Ventura Action
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Ag Education
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Ventura County Ag Summit
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Ag Innovations Network’s Ventura County Ag Futures Alliance will hold the 2012 Ventura County Agricultural Summit, Making Connections: How the Local Food Movement Can Support Ventura County Agriculture, on Friday, February 17, 2012 at the historic Camarillo Ranch Barn from 8:00am to 3:30 pm in Camarillo, California.
Farm Workers
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Action on Farm Worker Housing
2002. In this second issue paper, the Ventura AFA developed a consensus position on the need for farm worker housing. The document recommends policies and actions, and has led to a sustained effort to organize a broad community of interest in support of housing construction, which continues to build momentum.
Download: Farm Worker Housing, Jun. 2002 -
Action on Health Care Access for Farm Workers
2008. Access to health care is a societal problem, and over six million Californians lack health insurance. But farm workers are an especially vulnerable population. The AFA recognized that farm worker access to health care is critical to the viability of agriculture in Ventura County as well as to the workers themselves, their families, and their employers. This paper looks at a comprehensive local solution for farm worker health care access and outlines practical steps forward.
Download: Ag Worker Health Access, Jan. 2008
Fundraisers
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Field-to-Fork
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2011 On Saturday, July 16, more than 150 diners gathered on a beautiful summer evening to enjoy a five-course gourmet meal while raising money to support the efforts of House Farm Workers!
Land Use
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Action on Land Use Policy I
2003. Faced with the need for better land use policy, the Ventura AFA developed a set of principles which can guide the county and cities as they seek to ensure that agriculture is sustained in the region.
Download: Land Use Principles, Sept. 2003 -
Action on Land Use Policy II
2006. This paper reflects almost two years of dialogue within Ventura County. The Land Use Committee of the AFA worked with city and county planners and policy makers to review and discuss the land use principles first proposed in the 2003 Issue Paper on Land Use Policy. The goal was to ascertain current adherence to the principles and to clarify what further action and specific policies are needed in order to ensure land use policy supports continued existence of agriculture.
Download: Update to Land Use Principles, Feb. 2006 -
Ag Land Use Choices
2009. Ventura County decision-makers will need to grapple with the trade-offs between different types of agriculture in the county. The dynamic and changing nature of markets for Ventura County agricultural products and increasing challenges to farming and ranching profitability will result in new mixes of agricultural production in the county.
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Pests/Pesticides
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Action on Pesticides
2002. When the Ventura AFA began, the environmental community’s primary concern was pesticide use. In 2000, the AFA’s first year, a pesticide drift incident occurred at Mound School, near the AFA meeting site. The Mound School incident lead to creation of the first committee of the AFA and the writing and publication of the first AFA issue paper. This first paper clarifies a consensus position, recommending local policy, systems, and actions to protect the community from accidents associated with pesticide use near schools.
Download: Farming Near Schools, Feb. 2002. -
Gypsy-moth response speaks to the issue of community stewardship
2009. The Ventura County Ag Futures Alliance has watched in dismay the recent conflict over the efforts to control the gypsy-moth outbreak in Meiners Oaks. The gypsy moth is an invasive species that was introduced into the area by human action. The damage the moth can cause is well-documented and, if unchecked, could result in permanent damage to many California native plants, particularly the oaks for which Ojai is famous.
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Like Orange Juice? Protect It.
2010. Written by Alliance members Chris Sayer and Karen Schmidt, this article was published on March 20, 2010 in the Ventura County Star. The disease that decimated the Florida citrus industry — 250,000 acres of trees lost in just five years — is heading toward our doorstep. This is an enormous problem not just for the agricultural industry, but for all of us.
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Stewardship
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Action on Stewardship
2005. In this paper, the Ventura AFA addressed the need for a new definition of land stewardship that recognized the role of all members in the community in creating a healthy food system. The product of almost two years of dialogue, this document offers a new agricultural ethic for Ventura County, one based on shared responsibility for the challenge of creating a sustainable food systems. This document proposes principles and practices for farmers, consumers, and policy makers as they grapple with the challenge of maintaining and enhancing agriculture in perpetuity.
Download: A Community of Good Stewards, Jan. 2005 -
Summit on Stewardship II
2006. Click below to download the large file with a full set of appendices.
Download: Building a Community of Good Stewards, Jul. 2006 (large file) -
Summit on Stewardship I
2006. The Action on Stewardship report was followed up with a county-wide Summit on Stewardship held in March of 2006. The summit gathered hundreds of participants to engage in the Stewardship paper and to commit to future action. Click below to download the smaller file without appendices.
Download: Building a Community of Good Stewards, Jul. 2006 (small file)