Ag ‘Edutainment’ Bridges a Gap

Agriculture is a major contributor to Ventura County’s economy and lifestyle, but most area residents have only the sketchiest notion of what farming in Southern California in the 21st century is all about.

That’s why it was gratifying that more than 1,000 people flocked to Faulkner Farm near Santa Paula last weekend for FarmFest 2000, an event designed to give suburban families a better understanding of the industry central to Ventura County’s history and culture.

Hosted by the Hansen Trust, the educational organization that is transforming the 27-acre farm into a learning center, the festival was an all-day family affair. There were locally grown fruits and vegetables to sample and new skills to try out--everything from cow milking to papermaking to worm farming.

“Even though we live in an agricultural county, there are lots of people who never get exposed to this,” Hansen Trust spokeswoman Shari Klittich told The Times.

Farming’s importance to Ventura County is hard to overestimate. It directly contributes about $1 billion a year to the local economy, provides jobs for thousands of farm workers and others employed in support businesses, and helps maintain the county’s rural atmosphere by occupying acreage that might otherwise sprout shopping malls and housing tracts. Although there are occasional disputes over pesticide use, Ventura County has a long history of low-impact techniques such as the use of beneficial insects and efficient irrigation techniques.

Most suburbanites enjoy driving past the vast green vistas of lemon or avocado orchards and endless fields of onions, broccoli or flowers. More and more are making visits to local farmers markets a part of the weekly grocery shopping routine. Tens of thousands are expected to turn out for the annual California Strawberry Festival in Oxnard on May 20-21, hundreds of thousands for the Ventura County Fair on Aug. 2-13.

But their knowledge--or interest--doesn’t go much further.

Nonfarmers who enjoy such benefits have a responsibility to learn something about the challenges local farmers must surmount to raise crops, stay in business and earn a livable profit. Anything from surprise weather to changes in foreign trade policy to rising water costs to political decisions can complicate the deceptively simple concept of planting, nurturing, harvesting and selling a crop.

Through events such as FarmFest and its extensive program that has helped build gardens in almost 60% of the county’s public schools, the Hansen Trust is helping to bridge this gap. This is important work, and we salute the organizers of FarmFest and everyone who came to learn a little--and have fun doing it.