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2 CapitalPress.com November 16, 2018 People & Places Unique crop has Italian accent Marc Marchini and his family grow radicchio in California By JULIA HOLLISTER For the Capital Press LE GRANDE, Calif. — There is a touch of Italian heritage in Marc Marchini’s primary crop. “I am the fourth genera- tion of California farmers,” he said. In 1989, Marc’s father, Jeff Marchini, and grandfa- ther, Joe Marchini, started a radicchio farm, combining 80 years of farming experience. “For the last 10 years my brother Nic and I have farmed 5,000 acres alongside Jeff and Joe,” Marc said. Radicchio is Marchini Farms’ main crop. They grow, pack and ship 365 days per year and market it all over the Courtesy of Marc Marchini Marc Marchini, a fourth gener- ation Californian, farms with his family in Merced County. The primary crop is radicchio, an Italian chicory. world. Radicchio — or Radic- chio di Chicchio — is a leafy Italian chicory that is native to Northern Italy. A relative of endive, radic- chio is sometimes referred in English as “Italian chicory.” For example, radicchio comes in many different shapes and colors. Radicchio di Chioggia has red leaves with white ribs and is round, resembling cabbage. Marc said he always knew he would work in agriculture. Although he grew up in the fields working summer jobs and spent weekends doing farm work, his heart was al- ways in management of sales, marketing and packing house operations. He almost got a degree in winemaking to become a winemaker, but he now makes his own wine on the side and jokes that he has the “best of both worlds.” “Radicchio is very hard to grow,” Marc said. “It must be transplanted and the planting windows are short.” Weeding is always a bur- den, pest pressure is heavy most of the year, and harvest must be done on time, he said. “We are the largest suppli- er of radicchio I know of,” he said. Radicchio is gaining in popularity. The bitter flavor and powerful colors make it a unique ingredient, and it’s healthy, too. Marc said he loves to grill it on the barbe- cue and finish it with a bal- samic glaze, walnuts, and white raisins. “Marc Marchini is an in- tegral member of J. Marchini Farms and highly involved in Merced County agriculture,” said Breanne Ramos, exec- utive director of the Merced County Farm Bureau. “He has been a member of the Mer- ced County Young Farmers and Ranchers for a number of years and I’m excited to see his continued growth.” Although business is strong, Marc says California’s farmers face challenges. “The biggest challenge facing California farming is water,” he said. “Our surface water for farming is being limited by the water board every year. More water stor- age could solve this prob- lem. SGMA (the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act) is coming into play quickly. All of California is Western Innovator Marc Marchini Hometown: Le Grand, Calif. Occupation: Vice president of operations, J. Marchini Farms Family: Married, two children Personal quote: “Focus on the little things; the big things will take care of themselves.” in an overdraft situation and in areas such as Le Grand we are critically over drafted. Groundwater extraction will need to be limited in the short term and farmland will be fal- lowed, forcing the lower val- ue crops out of the market.” Capital Press Established 1928 Board of Directors Mike Forrester Steve Forrester Kathryn Brown Susan Rana Harrison Forrester Mike Omeg Cory Bollinger Jeff Rogers Corporate Officers Heidi Wright Chief Operating Officer Rick Hansen Chief Financial Officer Capital Press Managers Joe Beach ..................Editor & Publisher Elizabeth Yutzie Sell .... Advertising Director Carl Sampson ................Managing Editor Jessica Boone ........ Production Manager Samantha McLaren .... Circulation Manager Entire contents copyright © 2018 EO Media Group dba Capital Press An independent newspaper published every Friday. Capital Press (ISSN 0740-3704) is published weekly by EO Media Group, 1400 Broadway St. NE, Salem OR 97301. Periodicals postage paid at Portland, OR, and at additional mailing offices. Dairy Goat Day challenges beginners, experts By ALIYA HALL Capital Press PLEASANT HILL, Ore. — For newer goat owner Marit Vike, Dairy Goat Day was an opportunity for her and her husband to learn more information about their an- imals — and celebrate their anniversary. Vike has had goats for four years, after her goat enthusiast friends inspired the couple to get their own. Although they consider the goats as pets and do little milking, Vike said she was most looking forward to health and pasture manage- ment seminars. Vike was one of more than 50 attendees at Dairy Goat Day, which was sponsored by Oregon State Universi- ty Small Farmers Extension Program and Emerald Dairy Goat Association (EDGA) in Cottage Grove. Attendees traveled from around the Wil- lamette Valley, as well as from central and southern Oregon and Washington. “We are so happy to be paired