal Poly in 1983, and a Master’s in ag economics from UC Davis. He continued to help manage his family’s farm, Bar TJ Ranch, in Creston, raising cattle, hay, and wine grapes.
Through his nearly 30 years of advocating for local agriculturists and business owners, Tom has walked the halls of the State Capitol serving in public office for the first time in 1994.
Tom won the 33rd District primary and served a second term as state assemblyman. He was appointed by two different governors to serve as a commissioner on the California Board of Prison Terms. Since 2003, SLO County voters have tasked him as their county assessor. Tom has lent his leadership skills to several organizations, including being president and a member of the executive and legislative committee of the California Assessors’ Association, president of the Central-Southern Assessors’ Association, and a member of the International Association of Assessing Officers. Tom and his wife of 21 years, Martha, have four children, Francesca (30), Anthony (28), William (18) and Marc (18), and two grandchildren, Collin (7) and Reagan (6).
San Luis Obispo County Farm Bureau has given the Agriculturalist of the Year award annually since 1988, making Tom the 34th person to receive this honor.
SARAH KRAMER Cattlewoman of the Year
San Luis Obispo County Cattlewomen selected Paso Robles community leader Sarah Kramer as the 2022 Cattlewoman of the Year.
“It’s a great honor to be around all these people who have been around so long,” said Sarah.
Sarah's affinity for the agriculture industry came from her grandfather, a produce broker from Orange County. Her grandfather's work gave Sarah first-hand knowledge of how important agriculture is to the world — and how much work it takes to get it there.
After graduating from Cal Poly in 2001, Sarah, like many Poly grads, didn’t want to leave. She left Cal Poly with a degree in agribusiness with a concentration in marketing in 2005 and began finding her path into the San Luis Obispo County community.
While working at the Farm Credit West and Farm Credit — soon becoming the vice president and loan officer — Sarah’s passion for agriculture grew.
(From left) Cattlewoman of the Year Sarah Kramer, Agriculturalist Tom Bordonaro, and Cattleman of the Year Paul Tognazzini. Photo courtesy of SLO Farm Bureau.
“Its a passion of mine because we all have to eat, so agriculture is never going away,” said Sarah, “There’s less and less people in agriculture and more and more people every day, so its something important where people need to realize where their food comes from.”
Sarah is a proud member of several agriculture organziations in the county, serving in leadership roles for many of them. She joined the San Luis Obispo County chapter of California Women for Agriculture, SLO County Cattlewomen’s Association, SLO County Farm Bureau, and the Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance.
“I am very passionate about making sure that we still can farm here and that our industries do stay here,” said Sarah, “and that people learn that agriculture was here first and we need it to stay. We need to make sure our local politicians know that as well.”
Other organizations she has been a part of include the Paso Robles Pioneer Day Committee, San Luis Obispo County Ag Education Committee board, California Mid-State Fair Heritage Foundation member, Paso Robles High School Agriculture Department Advisory Committee, and Ag Finance Representative on the SLO County Agricultural Liaison Advisory Board.
In 2013, she became vice president and commercial relationship manager at Umpqua Bank, and serves today as senior vice president and commercial relationship manager at Bank of the Sierra.
Sarah currently sits as the vice president of the SLO County Farm Bureau and looks forward to serving as president next year.
PAUL TOGNAZZINI Cattleman of the Year
San Luis Obispo County Cattlemen’s Association has named fourth-generation rancher Paul Tognazzini the 2022 Cattleman of the Year.
“I was pretty surprised,” Paul said. “I felt there’s probably a lot more qualified individuals than myself. But I was also very honored, mostly because my dad was Cattleman of the Year several years ago, so that meant a lot to me.” Paul is one of those founding names known throughout the county.
Born in San Luis Obispo and raised on the family ranch near Cayucos, Paul is the son of Peter Tognazzini Sr. and Amelia Gianolini Tognazzini, and has three siblings, Peter Jr., Phil, and Pam. The Tognazzini and Gianolini family’s deep California agricultural roots date back to 1869 and 1890.
