FCW Spotlight Fall 2019

spotlight FALL 2019

INNOVATING to Add Value California Vegetable Growers and Packers Look for New Ways to Grow, Process and Market Their Crops PAGE 6

Capitalizing on Value-Added and Niche Markets PAG E 14

Cauliflower’s Rise to Fame PAG E 16

Spotlight

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President’s Message

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Financial Highlights

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Board Update: 2019 Director and Nominating Committee Election Results

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Feature Story: Innovating to Add Value

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12 Guest Article: Ventura Farmers Take

Community Center

Charge, Designing First-of-Its-Kind Water Market

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Dr. Kohl’s Corner: Capitalizing on Value-Added and Niche Markets

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2019 Holiday Calendar

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Guest Article: Cauliflower’s Rise to Fame

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From the Farmer’s Kitchen: Zucchini Fettuccine with Garlic & Almonds

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Mission Statement Farm Credit West will ensure the customer comes first by providing superior service at competitive rates in a timely, professional, and ethical manner, and by delivering a meaningful return on equity through our patronage program.

Who We Are One of the West’s leading agricultural lenders, Farm Credit West and its wholly owned subsidiaries are cooperatively owned lending institutions providing financial services to farmers, ranchers and agribusinesses. Our offices are located in Arizona and California’s Central Coast, Imperial Valley, South San Joaquin Valley and Sacramento Valley.

Board of Directors Chair of the Board Sureena B. Thiara. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yuba City, CA Vice Chair of the Board Douglas C. Filipponi. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Creston, CA Joey Airoso. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pixley, CA Robert Amarel, Jr. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yuba City, CA Teresa Castanias. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dixon, CA Mark A. Cook. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Willcox, AZ Catherine Fanucchi . . . . . . . . . . . . Bakersfield, CA

Candid Conversations: Protecting Your Investment

Robert N. Hansen. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hanford, CA Blake Harlan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Woodland, CA

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2019 Renewal Scholarship Recipients

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Tech Watch: Cybersecurity and Precision Agriculture Technology

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Territory and Office Locations

Craig C. Gnos. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Davis, CA

Tom Ikeda. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Arroyo Grande, CA Colin Mellon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yuma, AZ Mark Osterkamp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Brawley, CA Barry Powell. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sacramento, CA Brian Talley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Arroyo Grande, CA

Spotlight is produced for the customers, employees and friends of Farm Credit West. Comments and story ideas can be submitted by email to the Marketing Department at marketing@farmcreditwest.com.

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Spotlight

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PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Mark Littlefield, CEO

Farm Credit West Is Lending for the Future Providing Added Value to our Customers Amid Changing Expectations

This summer, Farm Credit West celebrates 103 years of providing farmers and ranchers with financial products and services.

Throughout our long history, we have stayed connected to the needs of our customers, adapting and innovating to provide excellent service in a way that truly adds value to each farming, ranching and agribusiness operation we serve. Through this close connection with our customer-owners, we have maintained our relevance, following direction from our Board of Directors and listening to suggestions from our Local Advisory Committee members.

Recognizing early on the need to commit significant time and resources into technology, in 1998 Farm Credit West joined the ownership of a technology company named Farm Credit Financial Partners, Inc. Through this partnership, your Association has effectively developed technology platforms that constantly evolve, allowing our staff to provide you with continued excellent service while also managing costs. Farm Credit West’s constant attention to operating efficiently has allowed the Association to thrive, maintaining a healthy financial position while increasing our Patronage payments to a record 100 basis points for 2018.

In addition to managing changes in technology, Farm Credit West has continually expanded its product offerings, introducing a leasing program, irrigation stewardship program, wildfire relief program, a partnership with AgDirect, and an equipment

financing program, all within the last 18 years. Our financial services have also expanded, having introduced Online Banking in 1998 to now offering cash management and a suite of services through myFCW and investment account products such as Preferred Stock and the Future Payment Fund.

With today’s technology, people are ultra-connected and new trends emerge almost daily. The faster the world changes, the more challenging — and critical — it is for Farm Credit West to be acutely aware of our customer-owners’ changing needs.

As a member-owned cooperative, we rely heavily on our relationships with you. Our staff listen to emerging challenges and work diligently to identify creative and effective financing options to help you meet your goals. These solutions may fit only one operation’s needs, or they could be expanded into a new product, providing solutions for our entire customer base.

Today, Farm Credit West is actively pursuing the implementation of new software platforms that will allow us to effectively target and deliver services to our customers in record time. While many of these changes will be invisible to our borrowers, overall the efficiency of our organization, synergy between departments, and ultimate service provided to you, our customers, will be positively impacted.

Change will only come faster in the future. We are excited about where our Association is headed and are eager to provide your operation with innovative financial products and services for many years to come.

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Financial Highlights Farm Credit West reported net income of $133 million for the first six months of 2019.

These year-to-date earnings are ahead of our business plan target for the second quarter.

Also, during the first six months of 2019 our average earning assets and capital levels increased, and we strengthened our allowance for loan losses.

AVERAGE EARNING ASSETS* (in millions)

$9,206

$9,379

$9,556

MEMBERS’ EQUITY AS A % OF TOTAL ASSETS

$9,857

21.9%

$7,627

20.3% 18.8%

Dec. 31

2015

Dec. 31

2016

Dec. 31

2017

Dec. 31

2018

Jun. 30

2019

Average earning assets increased $301 million, or 3.1%, during the first six months of the year. Farm Credit West is experiencing modest levels of loan growth in 2019; this level of loan growth is expected to continue through the remainder of the year. At the end of the second quarter, average earning assets exceeded the secondquarter business plan target by $157 million.

NONEARNING ASSETS (in millions)

Dec. 31

2015

Dec. 31

2015

Dec. 31

2016

Dec. 31

2016

Dec. 31

2017

$113

$110

0.50%

Dec. 31

Dec. 31

Jun. 30

Dec. 31

2018

2019

Nonearning assets (nonaccrual loans plus other property owned) decreased by $3 million or 2.7% to $110 million at June 30, 2019. The decrease was primarily due to a reduction in nonaccrual loan volume as a result of $3.2 million in net repayments and $2 million in charge-offs during the first half of 2019. These decreases were partially offset by transfers to nonaccrual of $2.4 million. The other property owned balance decreased by $0.2 million.