with OSU this year,” Laura Lounsbury, EDGA president, said. “They have been a big asset to us in put- ting everything together.” Last year, Lounsbury sug- gested to the association that it should host an educational day to “ramp up numbers for our nonprofit group and en- courage 4-H kids.” She was inspired by the Northwest Oregon Dairy Goat Associa- tions’ annual conference, and attended OSU’s goat educa- tion event. Courtesy of Melissa Fery A demonstration by Becky Gee with EDGA showed attendees how to build an inexpensive milk stand from PVC at Dairy Goat Day in Pleasant Hill. Over 50 people from all over the Willamette Valley, southern and central Oregon and Washington state attended the program. “It made sense to combine our efforts,” Melissa Fery, OSU Extension Small Farms Program agent, said. “(The program) is all about com- munity education and helping landowners or small acreage owners meet their goals.” She said that the program puts out needs assessments and workshops to ask farm- ers what they need to know to work more efficiently. The seminar topics were chosen by EDGA and Small Farms Extension, and were geared toward both beginners and life-long learners. “Our hope is that every- one, beginner or expert, can take away a few new point- ers,” Lounsbury said. Seminars included: Ad- ventures with Pack Goats, Common Diseases of Goats, Getting Started with Milk Certification, Cheese Making for the Home Dairy, Manag- ing Internal Parasites, Live- stock Guardian Animals, Raising Goats for Meat, Pas- ture Management, Finessing Freshening: The 1-2-3s of Milking, Herbal Goat Foun- dations and Handling Goat Emergencies the Herbal Way. During lunch, a demon- stration by Becky Gee with mond and Walnut UC IPM Work- shop. 8-11 a.m. Chico Veterans Memorial Hall, 554 Rio Lindo Ave., Chico, Calif. A panel of Sacramento Valley IPM and farm advisors will talk about the latest research, 2018 field observations and discuss key pest management issues. Website: sacvalleyorchards.com of the University of California-Davis and other industry leaders. Website: https://bit.ly/2OdjFO6 EDGA showed attendees how to build an inexpensive milk stand from PVC. Fery taught the general pasture management class. She said that “many Oregon pastures are overgrazed” and there are simple strategies to change that. She liked that it was applicable to people with goats as well as other live- stock. Katherine Drovdahl, with Fir Meadow LLC, was anoth- er instructor. She taught both Herbal Goat Foundations and Handling Goat Emergencies the Herbal Way. She said she wanted attendees to start “thinking like a vitalist” and learn ways to handle simple emergencies with herbal rem- edies. “I hope they leave more educated and encouraged to try new methods,” she said. “This information saves mon- ey and they learn to be inde- pendent. If there’s an emer- gency at midnight, it’s easier to find some dandelions than it is to go to the vet.” Lounsbury said she was excited about this year’s growth — double the atten- dance from last year — as well as the variety of different topics. “The Emerald Dairy Goat Association is committed to sharing knowledge of goats with others,” she said. “It is also a fundraiser for our non- profit to keep our group alive, as well as encourage 4-H kids in the goat project.” Teagan Moran, OSU ed- ucational program assistant, said these collaborations hap- pen when a need is identified. She said people have reached out to her before who have ex- perience in milking but want- ed to branch out to meat goats, and events like these connect the community to skill share and network. For Fery, after all the plan- ning, she enjoyed watching attendees network and learn from each other. “Knowing they’re getting some quality educational sem- inars today,” she said. “Any- thing they glean and apply to their farms is good for every- one. Good for water quality, soil and (the) animals.” Calendar To submit an event go to the Community Events calendar on the home page of our website at www. capitalpress.com and click on “Sub- mit an Event.” Calendar items can also be mailed to Capital Press, 1400 Broadway St. NE, Salem, OR 97301 or emailed to newsroom@ capitalpress.com. Include “Calen- dar” in the subject line. Through Saturday Nov. 17 Tri-State Grain Growers Con- vention. Sheraton Airport Hotel, 8235 NE Airport Way, Portland, Ore. USDA Special Trade Counsel Jason Hafemeister, USTR Chief Agricultural Negotiator Gregg Doud and a grain export market panel are among the many events featured on this year’s agenda. Website: www.wawg.org Friday, Nov. 16 Denim and Diamonds Dinner Auction, 5-10 p.m. Salem Conven- tion Center, 200 Commercial St. SE, Salem, Ore. Oregon Aglink hosts Denim & Diamonds, an awards din- ner and auction, which raises funds for the Cultivating Common Ground initiative, ultimately supporting all of Aglink’s programs like Adopt a Farm- er and telling ag’s story. This event serves to recognize those who have gone above and beyond in advocat- ing the importance of