“I come from a long line of ranchers and dairymen," Paul said. "We settled in Cayucos in the 1800s and still own the same ranch and still own the same ranch my mom grew up on in the Los Osos Valley, and so I’ve pretty much had a lifetime of experience in the cattle industry.”
Paul’s upbringing was much like any other ranch kid of the era — filled with driving tractors and farm chores and showing livestock at the local fairs.
By 1972, Paul earned a bachelor’s degree in ag business management from Cal Poly. During his college years, he purchased his first herd of 35 cows for $150 a head.
After graduation, Paul began his banking career which spanned 22 years.
In 1985, Paul married his wife, Fran. The two have three children, Stephany, Brian, and Charlie, and three grandchildren, Chloe, Spencer, and Leo.
He continues ranching with his son, Charlie, but also continued to give back to the community.
He served as a director on the Cancer Support Community Board, where he was honored with the “Founders Award.” Paul has been a 4-H beef leader, a Paso Robles Ag Tour Committee volunteer for 20 years, and he and his wife were recipients of the California Mid-State Fair “Blue Ribbon Award.” He has been a SLO County Cattlemen’s Association director for many years and serves today as treasurer.
When asked about the agriculture and the ranching lifestyle he enjoys most, Paul says, “I like the people, of course, and I like to be outdoors and just the lifestyle. It’s pretty hard to beat.”
San Luis Obispo County Cattlemen’s Association has given the Cattleman of the Year award annually since 1963, making Paul the 59th person to receive this honor.
Templeton Hills Community Farm Keeping Green
Groundskeeper battles the drought by making conscious decisions about water usage
By Melissa Guerra
With drought affecting all of California, everyone is feeling the effects of the lack of water, even Templeton Hills Community Farm. City ordinances have been cracking down on watering days, making the farm grateful to be on their own well water, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t also taking measures to conserve.
Matt Giese, the part-time groundskeeper for the farm, church, and school is having to make proactive choices about how to conserve and even reuse water to be as efficient as possible. The property has three wells which allows them to maintain the farm as well as the lawn for the school, but over the past year Matt has allowed some of the lawns to survive instead of thrive, choosing to use that water for growing produce.
“Lawns consume a lot of water,” Matt explains. While some crops take more water than others, like corn, most take three quarters less water than it takes to keep a lawn looking lush.
The farm is watered through a mix of hand watering and scheduled drip systems which are set to water during cooler temperatures to make the most of the available water and ensure that the water is staying with the plants and not evaporating in the heat. Additionally, the plants actually benefit from having the soil dry out during the day, which reduces risk of root rot to the plants.
With an eye on the future, and awareness that the water issues aren’t likely to be resolved soon, Matt also implemented a recycled water system, filtering the water that is used to wash hands and the produce on property and put that water back in to cultivating the fruit trees which should start producing fruit next year.
Shade cloths also help the farm thrive during the heat. All the sensitive plants, such as baby greens, chives, lettuces, are grown under fifty percent shade cloth to keep the harshest of the sun rays from crisping the plants, while heartier plants like tomatoes, corn, and eggplant are able to be planted in direct sun.
The goal of the farm is to provide for the community and those in need, which is done by more than just having fresh produce available. While the farm stand out front used to have surplus goods that the community could pick up on Sundays, the farm is now focused more on making it more of a “u-pick” experience. Allowing people to come visit and pick their own produce and learn about gardening, pruning, and harvesting their own dinner.
“People love the experience of coming and heading out to pick their own food and then coming back together to find ways to use it,” says Sabrina Giese, Matt’s wife. The farm is looking to move more toward classes and events that can allow hands on experiences as well as hosting more gatherings.