2015

0.58%

Dec. 31

2016

0.66%

Dec. 31

2017

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Jun. 30

2019

0.61%

Dec. 31

2018

0.66%

Jun. 30

2019

Our allowance for loan losses totaled $68 million (0.66% of loan principal and interest) at June 30, 2019, compared with 0.61% of loan principal and interest at December 31, 2018. The allowance is our best estimate of the amount of probable losses existing in our loan portfolio as of each balance sheet date. We determine the allowance based on a regular assessment of the loan portfolio, which generally considers recent historic charge-off experience, collateral evaluations and adjustments for other relevant economic factors.

* Average earning assets amount for 2017 was adjusted to exclude nonaccrual loan volume for comparison to subsequent years.

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Dec.31

2018

ALLOWANCE FOR LOAN LOSSES AS A % OF LOANS

$117

2017

19.3%

In the first six months of 2019, total members’ equity increased $128 million, primarily due to net income of $133 million.

Preferred stock dividends of $5 million partially offset net income during the first six months of the year.

$142 $120

20.5%

B O A R D U P D AT E

2019 Director and Nominating Committee

Election Results Board of Directors Congratulations to Craig Gnos and Brian Talley, who were recently elected to serve on the Farm Credit West Board of Directors. Farm Credit West Board members are the governing voice of the Association, acting to represent the best interests of the Association’s shareholders.

Craig Gnos Craig has been reelected to the Farm Credit West Board.

His family has a third-generation farming operation and is involved in the production of alfalfa, corn, cucumbers, tomatoes, squash, sunflowers, watermelons and wheat in the Solano County area.

Brian Talley Brian has been reelected to the Farm Credit West Board.

His family has a third-generation farming operation and is involved in the production of bell peppers, brussels sprouts, wine grapes, napa cabbage, lemons, avocados, spinach and cilantro in the San Luis Obispo County area.

Thank you to those who participated in the election process. You play an important role in Farm Credit West’s success. We would like to convey our most sincere appreciation to those who agreed to serve as Board of Director candidates, Nominating Committee members, Nominating Committee candidates and to all those stockholders who cast their ballots.

2019–2020

Nominating Committee Bryan Barrios Mike Blohm Kim Grizzle Michael Dias Matt Mariani Nicholas Miller Craig Reade Louis Pandol 2019–2020

Alternates for Nominating Committee Doug Circle Ron Denner Paul Greidanus J.P. LaBrucherie Mark McBroom Sam Nevis Julien Parsons Paul Squires

Seeking qualified candidates Directors serve on the boards of Farm Credit West, ACA and each of its subsidiaries.

If you are interested in running for a board seat in the 2020 Farm Credit West director election, we would like to hear from you. The following regions will have one director seat available: Central Coast | Southern San Joaquin | Southwest

If you are interested, please contact Chris Brumfield at 916.780.1166 no later than October 28, 2019.

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F E AT U R E S T O RY

Innovating to Add Value California Vegetable Growers and Packers Look for New Ways to Grow, Process and Market Their Crops

By John Frith

It’s no longer enough to simply grow the best produce in the world.

Faced with ever-changing consumer trends, Western vegetable farmers are always thinking about improved crops, new ways of planting and harvesting, and new ways of marketing their products.

In fact, many large-scale growers and packers now have innovation teams on staff to explore ideas ranging from modest innovations to true out-of-the-box thinking. As Thomas Edison put it, “There are no rules here — we’re trying to accomplish something.”

One pioneering innovator is Gold Coast Packing in Santa Maria, California. Over the years, the 40-year-old vertically integrated grower and packing house has come up with a long list of successful ideas. These include everything from riced cauliflower to a cogeneration system that supplies most of the operation’s power — and uses the heat from the system to quickly cool water.

“Most companies in the fresh-cut business have innovation teams,” said Ronald Burk, the company’s president and co-founder. “It’s a slow, tedious process that sometimes drives me nuts, but if we hit a home run it can be really good for our business.”

“We have three to four people on our innovations team, and we use outside consultants too. Sometimes we come up with an idea, but two-thirds of the time it’s a customer or a chef who does — and we have a person on staff who works directly with chefs.”

Agricultural innovations take many shapes but have three main branches — developing new and better crops,

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exploring ways to add value to commodities, and using technology and mechanization to improve productivity.

How Growers Innovate with Crops Steve Gill is President and CEO of Gills Onions in Oxnard, California — one of the largest, most innovative and sustainable fresh-cut onion processing plants in the world.

In fact, Gills pioneered the whole-peeled-onion business, selling primarily to food service and canning operations.

Gill said the processing facility has invested in numerous innovations over the years, but it all starts with building a better onion.

“Being vertically integrated, we look for the best varieties, the best conditions and the highest quality,” Gill said.

The process starts with focusing on healthy soil with microorganisms at their peak. By doing so, Gills Onions has cut its nitrogen usage by half, which further improves soil health and has virtually eliminated plant parasitic nematodes.

Gill said a healthier onion will last longer after it has been cut than a poorer quality one will, which gives the company a huge competitive advantage.

“Once we get them in here, we concentrate on quality.

We’re looking for onions with the best shelf life. I can

Gill’s brother, David — co-owner of the onion operation and Rio Farms in King City — said working with seed companies to develop new and better varieties can lead to competitive advantages.

“We work with three or four major seed companies,” he said. “For example, we might tell the seed companies, ‘If you can come up with a scarlet baby kale it would look good in this new blend.’ So they go to Europe or elsewhere and buy a small amount of seed and put together a small trial.”

“Once it’s ready, we’ll go to Panera, which always wants salads different from anyone else’s, and show them the kale blend, which is very nutritious and jumps out at you.

Once they do it, the other seed companies get into the breeding process, but it’s a three-year process to develop a different variety, and that gives us an advantage over our competition. We’ll have it exclusively for three to four years.”

How They Add Value There was a time 30 years or so ago when most growers simply boxed and shipped their harvested commodities to customers near and far. Many growers still do, but they also look to sell value-added commodities.

“We started our value-added business in the early ’90s,” Burk recalled. “I’d met a consultant who was instrumental in getting bagged spinach started around 1990. At the

time, we were in the commodity business and I was a large cilantro grower. I asked what we could do, and the consultant said, ‘Maybe you could wash and bag it — let’s talk to Taco Bell.’ They said that was a great idea, and we’ve supplied them with all their cilantro since.”

Since then, Gold Coast’s innovation team has been busy, coming up with numerous ideas that have been put into place. Perhaps the most prominent idea came about almost by accident, Burk said.

“Our innovation team was fooling around with cauliflower heads and wondered what we could do with them. One guy put them into a machine and said, ‘hey — it looks like rice.’ Thus our ‘Caulifornia’ riced cauliflower product was born, which has become especially popular as it can be used as substitute rice for people on a low-carb diet.”

