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CapitalPress.com
Friday, December 14, 2018
People & Places
California rice farm flourishes
Ken LaGrande heads
sprawling family
operation in the
Sacramento Valley
EMPOWERING PRODUCERS OF FOOD & FIBER
Established 1928
Board of Directors
Ken LaGrande
Residence: Sacramento,
Calif.
By JULIA HOLLISTER
For the Capital Press
SACRAMENTO — Ken
LaGrande grew up in the
Sacramento Valley’s “Rice
Country.” In its fifth gener-
ation, the sprawling family
operation continues to thrive
today.
“In 1851, the LaGrande
family moved to the Sacra-
mento Valley,” he said. “We
grow, dry, mill and market
rice.”
The brands include Sun
Valley Rice, Planet Rice,
Valley Select and Gen-
Ji-Mai. Planet Rice was
recently voted “best whole
grain” rice by Delicious Liv-
ing magazine.
LaGrande, founder of
the Sun Valley Rice Co.
and the LaGrande Family
Foods Group, plants about
500,000 acres to rice each
year. Because of consistent
weather and low humid-
ity, California does not have
the pest issues that some
other parts of the country
experience.
Though one of the larg-
est rice operations, the farm
is one of many in the valley.
“There are approxi-
mately 2,500 rice farmers
in the state,” said Jim Mor-
ris, spokesman for the Cal-
ifornia Rice Commission.
“In addition, 97 percent of
the nation’s rice is grown in
Family: Wife, Julie, and
two sons
Education: Santa Clara
University, bachelor’s
degree in finance
Occupation: Rice farmer
Quote: “To provide
superior and innovative
rice and food products,
services and solutions
throughout the world.”
Ken LeGrande is a fifth generation rice farmer in California. He farms in the state’s
“Rice Country” near Sacramento. He is also active in water issues that challenge
California.
Sacramento Valley and vir-
tually 100 percent of Amer-
ica’s sushi rice is grown in
California.”
What about competi-
tion? LeGrande said it’s not
a problem.
“The California rice
industry is relatively small
with a handful of compet-
itors of different sizes,”
he said. “But, for the most
part we all work together
really well to bring the high-
est quality to the consum-
ers. We currently sell rice
in North America, parts of
Asia, Europe and the Mid-
dle East.”
When he is not farming
rice, LeGrande is involved
in many of the import-
ant issues that impact Cal-
ifornia’s environment and
farmers.
“Ken LaGrande has been
a leader and advocate for
California agriculture and
irrigation water policy for
over two decades,” said Jef-
frey Sutton, general man-
ager of the Tehama-Colusa
Canal Authority. He has
served as a member of the
authority board of directors
for 21 years.
The authority operates
and maintains a 140-mile
dual canal water conveyance
system that provides irriga-
tion water to 17 Central Val-
ley Project water contrac-
tor districts throughout four
counties: Tehama, Glenn,
Colusa and Yolo.
“Ken’s talent, conviction
and leadership were instru-
mental to the successful
implementation of the $185
million Red Bluff Fish Pas-
sage Improvement Proj-
ect,” said Sutton. The proj-
ect is a partnership between
the authority and the U.S.
Bureau of Reclamation and
resulted in the construction
of a quarter-mile fish screen,
one of the longest in the
country.
“This important project
secured reliable year-round
water diversion capabil-
ity for the 17 water districts
served by the TCCA, while
simultaneously resolving a
huge (Endangered Species
Act) conflict and greatly
benefiting several listed
threatened and endangered
fish species,” he said.
“The successful imple-
mentation of the Fish Pas-
sage Improvement Project
prevented a huge regional
catastrophe to our rural agri-
cultural communities,” Sut-
ton said. “Without Ken
LaGrande’s
determina-
tion and ingenuity the proj-
ect would not have been a
reality. The success of this
effort will serve to benefit
the farms and ranches of the
west side of the Sacramento
Valley for generations to
come.”