From community pancake breakfasts to potluck and vegan cooking demonstrations, Templeton Hills Community Farm is creating outlets to bring the community together while learning new skills. For now the plan is to keep the farm at its current size and focus on cultivating the already planted space with new crops each cycle. With more volunteers however there is a chance that they will add in more field crops in the future.
Volunteers can help out on Sunday’s when the farm is open to the public, or by appointment throughout the week by contacting Matt Giese at (805) 458-7808. Matt works with volunteers based on their ability and as more skills are learned he guides the volunteers to more advanced level projects that they can tackle.
“We want this to be a space where people can heal,” he says, talking of those struggling with mental health or recovery who have found solace in working in the farm.
“We have lots of regulars, but it seems like we also see a new face each week of someone who just decided to stop by.”
Templeton Hills Community Farm is located at 930 Templeton Hills Road in Templeton and is open to the public on Sundays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
FARMERS MARKETS
BY CAMILLE DEVAUL
WITH MARKET MANAGER
Robyn Gable
hey say know your farmer, know your food — and there’s no better place to fulfill that than to go to the farmers market.
In San Luis Obispo County alone, there’s almost 20 farmers markets throughout the week. There is at least one market Monday through Saturday filled to the brim with fresh and local produce.
“I encourage people if they haven’t been to a farmers market in a while or even if they have; come out and get in tune with life, be in the moment, enjoy the fresh air,” says North County Farmers Market Association Manager Robyn Gable.
After Robyn and her husband purchased an apple orchard on the Central Coast, they fell in love with the farmers’ market life. Between the community and family built between farmers and their customers to have an abundance of fresh fruit at your fingertips, the farmers market became Robyn’s happy place.
Eight years ago, Robyn took on the position of market manager for the North County Farmers Market Association.
“I also am a farmer, so that’s part of my passion. I understand it from a farmer’s perspective, all of the challenges,” says Robyn. “Just the fruit of your labor and being able to share that with the community who really appreciates it and enjoys the freshness and the goodness is really almost a privilege and an honor.”
Farmers markets give customers the opportunity to meet their farmers and learn their farming practices. At the markets, there is no middleman and people can go straight to the source. Robyn suggests asking the farmers about their farming practices, what difficulties are they facing in agriculture, and start to develop a relationship with them.
“The heart of the farmer to bring good things, but also being able to make money [without going] crazy with their prices. I know that is an ongoing conversation,” Robyn explains.
A typical farmer’s day on the morning of market includes waking up early enough to pick and wash their fruit, manage other chores, make it to market, then at the end of the selling day head back to the farm to continue their chores and sometimes even head to another market.
Everything is fresh and usually grown no more than an hour’s drive from the market it is sold from. The markets make it easy for people to eat the colors of the rainbow, seasonally, and there are plenty of opportunities to try something new.
The climate and diversity of San Luis Obispo County allows farmers to grow a wide variety of crops that you can’t find in most grocery stores. And Robyn says she has noticed more chefs shopping at the farmer’s market for local restaurants.
Not only can you find fresh produce at the markets, but you can also find homemade bread, coffee, honey, flowers, baked goods, cheese, and more.
Shopping at a farmers’ market turns the mundane chore of grocery shopping into a family outing. Cruising around the market can be an added activity to a day of wine tasting or quality time with friends and family.
Many of the farmers selling at the markets are family-run farms. Robyn explains when shopping at the markets, you end up supporting not just one person but families and sometimes their employees.
Rising costs of goods, gas, and constantly trying to find help are some of the biggest adversities the farmers are facing. But with rising costs everywhere else, the farmers are constantly fighting the need to raise their prices — it’s something they don’t want to do.
Some of Robyn’s tips for farmers markets: Bring a list, but also take a lap around first to see what vendors are offering that day; bring small change, but also remember you can purchase tokens from the market manager in case a vendor doesn’t take a card; and bring plenty of bags.
“Bring your smile, be happy, be blessed, be thankful and just enjoy the bounty that is at your fingertips,” Robyn says.