“We spent a lot of time with Trader Joe’s and other retailers, and they encouraged us to see what we could do with our new product. Our team conducted shelf-life studies and tested a lot of different recipes.

And we asked questions like, ‘How can we make pizza dough out of riced cauliflower?’”

This summer, the company launched value-added brussels sprouts, while last year, new products included riced vegetable side dish kits.

Burk said the trend towards pre-packaged meals that can be cooked at home has led to a new market.

“

“Early in the year, we saw the need for small-portion packs,” the company blog reported. “Meal delivery kits are booming and making small packs of our items for the kits made sense. We started with 8 oz. packs of our broccoli florets, which quickly grew to shredded cabbage and then to 4 oz. bags of spinach and 10 oz. bags of riced cauliflower. We now have nearly 20 different packs available. Any item that we currently process could be a portion pack…our innovation team is ready to help!”

This year, Gold Coast also released small retail packs of some of its most popular items, including a 12 oz. bag of Caulifornia Snow, a 6 oz. bag of Superfood Salad, and 8 oz. bags of shredded brussels sprouts and broccoli slaw.

At the food-service level, the demand is driven by the need to reduce costs.

“Labor is expensive, and because of that restaurants don’t have as many people working for them. They want convenience, and chopped onions and chopped lettuce are a value-add for them,” Steve Gill said.

“Food service companies buy 50-pound sacks, and it takes an hour to peel them.

With higher minimum wages and benefits, that’s 40 cents a pound — and the workers don’t care what they throw away. Our onions cost more, but they are 100% usable.”

Bob Espinola, Gold Coast’s co-founder, said millennials are driving the race to valueadded products at the consumer level.

Continued on next page

Most companies in the fresh-cut business have innovation teams. It’s a slow, tedious process…but if we hit a home run it can be really good for our business.

”

R O N ALD B U R K | G O L D C O AST PAC K I N G

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get 18 days, while my nearest competitor gets only 8–12 days,” he said.

Gold Coast Packing Co-founders Bob Espinola and Ronald Burk

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Continued from previous page

“Millennials don’t want to spend a lot of their time cooking, and companies like Blue Apron and Plated prepare healthy, gourmet-ish meals. It does take time to prepare, but the recipes are laid out and they’re delivered to your home.

I don’t think either of those trends are going away any time soon,” Espinola said.

Tech and Mech

David Gill said at King City Nursery, an affiliated company, they are working on an automated transplanting system to replace people who pull the plants out of the trays.

“We’re real close and will be able to replace eight people and do the work at the same speed,” he said. “Labor availability and cost is our biggest problem. Labor is hard to find, and our costs are going up so fast we have to react with more efficiency.”

Faced with labor shortages and higher labor costs, growers of all commodities are looking to increase productivity and reduce costs through increased mechanization and new technology.

To celebrate Gold Coast’s 40th anniversary, Espinola and Burk went to Spain and Portugal last year, where labor shortages have been a factor for much longer and mechanization advances are farther along than in the U.S.

At Gills Onions, for example, a current innovation is upgrading peeling machines to replace 50-year-old technology.

“It’s amazing what kind of innovations you see there,” he said. “They’re developing a celery harvester that sizes, cuts and packs it all in the field. They’ve spent 1 million euros in development and haven’t had it in the field yet.”

“We’ve been working with a company in the Netherlands for six years on them,” Steve Gill said. “They had a basic design and now we have them the way we want them.”

The company has three of the new units installed and this fall plans to install 15 more. The peelers will reduce waste by 15–20%, saving on labor costs and resulting in higher yields.

Growers of all commodities are interested in new harvesting and planting technologies. Among relatively recent innovations are automated lettuce-thinning machines.

Thinning plants from three inches apart to 9–10 inches apart to give them room to grow took about seven person-hours per acre. The machines read every plant and do the job with one person to run the machine.

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Gills Onions Co-founder and CEO Steve Gill

“

More and more growers are also interested in increasing their operations’ sustainability — both to help the planet and their bottom line.

Rio Farms, for example, invested in a massive solar energy project that could power 111 homes a year. The project is expected to meet 86% of the farm’s electricity needs.

Along with its partner Babé Farms, Gold Coast built a natural gas-powered cogeneration plant that meets two-thirds of the packing facility’s power needs — and a heat recovery system converts the waste heat into therms, which are used to chill water for processing needs.

If you have a problem, you have to solve it or you’re out of business.

S T EVE G I L L | G I L L S O N I O N S

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Burk said the latter significantly boosted productivity because fresh water to wash the produce can be quickly chilled to 35–36 degrees. Chillers used previously could take an hour to get the water to the proper temperature, which meant workers would be idle but still on the clock.

But when it comes to sustainability innovation, Gills Onions is in a league by itself.

Steve Gill said with existing peeling technology, about 35% of each onion is wasted — a lot of waste when you process up to 200,000 onions a day. Gills had been trucking the waste to its fields but wanted a more environmentally friendly solution.

“We got into sustainability because we became more self-conscious of the impact of waste on the world,” Steve Gill said. “We started working with UC Davis about 20 years ago to develop a process where we shred and press the waste and extract the juice. That reduces the solid waste by 75%, and the remainder is sent to Bakersfield for cattle feed.”

“The onion juice goes into an anaerobic digester, where it’s turned into biomethane.

We put that into hydrogen fuel cells and generate 600 kw of electricity, enough to power 460 homes.”

The process was complicated by the fact onions are high in hydrogen sulfide, a poisonous gas, which had to be removed for the fuel cells to work properly. And it was expensive, costing about $11 million.

“It took a while to convince Farm Credit West to pay for it,” he chuckled. “But, they worked hard to make it happen.” Besides the loan, Gills also received several grants to help finance the process.

The project was cost-effective, saving $500,000 a year in hauling costs and another $250,000 a year in electricity.

It earned the Grand Conceptor Award from the American Council of Engineering Companies in 2010, beating out 160 other engineering projects nationwide.

The fuel cells have been retired, but the company is finishing work on an updated $1.5 million system that will digest 90%

of the onion waste and will allow the biomethane to be further refined so it could be added to local natural gas pipelines.

David Gill said innovations like these are the wave of the future and will allow agriculture to continue thriving in California despite the obstacles.

“More robotics are coming in, and technology will enable us to stay competitive. We have to innovate and stay ahead,” he said.

Steve Gill put it a bit more bluntly.

“If you have a problem, you have to solve it or you’re out of business.”

John Frith is a public relations consultant and writer who specializes in helping business associations and companies tell their stories.

