Nov 5, 2018

Rancho La Familia Farm growers to keynote outreach conference for Latino growers 

Vegetable and strawberry growers from Santa Maria’s Rancho La Familia Farm will give the keynote address at California’s fourth annual Growing Together Latino Farmer Conference.

The conference will be held 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 8 at Radisson Hotel Santa Maria. 3455 Skyway Dr. in Santa Maria, Calif.

About 200 Latino farmers and ranchers are expected to be in attendance.

The annual conference brings together Latino farmers to learn about conservation and discover best business practices and network with one another. Hispanic farmers and ranchers are the largest growing demographic of agriculture operators in California, and the conference aims to help Hispanic farmers and ranchers share, learn and grow in their native language, according to the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.

Hosted by the National Center for Appropriate Technology and the USDA, the conference is open to all farmers and ranchers, yet is tailored towards Spanish-speaking growers. The program will be translated into English, with translation headsets. Conducting the conference in Spanish will provide an enriched learning experience for much of the targeted Latino audience.

California State Conservationist Carlos Suarez and Congressman Salud Carbajal (D – Santa Barbara) will also give opening remarks. Six educational workshops will follow the opening and keynote. The workshops will be held in two 90-minute blocks.