Would LaGrande advise
anyone to begin a career in
rice farming today?
“A simple answer is
‘Yes,’” he said, but he added
a caveat. “Rice farming is a
commitment of time, energy
and resources and it would
be difficult to jump into
without experience.”
Oregon FFA searches for first CEO
Organization
recently approved
restructuring
By GEORGE PLAVEN
Capital Press
Oregon FFA is poised to
hire its first chief executive
officer in charge of over-
seeing staff and finances
for three separate organi-
zations, including the state
FFA Association, Founda-
tion and Alumni.
All three groups voted
unanimously earlier this
fall to create a new man-
agement structure that will
bring them together under
one CEO, overseen by a
10-member
joint policy
board. Kirk
Maag, pres-
ident- elect
of the Ore-
gon
FFA
Foundation,
Kevin White
said the goal
is to increase
efficiency and improve
collaboration.
“We decided we could
be more efficient in our use
of funds by hiring a sin-
gle executive to oversee all
organizations,” Maag said.
The groups each have
similar but distinct roles
in supporting Oregon FFA.
The Association works
directly with students and
agriculture teachers to
organize FFA activities,
How to apply
Candidates for Oregon FFA CEO are encouraged to apply
by Dec. 15. Materials should be emailed to the Oregon FFA
including:
• Cover letter
• Resume
• List of references
• Response to the following prompt: “Describe your top
priorities for your first six months on the job if you are hired as
Oregon FFA CEO.”
For more information, or to suggest a candidate, contact Kirk
Maag at 541-881-9613 or email kirk.maag@gmail.com.
such as the annual conven-
tion. The Foundation is the
main fundraising arm, ral-
lying support from mem-
bers and corporate spon-
sors. Finally, the Alumni
are an all-volunteer fac-
tion that provides on-the-
ground advice and support
for local chapters.
Rather than seek indi-
vidual executives for each
entity, Maag said they felt
it made sense to have one
person at the top of the
organizational chart who
will align their efforts and
mission. The National FFA
Organization, Foundation
and Alumni underwent a
similar restructuring in
2015.
“What you have now is
a CEO who will understand
both the fundraising side,
and the needs on the asso-
ciation side of where that
money is going,” Maag said.
Conversations
about
restructuring Oregon FFA
began in September, after
Kevin White resigned as
executive director of the
Foundation. Under White’s
leadership, the Foundation
went from raising less than
$10,000 per year to more
than $600,000 per year.
The state Legislature quit
funding FFA in 2011.
Wild West Seed sees flower interest rising
By BRAD CARLSON
Capital Press
Wild West Seed Inc. has
a quiet but substantial pres-
ence in southwest Idaho,
where it grows some of its
flower seeds and most of its
vegetable seed.
“The Treasure Valley
is far and away our big-
gest production region by
acres,” Business Develop-
ment Manager Matt Hilbert
said. “On the vegetable side,
most is grown in the Trea-
sure Valley.”
The 20-year-old Wild
West Seed, a family-owned
company based in Albany,
Ore., produces open-polli-
nated flower, vegetable and
herb seed, and wildflower
mixes for other seed compa-
nies that sell
primarily to
home gar-
deners. With
10 full-time
employees,
it does busi-
ness nation-
ally and to an
Matt Hilbert extent inter-
nationally —
competing with big-name,
merger-enlarged agribusi-
nesses, among others.
“Those big compa-
nies participate in the same
market. We are definitely
small,” Hilbert said. “We
will be faced with our chal-
lenges, but we enjoy what
we are doing. Mother Nature
can throw you the challenge,
but the real challenge is
overcoming. Between us in
the group, we usually come
up with some pretty good
solutions.”
Wild West grows echi-
nacea and perennial blue
flax flower seed in the Trea-
sure Valley of southwestern
Idaho and southeastern Ore-
gon, and has tried to grow
some other flower seed in
the region. It’s one of the
company’s smaller flow-
er-seed production areas,
“but we have had growers in
the area express interest in
growing flower seed for us,”
he said. “That is relatively
new. Growers are interested
in flower production.”