Based in Folsom, the USC graduate’s clients include Farm Credit West, the Farm Credit Alliance and the Family Business Association. He previously was a newspaper reporter, congressional press secretary and public affairs director for several state agencies and trade associations. For more information, visit twscommunications.com.

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COMMUNITY CENTER

The University of Arizona’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences’ SaferFoodCats summer program introduced high school students to career pathways in food safety.

At left: Students presenting their food safety projects.

University of Arizona’s Inaugural Food Safety High School Program Is a Success THIS SUMMER, 13 high school students from across Arizona, the Imperial Valley and the Navajo Nation gained hands-on experience in food safety by participating in the SaferFoodCats summer program. The 12-day program was hosted by the University of Arizona College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and introduced students to career pathways

in food safety. Throughout the program, students worked on various food safety projects, gained experience working in a food safety lab, met with guest speakers in food safety and developed team-building skills. Farm Credit West is honored to have sponsored this inaugural program.

Center for Land-Based Learning Begins Construction of New Campus

Pictured left to right at the Center’s groundbreaking event in May: Cheri McKinzie, Golden State Farm Credit; Lauren Scanga, Farm Credit West; Julie Blacklock, Colusa-Glenn Farm Credit; Mary Kimball, Center for LandBased Learning; Jeana Hultquist, American AgCredit; Sara Reid, CoBank; and Michelle Paul, Farm Credit West.

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For 25 years, the Center for Land-Based Learning has provided hands-on education and workforce development opportunities to high school-aged youth and beginning farmers. With its current facility bursting at the seams, the Center for Land-Based Learning recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for its new home outside of Woodland. Farm Credit West along with other California Farm Credit associations and CoBank have pledged to contribute $100,000 to help make this new statewide headquarters a reality, which Executive Director Mary Kimball said was invaluable. The new facility will include 30 acres of prime farmland for beginning farmer training and a farm business incubator, a 5,400-square-foot administrative office, classrooms, meeting space, and expanded produce handling and storage facilities, and serve as a hub for the growth of statewide partnerships and new ventures.

Farm Credit West Helps Veterans Find Careers in Ag Every year, Farm Credit West’s Veteran Affairs Coordinator Len Monaco meets with student veterans at universities around California and introduces them to careers in agriculture. Recently, Len accepted an award on behalf of Farm Credit West thanking the Association for supporting Fresno State’s Student Veterans Organization (SVO). Our military veterans demonstrate strong personal values, such as teamwork, ownership, commitment and integrity.

Farm Credit West is committed to providing support to veteran groups both now and in the future.

At right: James Harris, Fresno Madera Farm Credit; Don O'Dell, Farm Credit West Tulare County; and Len Monaco accept award from Fresno State's SVO.

Farm Credit West Awarded Kings County Dairy Business of the Year

Arizona’s Center for Rural Leadership Recognizes Farm Credit West for Longtime Support

In late June, Kings County hosted the 64th Annual Salute to the Dairy Industry & Dairy Princess Coronation sponsored by the Kings County June Dairy Month Committee. This year, the June Dairy Month Committee recognized Farm Credit West with their inaugural Kings County Dairy Business of the Year award. Farm Credit West is honored and humbled to be given this award by the dairy community. All Hanford branch Farm Credit West staff were in attendance at the event and branch manager, Ryan Dooley, accepted the award on behalf of Farm Credit West.

Farm Credit West was recently recognized by the Center for Rural Leadership (Project CENTRL) for our longtime support of their leadership development program. Project CENTRL is Arizona’s premier rural leadership development program with the mission to cultivate passionate and educated leaders who provide a voice for and serve rural communities.

The intensive one-year educational program gives select individuals an exceptional personal and professional leadership development experience. The program educates participants about statewide and local issues affecting rural communities and develops leadership skills necessary to address them.

The program, having begun in 1981, has graduated 28 classes totaling over 640 alumni. Over the years, both customers and Farm Credit staff have benefited from this program, including over 20 current and former customers and six staff members.

Pictured left to right: Farm Credit West Hanford Branch staff: Jacob Tidwell, Elizabeth Hickey, Kristin Virden, Laine Cook, Chad Souza, Michelle Alves, David Hill*, Ryan Dooley and Lauren Evangelo. *David Hill retired from Farm Credit West in January of this year.

The Farm Credit West family was saddened by David's untimely passing in July. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Hill family.

Doug Norton, FCW Sr. VP Credit Lending in Tempe and Project CENTRL Alumni and Board Member, accepts an award from outgoing Board Chair Cheryl Goar.

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GUEST ARTICLE

Ventura Farmers Take Charge, Designing First-of-Its-Kind Water Market

By Matthew Fienup and Edgar Terry

M

ark Twain supposedly said that in the West, whiskey is for drinking and water is for fighting. Whether he really said it or not, farmers around the region know there is some truth to the old adage.

Growers in Ventura County, California have broken that mold, however. They are working closely with groundwater managers, California Lutheran University and the Nature Conservancy to develop the state’s first formal and centralized groundwater market implemented in response to stringent new regulations. The goal is to develop a workable system that allows farmers to buy and sell portions of their water allocations to other growers, providing flexibility as they reduce pumping in critically overdrafted aquifers.

Providing a sense of urgency to the development of a market-based system is the knowledge that the amount of water each grower can pump may eventually be slashed by as much as 40 – 50%.

While water issues are different in every part of the West, one thing is constant: many growers are going to have less water in the future. As decisions are made about how to manage water supplies, farmers must be engaged in the process from the beginning and help to craft solutions. If they don’t, state and local regulators will develop plans to enforce new regulations, such as California’s landmark Sustainable

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Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). Those plans may not adequately consider the needs of farmers and ranchers.

Ventura County is one of the richest agricultural regions in the nation. In fact, in 2017, agriculture revenues totaled $2.1 billion. Area growers have heavily relied on groundwater since farming began in the region as very little surface water is available. Within the three coastal basins managed by the Fox Canyon Groundwater Management Agency (GMA) an average of 89 percent of water comes from aquifers.

In drought years, all of it does.

As far back as the 1950s, it was discovered that so much water had been pumped from beneath the Oxnard Plain that seawater was seeping into portions of the aquifer, making some coastal wells unusable.

By the 1980s, farmers were required to begin reporting their water usage and paying management fees to the GMA to fund water conservation and supply projects. The Agency enacted a system of fixed water allocations and scheduled extraction reductions in 1990, which has been modified numerous times

since. Despite these efforts, the overdrafts continued — in part due to frequent droughts that plague California.