agriculture to the economic, environmental and social well-being of the state of Ore- gon. Website: http://www.aglink.org/ event/denim-diamonds/ Third Annual Post-Harvest Al- Friday-Saturday Nov. 16-17 Fall Forage Festival. Benton County Fairgrounds and OSU Old- field Animal Teaching Facility, Cor- vallis, Ore. Presenters will include Glenn Shewmaker, a University of Idaho Extension forage special- ist; Steve Norberg, a Washington State University Extension forage specialist; Mylen Bohle, an Oregon State University forage specialist; and Jon Driver of Farm Credit Ser- vices. The annual Hay King Contest will be Saturday. Website: https:// www.oregonforage.org or oregon- haygrowers.com Tuesday-Wednesday Nov. 27-28 California Dairy Sustainability Summit. Sacramento Convention Center, 1400 J St., Sacramento, Calif. Learn how California’s dairy families are leading the world in sustainable farming, and gain insight into the policies and technologies that will continue to drive innovation and help the industry improve its environmental and economic future. Speakers include Karen Ross of the California Department of Food and Agriculture, Frank Mitloehner Wednesday-Friday Nov. 28-30 Washington Small Fruit Confer- ence & Lynden Ag Show. NW Wash- ington Fairgrounds, 1775 Front St., Lynden, Wash. The Washington Small Fruit Conference is a three- day conference with the latest rele- vant research information delivered by the scientists performing the re- search. Lunches each day are pro- vided. This conference is presented in association with the Lynden Ag Show, a trade show featuring ven- dors serving the small fruit commu- nity. Website: www.wasmallfruit.com Tuesday-Thursday Dec. 4-6 86th Oregon Farm Bureau An- nual Meeting. Salem Convention Center, 200 Commercial St. SE, Salem, Ore. All voting and support- ing members of Farm Bureau are welcome and encouraged to attend. Besides the grassroots OFB poli- cymaking process, the convention offers a chance to learn about Farm Bureau’s programs and priority is- sues, network, and socialize with farmers and ranchers from across the state. Website: https://oregonfb. org/convention/ Idaho Farm Bureau Annual Meeting. Boise. Idaho Farm Bureau members gather to learn about and discuss items pertaining to agricul- ture. A session is convened with del- egates making policy coming from resolutions that generated from the grassroots of the membership. The delegates also vote for officers of the Idaho Farm Bureau Federation Board. Tuesday-Friday Dec. 4-7 California Farm Bureau Annual Meeting. Hilton San Diego Bayfront, San Diego, Calif. The California Farm Bureau’s 100th annual meet- ing. Website: http://cfbf.com/stor- age/app/media/am_assets/2018_ AM_RegForm.pdf Wednesday, Dec. 12 Mid-Columbia CORE Pesticide Training. 9:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Columbia Gorge Community College Lecture Hall, Building 2, The Dalles, Ore. Morning topics include glyphosate, triclopyr and risk assessments. Af- ternoon topics include an update on laws and regulations and case stud- ies and lessons learned. 4 pesticide credits are available. The class will satisfy CORE requirements or can be taken for 4 additional credits. Lunch will not be provided. Pre-reg- istration is required. Cost: $15 Web- site: http://extension.oregonstate. edu/wasco Thursday-Friday Jan. 10-11 69th Annual Oregon Mint Grow- ers Meeting. Salishan Resort, 7760 US-101, Gleneden Beach, Ore. At- tendees will hear the latest on the mint industry. Pesticide recertifica- tion credits have been applied for. Website: oregonmint.org Friday-Wednesday Jan. 11-16 2019 American Farm Bureau Federation Convention and IDEA Trade Show. Ernest N. Morial Con- vention Center, 900 Convention Center Blvd., New Orleans, La. The Farm Bureau’s annual nation- al meeting. Website: www.fb.org/ events/afbf-annual-convention/ Wednesday-Friday Jan. 16-18 Northwest Ag Show. Oregon State Fair & Exposition Center, 2330 17th St. NE, Salem, Ore. The 49th edition will focus on the emerg- ing trends in the ag industry such as small farming, technology and edu- cation. It will provide useful informa- tion to attendees regarding equip- ment, best practices, job training and state-sanctioned certifications as well as legal and financial issues facing all farmers. Cost: $5; $3 for seniors; free for children under 12. Website: northwestagshow.com Thursday, Jan. 17 Oregon Seed Association Mid-Winter Meeting. 7 a.m.-6:30 p.m. Best Western Premier Boulder Falls Inn, 505/605 Mullins Drive, Lebanon, Ore. The one-day event consists of committee and general member meetings, workshops and includes lunch. Scholarship awards are presented to eligible applicants. The day concludes with an evening reception to honor past association presidents. Website: http://www. oregonseed.org/events POSTMASTER: send address changes to Capital Press, P.O. Box 2048 Salem, OR 97308-2048. To Reach Us Circulation ......................... 800-882-6789 Email ........ 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