Wild West grows some
herbs such as dill in the
Treasure Valley. Hilbert said
about 70 percent of reve-
nue comes from vegetables
and herb seed, the rest from
flower seed. The company
grows most of its flower
seed in the Willamette Val-
ley of western Oregon.
“The share from flower
seed has gone up — not in a
big way, but it has increased
a bit in the past four to five
years,” he said.
Seeds for edibles were
in high demand during the
recession years of 2008 and
’09, when the popularity of
vegetable gardens surged,
Hilbert said. “Since then,
flowers have rebounded a
bit, a contributing factor
being interest in pollinator
habitat.”
Though the home gar-
den market is Wild West’s
main segment and has seen
increased interest in polli-
nating insects, the company
also may deal to an extent
with farmland put into a fed-
eral conservation program.
Recent years have seen new
incentives to add pollinator
habitat to conservation land.
“We may help them
source that seed, probably
from a seed company that is
in their region or has formu-
lated regionally appropriate
conservation mixes,” Hil-
bert said. Some of that seed
could come from Wild West,
which since its inception
has developed seed blends
suited to particular regions.
The company lately is
doing some more organic
seed production. And it is
developing more specialized
products, including certain
pollinator-attracting flowers.
panel of experts on the topic:
farmers, landowners, and
farm incubator managers will-
ing to share their experiences
regarding what works, what
doesn’t, and how to create
good lease relationships.$15
per person. https://extension.
wsu.edu/snohomish/event/
grow-your-farm-3/.
have been applied for. http://
oregonmint.org.
Bureau’s annual national meet-
ing. http://www.fb.org/events/
afbf-annual-convention/.
vention and IDEA Trade
Show: Ernest N. Morial Con-
vention Center, 900 Con-
vention Center Blvd., New
Orleans. The Farm Bureau’s
annual
national
meeting.
http://w w w.fb.org/events/
afbf-annual-convention/.
CALENDAR
Wednesday, Dec. 19
Lease Literacy for Farmers
& Landowners: 7-9 p.m., WSU
Snohomish County Exten-
sion’s Cougar Auditorium, 600
128th St. SE, Everett. This infor-
mal workshop is designed to
help address some of the chal-
lenges landowners and ten-
ants have related to develop-
ing and maintain good land
lease arrangements. We’ll have
a lawyer familiar with land
leases on hand to explain the
legal details and answer ques-
tions. In addition, much of the
evening will be devoted to a
Thursday, Jan. 10
69th Annual Oregon Mint
Growers Meeting: Salishan
Resort, 7760 US-101, Gleneden
Beach. Attendees will hear the
latest on the mint industry. Pes-
ticide recertification credits
Friday, Jan. 11
69th Annual Oregon Mint
Growers Meeting: Salishan
Resort, 7760 US-101, Gleneden
Beach. Attendees will hear the
latest on the mint industry. Pes-
ticide recertification credits
have been applied for. http://
oregonmint.org.
2019 American Farm
Bureau Federation Conven-
tion and IDEA Trade Show:
Ernest N. Morial Convention
Center, 900 Convention Center
Blvd., New Orleans. The Farm
Saturday, Jan. 12
2019 American Farm
Bureau Federation Conven-
tion and IDEA Trade Show:
Ernest N. Morial Convention
Center, 900 Convention Center
Blvd., New Orleans. The Farm
Bureau’s annual national meet-
ing. http://www.fb.org/events/
afbf-annual-convention/.
Sunday, Jan. 13
2019
Bureau
American
Federation
Farm
Con-
Monday, Jan. 14
2019 American Farm
Bureau Federation Conven-
tion and IDEA Trade Show:
Ernest N. Morial Convention
Center, 900 Convention Cen-
ter Blvd., New Orleans. The
Farm Bureau’s annual national
meeting.
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
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Index
Ag Finance .......................................8,9,10
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