The passage of SGMA in 2014 put increased pressure on growers to identify a permanent and workable solution. The law requires Groundwater Sustainability Plans to be in place

by January 2020 for 21 basins like the ones under the Oxnard Plain deemed to be in a state of “critical overdraft.” Another 109 basins around the state classified as “high” or “medium” priorities must have plans developed no later than 2022.

Faced with mandated cutbacks of 40% or more and fines of up to $1,800 for each acre-foot withdrawn above their annual allocations, a group of Ventura County growers began meeting in 2014 to discuss how to reduce pumping while keeping agriculture viable. The group first proposed a system including fixed allocations, advanced metering, and a water market to the GMA in December 2015.

While the development of the market-based program in Ventura County was a grower-led initiative, it is supported by the combined effort of California Lutheran University’s Center for Economic Research and Forecasting (CERF), the Nature Conservancy (TNC), the Fox Canyon Groundwater Management Agency, and the Farm Bureau of Ventura County.

Both CERF and TNC have expertise in designing environmental markets and have helped facilitate and educate stakeholders, design market rules, launch pilot phases, and monitor their performance. The Nature Conservancy, with the help of the GMA, CERF, and other stakeholders, also secured a federal grant of over $1 million from the Natural Resource Conservation Service. Grant funds offset the cost of purchasing and installing the well-monitoring equipment that is crucial to developing the market.

The growers participating in the discussions agreed upon several key principles for a water market that would protect small and large growers alike, including: ♦♦

The market should be formal and centralized

— and independent and transparent, residing outside of the regulatory agency. Farmers know their needs better than anyone else. ♦♦

rades should be anonymous. No grower wants his T competitors to know how much water he needs to finish his crop or to limit his access to water available in the market.

A neutral third party is required to handle transactions.

♦♦

ater usage must be accurately monitored. To have W a stable water market, all growers need to be confident that no one can take more than their allocation. Fortunately, today’s technology allows for accurate and tamper-proof electronic monitoring, and that system was installed in 2017.

♦♦

♦♦

oining the water market should be completely J voluntary. Farmers can participate and buy or sell surplus water if it makes sense for their operation, remembering that it’s a marginal cost. Each grower will be entitled to a fixed allocation and will only have to buy additional water if they need it to finish their crop. If they have any leftover allocation, they can sell it. The market rate for water will still be less expensive than paying steep fines — or watching a crop wilt before being harvested. o prevent farmers from selling all their allocations T and permanently fallowing land, growers can only buy or sell the current year’s allocations.

Matthew Fienup is an economist and Executive Director of the Center for Economic Research and Forecasting at California Lutheran University in Ventura County. His specialties are applied econometric analysis, the economics of land use and environmental markets. Matthew serves as Exchange Administrator for the Fox Canyon Water Market pilot and is chair of the Fox Canyon Water Market Group alongside Edgar Terry, a local farmer and business owner. A leader in the agricultural community, Edgar is the president of Terry Farms, Inc., a 2,000+

Matthew Fienup, California Lutheran University and Edgar Terry, Terry Farms

It’s important to note the program developed in Ventura County might look different if implemented in another part of the West, as conditions vary in every region. Markets should take different forms according to varying needs.

Still, the bottom line is simple: the amount of water farmers can use in many areas will be reduced and allocated either by regulation or through a market-based system. Growers engaging in the conversation early will have the best opportunity to develop solutions that maintain an adequate water supply for agriculture.

acres vegetable and strawberry farm in Ventura, California. He is a member, former director and past chairman of Farm Credit West, ACA, is currently serving as a Director at CoBank, ACB, and is a Senior Adjunct Finance instructor at California Lutheran University. Together, Matthew and Edgar led the group of more than 50 growers, city representatives, and environmental stewards to develop the vision and plan for a groundwater market in Ventura County that is recognized as the first of its kind.

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D R . KO H L’ S C O R N E R

Capitalizing on Value-Added and Niche Markets

By Dr. David M. Kohl

At a recent producer convention, a lender made a profound statement that many of the more profitable producers are adaptive, innovative and have a high business IQ.

These individuals are not complacent as a result of high land equity and are not bound by the limits of tradition. Granted, equity and institutional memory have their benefits, but outside the box thinking combined with business acumen can propel the business to another level.

demographics, and consumer preferences.

During a recent airline trip to a speaking engagement, an article in The Economist magazine entitled “Breakfast in 2030” caught my attention.

“Imagine this: Your morning croissant comes from a 3D printer, your sugar-free ginger cake is soft and sweet, the roast As the agriculture industry launches beef on your sandwich is plant-based and into the next decade, more change will your entire diet is perfectly tailored to your occur in the next 10 years than the past 70 lifestyle. Can you picture it?” While this years. The drivers and catalysts of change may sound outlandish, changes in the food will be a combination of technology, and fiber marketplace are accelerating at time warp speed both in the While commodity-based agriculture U.S. and abroad.

is still a very important revenue source, new value-added and niche markets are moving full steam ahead.

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While commodity-based agriculture is still a very important revenue source, new value-added

and niche markets are moving full steam ahead. The drivers of this change are millennials, Generation Z, and Generation A, which are observing baby boomers and Generation X in the aging process. Combine these changes in demographics with new technology, big data, and the evolving buying habits of consumers, which yield a splintered marketplace.

For example, the once dominant Budweiser and MillerCoors are being challenged by microbreweries in the beer industry. The introduction of plant-based or lab-cultured alternatives to milk and meat, while science fiction a few years ago, is now a reality.

The growth of the vegan movement in the U.S. and abroad has consumers standing in line in Atlanta for three hours waiting to taste the new All-American vegan burger.

Tradition is being rocked!

How Does an Agri-Entrepreneur Position Their Business to Capitalize on These Trends?

The consumer desires four attributes in their product and service alternatives.

First, they demand complete transparency.

Where and who is growing the output and what is the linkage to the marketplace?

Next, customization is desired and, if at all possible, the product needs to be personalized to the individual. Finally, in the value-added and niche marketplace, the ability to market an experience is 70 percent of the purchase selection.

Changing consumer demands require agri-entrepreneurs to develop an alignment strategy. The ability to succeed requires alignment of land, labor, capital, and information resources to the talents and the passion of the owners and management, as well as to an ever-changing marketplace.

In this market, the key is to be at least three products and service differentiations ahead of the competitor. There is always a profit motive of competitors to commercialize or scale up a unique advantage.

beef and vegetables to restaurants and now has her own television show utilizing her electric personality. A dairy producer makes cheese for visitors on tours in her remote region. She also sells the cheese globally by utilizing the visitor database from her farm and reaches out to the past visitors on holidays and special occasions for individual family events.

Change Is Accelerating

The catalysts for change are now in place to shape the agriculture and business environment for the next decade. To capitalize on this change, individuals must be keen observers of developing trends.

They also must master the alignment of their resources and talents to the marketplace.

Finally, the agri-entrepreneur of the future has a high business IQ. Business owners with these three attributes combined are destined to create their own future.

References: The Economist Magazine, December 2018 & Wageningen University & Research: www.wur.eu/careerinfood

Collaboration with Others

Sometimes these changes require growers to band together and collaborate.

For example, the winegrowers in a certain region of the country successfully sought out a new generation of potential consumers that actually felt forgotten in urban areas.

Dr. David Kohl energizes agricultural lenders, producers and business professionals with his keen insight into the agricultural industry through extensive travel, research and networking around the globe. He is a Professor Emeritus of Agricultural Finance and Small Business Management and Entrepreneurship at Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA.

Producers are not required to operate near an urban center to prosper with value-added products. A rural cattleman partnered with a chef in a large metropolitan area by inviting him to his business to solidify his successful brand. A lady sells grass-fed

2019

HOLIDAY S CHEDULE (Farm Credit West offices are closed.)

Dr. Kohl has traveled over 9 million miles in his career and conducted over 6,000 workshops and seminars for a variety of agricultural audiences. Additionally, Dr. Kohl’s personal involvement with agriculture provides a unique perspective into the future trends of the agricultural industry and economy.

Labor Day

Thanksgiving Day

Columbus Day

Christmas Day

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2019 MONDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2019

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2019 WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2019

Veterans Day MONDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2019

FALL  2019

15

GUEST ARTICLE

Cauliflower’s Rise to Fame

By Crystal Carpenter, CoBank Senior Economist, Specialty Crops

When browsing through the fresh produce aisles at your local grocery store, it’s obvious a new trend has taken hold.

Ready-to-cook-or-consume products have taken over the refrigerated section, creating unique ways to eat vegetables. Zoodles, mashed sweet potatoes, cauliflower crumbles — all of these products appear to be taking on retail by storm.

However, looks can be deceiving, which is what prompted us to reach out to CoBank’s Knowledge Exchange division to find out what’s actually going on: have ready-to-eat consumer trends really impacted vegetable sales? For our answer, Crystal Carpenter, Senior Economist at CoBank, takes a deeper dive into the data behind consumer market trends and how they have impacted the cauliflower market.

The Demand Boom

Per capita consumption of cauliflower has exploded in recent years, rising 83% between 2014 and 2018. Growers are benefitting from this rising demand. Returns over the past five years have averaged almost $3,000 per acre (42%) more than the previous 10 year average1 .

1 Calculations based on USDA industry average yields and grower prices.

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Exhibit 1: Cauliflower Market Takes Off

What Is Driving Cauliflower’s Success? ild flavor and versatility — Cauliflower is easy M to use in a wide array of dishes.

ultiple consumer trends — It fulfills not just one M but a multitude of consumer trends: • Low carb/low sugar • Gluten-free • No synthetic or genetically modified ingredients • Low calorie/high fiber • Plant based/paleo diets • Cutting out highly processed foods Innovation — Cauliflower is one example of a general trend of old-fashioned vegetables gaining new traction.

Early adopters tend to be the trendy, fine-dining restaurants that are reinventing what to do with “old” ingredients. Innovation in tasty new preparations has helped reintroduce this “old” vegetable to the consumer.

Availability — While preparations may be innovative, the ingredient itself is not too rare or too seasonally limited.

Is Cauliflower at the End of Its Run? No, cauliflower’s run is certainly not over.

While it is impossible to predict the end of one diet fad or beginning of the next, the factors supporting cauliflower’s rise to fame are still holding strong.

The fact that there is more than one, two, or even three growth drivers provides assurances if one trend were to falter. This sets cauliflower up for continued success, at least for the next two to five years (if not longer).

That said, the growth rate can be expected to slow relative to the past five years, as it did in 2018.

Cauliflower is one example

of a general trend of old-fashioned vegetables gaining new traction.

Exhibit 2: Consumers’ Perceptions on Calorie Sources Causing Weight Gain

Strength in Key Consumer Trends

Let’s dig in a bit more at a couple of the key consumer trends and why these underlying drivers keep cauliflower prospects in a good position.

Low Sugar: Data from the annual Food and Health Survey shows that for more than 10 years, American consumers have consistently focused on reducing carbs and sugar.

Below are a few related statistics drawn from this survey.

1. “ Limiting sugar intake,” “Eating more fruits and vegetables,” and “Eating less carbohydrates” were the top three responses to the 2019 survey question: “In what ways is your diet different from what it looked like 10 years ago?”

2. 80% of people are trying to limit or avoid sugar.

3. T he combined percentage of people who believe sugar or carbohydrates are the calorie sources most likely to cause weight gain has grown from 20% in 2011 to 50% in 2019.

DATA SOURCE

International Food Information Council Foundation, Food and Health Surveys

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Gluten-Free: While only 1% of the population has been diagnosed with celiac disease, between 5% and 10% of all people may suffer from a gluten sensitivity of some form, according to the University of Maryland’s Center for Celiac Research and the Celiac Disease Center. Additionally, another portion of people without gluten sensitivities are following the gluten-free diet trend for weight loss or other perceived health benefits.

Add to that the increasing belief that the gluten-sensitive population is potentially underdiagnosed, providing further support to the growing diet trend. According to the market research company Statista, the U.S. gluten-free products market was valued at nearly $7.3 billion in 2016, and it is forecasted to reach to over $16 billion by 2025.

However, the popularity of gluten-free diets may be fading and growth slowing.

If the number of Google searches on “gluten free” is any indication, interest peaked in 2013. While interest has been increasing since 2015, the growth rate is not nearly as dramatic as between 2009 and 2013.

Additionally, information on the downsides of certain gluten-free foods are coming to light, especially highly processed gluten-free products in which many of the good nutrients are removed. This plays into the hands of naturally gluten-free whole food alternatives such as cauliflower.

For those with gluten sensitivities, a glutenfree diet may be essential; for others a “reduced” gluten diet may be the future.

What Is the Next Cauliflower?

Who truly knows what the next cauliflower will be? But, the list of drivers contributing to cauliflower’s growth helps identify prospective growth markets. While it is not essential that the next cauliflower fit into all of the cauliflower demand drivers, the key is that it is supported by more than one trend, it is not so rare that supply can't keep pace with demand, and it is versatile.

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Exhibit 3: Google Interest in Gluten Free

*Numbers represent search interest relative to the highest point on the chart for the given region and time.

DATA SOURCE

Google Trends

— A value of 100 is the peak popularity for the term.

— A value of 50 means that the term is half as popular.

— A score of 0 means there was not enough data for this term.

Crystal Carpenter is a senior economist in CoBank’s Knowledge Exchange Division, where she focuses on a range of specialty crop sectors, identifying market trends, risks and opportunities. Prior to CoBank, Ms. Carpenter served as a vice president in Informa’s agribusiness consulting practice where she worked for the past 11 years, undertaking numerous agricultural economic analyses across a wide variety of agricultural and bioenergy sectors. She earned bachelor’s degrees in both agricultural economics and Spanish

from the University of Idaho and a master’s degree in agricultural economics from Michigan State University.

CoBank is one of the largest private providers of credit to the U.S. rural economy, and as a member of the Farm Credit System serves as a wholesale provider of financing to 22 Farm Credit associations including Farm Credit West. Economists in CoBank’s Knowledge Exchange division produce industry-leading research on a variety of agriculture and agribusiness topics.

F R O M T H E FA R M E R’ S K I T C H E N

Zucchini Fettuccine WITH GARLIC & ALMONDS

By Timaree Hagenburger, a regular contributor on California Bountiful TV

Zucchini “noodles” are amazing when eaten raw or just barely cooked.

Rich in nutrients, they contain 10 times fewer calories than pasta!

Serves 4 INGREDIENTS

P R E PA R AT I O N

1 pound zucchini

Make zucchini into ribbons with a vegetable peeler. Sauté garlic

2 teaspoons vegetable broth 2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning (see tip) 2 tablespoons chopped roasted or raw almonds, combined with ¼ teaspoon salt (optional) 2 tablespoons fresh herbs (basil, rosemary, oregano) (optional)

in broth and remove from pan when lightly golden, being careful not to let it burn (burnt garlic is very bitter). Add zucchini and Italian seasoning and toss (add crushed red pepper to add heat). Sauté for a minute or two until zucchini just starts to soften, adding garlic back with about 1 tablespoon almond/salt mixture. Turn off heat and toss. Top with remaining almond/salt mixture and fresh herbs.

The Nutrition Professor’s Prep Smart/Eat Smart Tip Adding both dried and fresh herbs builds flavors. I add dried herbs when sautéing the garlic to infuse those flavors, and then to add an extra burst, sprinkle with fresh herbs right before serving.

Adapted from California Farm Bureau’s California Bountiful TV show californiabountiful.com Timaree Hagenburger, RD, MPH, EP-c, is a nutrition professor at Cosumnes River College’s Plant-Based Nutrition and Sustainable Agriculture certificate program in Sacramento. Timaree is regularly featured on California Bountiful TV, a weekly television show produced by the California Farm Bureau Federation. She also manages her own resource-rich website (thenutritionprofessor.com), is author of “The Foodie Bar Way” cookbook and has a podcast called “Office Hours with The Nutrition Professor.”

Do you have a great recipe to share?

Email your recipe to marketing@farmcreditwest.com and it could be featured in our next issue.

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C A N D I D C O N V E R S AT I O N S

Protecting Your INVESTMENT Why an Appraisal Offers Much More Than Just a Dollar Amount

By Heather Ellingson, Sr. Appraiser, Yuba City, CA & Aaron Herrema, Sr. Appraiser, Tulare, CA

IMAGINE THIS SCENARIO: You found the perfect property. It fits well within your operation; the asking price is low; the soil looks good; the trees are newly planted; there are two sources of water; and the seller wants to move fast. Even though the purchase is a financial stretch for your business, you walk into your local Farm Credit West branch and say “I have to have it.”

You start the paperwork, look over the documents and the word “appraisal” continues to surface. There is a mound of paperwork to fill out — some of it is even sensitive information — an even larger fee and it might take as long as 30 days to complete. At this point, you may be asking yourself, “Why is this necessary?”

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Why All the Hassle?

Appraisals became a requirement in response to the savings and loan crisis of the 1980s. As savings and loan associations were closing and negatively impacting the U.S. economy, it was determined that changes in the banking industry were necessary. Additional standards were enacted through the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act (FIRREA).

For the Farm Credit system, our regulator, the Farm Credit Administration (FCA), responded with their own reformations. One requirement was that “all evaluations of real property that serve as the primary security for a loan shall be performed by a qualified real estate appraiser.” At this time state certification programs were being developed to ensure that the persons completing these valuations (appraisers) were knowledgeable and trained in the proper procedures for analysis and in the ethics behind completing an impartial valuation. In 1986, the first iteration of the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) was developed. These standards are still in effect and there is now an entire industry built around developing knowledgeable and ethical Certified Real Property Appraisers. These appraisers are competent to analyze market evidence and deliver reliable market values.

An Appraisal Is Your First Line of Defense While appraisals may be required, they offer so much more than just a necessary evil. For any loan secured by real estate, FCA regulations permit you to borrow up to a certain percentage of the market value of the property. The appraisal determines that market value is based on research of recent market transactions along with other market data.

This research can surface critical information for your operation, such as paying too much for a property, and can serve as a bargaining chip when negotiating with a reluctant seller.

A well-researched appraisal is the first line of defense to protect your investment and Farm Credit West as a whole. Appraisers are tasked with determining the status of any water rights, deed restrictions, legal access, potential environmental complications, allowed legal uses and permitting requirements, and so much more. Additionally, appraisers pay close attention to market trends, both for real estate and commodities. They research prices, supply and demand, new trends for both domestic and overseas markets, and new laws and regulations. Appraisers are

constantly furthering their knowledge by attending industry events, studying cooperative extension publications and by asking you many questions. Our borrowers are the best source of market information because they make up a significant part of the local markets! An appraisal is only as good as the information gathered to create it.

What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

Let’s return to the scenario. It is 15 days before you are set to close and you have the appraisal report in hand. The appraiser’s research discovered that the water rights used by the property are not secured and the seller has been pumping ditch water that the property does not have a legal right to use. Or rather, perhaps there is an oil well that was not properly cleaned up or some other environmental consideration that was ignored. Maybe the seller didn’t deep rip the ground before they planted those beautiful little trees and there is hardpan one foot under the surface. Perhaps the newly planted trees were established by

a lessee who has the leasehold ownership of the orchard for the next 25 years.

Thoroughly reading the appraisal report provides you with accurate information on a property and could potentially help you avoid a disastrous financial decision that not only impacts you but the bank and the community.

Appraisals offer so much more than a dollar amount. They provide in-depth research into the property rights, a risk management tool, and confirmed market data analyzed by trained and ethical professionals.

Aaron Herrema is a Senior Appraiser based out of Farm Credit West’s Tulare branch.

Aaron has been employed with Farm Credit West for 6 years. He can be reached at aaron.herrema@farmcreditwest.com.

Heather Ellingson is a Senior Appraiser based out of Farm Credit West’s Yuba City branch. Heather has been employed with Farm Credit West for almost 3 years and has worked in the appraisal industry for 7 years. She can be reached at heather.ellingson@farmcreditwest.com.

CONGRATULATIONS to all of our 2019 renewal scholarship recipients!

These students continue to maintain academic excellence in an agriculture-related major.

Scholarship recipients are eligible to renew their scholarship for up to three years after their initial award.

This year’s students renewing their scholarship will each receive $1,500 toward their education.

Paul Abatti Imperial, CA

Hayley Fernandes Tulare, CA

Ryan Montemajni St. Paul, NE

Harleen Sandhu Yuba City, CA

Sarah Ardantz San Luis Obispo, CA

Bailey Gruber Visalia, CA

Katlyn Orgam Yuma, AZ

Sarina Sohal Yuba City, CA

Jusneet Boparai Fowler, CA

Nitin Gupta Tulare,CA

Simrit Pamma Live Oak, CA

Stephanie Stewart Waterford, CA

Amairan Chohan Yuba City, CA

Grace Guthrie Porterville, CA

Stefanie Pandol Delano, CA

Kelsey Swall Tulare, CA

Joshua Cramer Lemoore, CA

Macy Hill Live Oak, CA

Payton Paschoal Winters, CA

Ashley Tartaglia Delano, CA

Lauren Danna Browns Valley, CA

Jacob Madden Paso Robles, CA

Chloe Richardson Fillmore, CA

Jacqueline Taylor Fresno, CA

Rhegan Fernandes Tulare, CA

Madison Mellon Yuma, AZ

Laila Rollin Riverdale, CA

Caroline Van Ruiten Robbins, CA

FALL 2019

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T E C H WAT C H

Cybersecurity and Precision Agriculture Technology

By Michael Levin, CEO/Founder of the Center for Information Security Awareness | cfisa.com

Technology has become an indispensable part of doing business in agriculture. Precision agriculture uses information technology software and hardware to ensure that crops and soil get precisely what they need for ideal health.

We are now seeing mobile apps, smart sensors, drones and cloud computing solutions that make precision agriculture possible for the entire farming industry regardless of size.

Precision agriculture includes three platform types: stationary, aerial and ground-based mobile. Some of the top precision agriculture technologies include: internet of things (IOT) and sensors, GPS, robotics and mobile devices.

In many cases, these devices are constantly exchanging data across the internet. This capability allows great freedom to communicate and manage businesses, but it also exposes us to many new growing cybersecurity threats.

Precision Agriculture Risk The risk to the farming industry when utilizing precision agriculture solutions could include: ♦♦ ♦♦ ♦♦ ♦♦

ata theft of business and customer information D Stealing of resources controlled by sensors and devices Destruction of equipment managed by devices Reputation loss if a data breach is made public

Security Recommendations for Sensors and Devices When you enable a new sensor or device, take a few minutes to understand all the different ways these devices are connecting to your network and the internet. Avoid leaving connection points open when you are not using them.

Always keep your sensors and devices up to date with current versions of the operating system, firmware, security software and web browsing tools. Use a supported operating system capable of receiving updates.

Get to know the security features included in your device and its many applications. Some examples may include data encryption, remote wipe, password customization, two-factor authentication, back-up, VPN, and malware removal. Using twofactor authentication is now considered a best practice and should be turned on for all your devices to increase security.

For your mobile devices used in precision agriculture software and applications, take the time to understand the security settings for your device. Wireless features such as Wi-Fi, cellular, Bluetooth, near-field communication (NFC), location tracking (GPS), and media sharing each can be a potential breach point if left unsecured.

Be aware of where your data resides. What data is stored on your physical device? Is it being shared via the cloud? If so, how often does it refresh, and who has been granted access rights? Are their settings sharing your data with applications you have not approved?

Final Thoughts Cyber security can no longer be an afterthought to the farming industry. We must make security part of our business acumen and consider it just as important as anything else we do to make our business successful.

Michael Levin is a nationally known cyber security professional who spent over 22 years in the U.S. Secret Service protecting presidents and heads of state. Michael retired from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security — as the Deputy Director of the National Cyber Security Division in Washington DC. He enjoyed a distinguished 30-year career in public service and law enforcement.

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CFISA has been providing online and in-person security awareness training since 2007. CFISA security awareness training stresses the importance of educating employees to help reduce company risk and protect against these types of crimes.

Territory and Office Locations Yuba City Woodland

« Rocklin

Farm Credit West Administrative Office

Hanford

Dinuba

Tulare Paso Robles Templeton Kern County Santa Maria Ventura

Tempe Imperial Valley

ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE 3755 Atherton Road Rocklin, CA 95765 916.780.1166

Yuma

Rural Arizona/ Safford

PASO ROBLES 1446 Spring Street Suite 201 Paso Robles, CA 93446 805.237.0998

KERN COUNTY 19628 Industry Parkway Drive Bakersfield, CA 93308 661.39 9.7360

DINUBA 940 W. El Monte Way Dinuba, CA 93618 559.591.9378

RURAL ARIZONA / SAFFORD 1120 S. 20th Avenue Safford, AZ 85546 928.348.9571

TEMPLETON 175 Cow Meadow Place Paso Robles, CA 93446 805.434.3665

WOODLAND 440 Pioneer Avenue Woodland, CA 95776 530.666.3333

HANFORD 1111 W. Lacey Boulevard Hanford, CA 93230 559.584.2681

SANTA MARIA 1178 Tama Lane Santa Maria, CA 93455 805.922.7991

TULARE 200 E. Cartmill Avenue Tulare, CA 93274 559.684.1478

YUBA CITY 1800 Lassen Boulevard Yuba City, CA 95993 530.671.1420

IMPERIAL VALLEY 485 Business Park Way Imperial, CA 92251 760.355.0291

TEMPE 3003 S. Fair Lane Tempe, AZ 85282 602.431.4100

VENTURA 2031 Knoll Drive Ventura, CA 93003 805.477.1020

YUMA 2490 S. 5th Avenue Yuma, AZ 85364 928.344.3200

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3755 Atherton Road Rocklin, CA 95765

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Invest in your water infrastructure.

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Farm Credit West offers affordable financing to help you: •

Service existing wells • Drill a new well • Install water delivery systems

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