The California Small Farm Conference is proud to welcome these speakers to present on their experiences and dreams for the future of California agriculture at the 2009 California Small Farm Conference in Sacramento. 

Keynote Speaker:

Thaddeus and Moyra Barsotti are farmers in the Capay Valley who exemplify the movement of small farms towards organic production and new methods of direct marketing. Capay Fruits & Vegetables sells seasonal organic produce grown on a 240-acre family farm in the Capay Valley 85 miles northeast of San Francisco.  The Marketplace shop is a beautiful showcase for the bounty the farm has become known for—offering strawberries and fragrant sweet pea bouquets in the spring, heirloom tomatoes, peaches, grapes and ambrosia melons in the summer, winter greens and a broad selection of specialty citrus. Capay also features dried fruits and nuts, nut oils, hand-made soaps and gift boxes. Shoppers are offered “glorious fruit and mouth-watering vegetables” that are grown safely and sustainably by community employees sharing a high standard of living. The farm also operates an organic produce delivery service ‘Farm Fresh to You.’

Ann Evans is a noted writer and community leader, organizing consumers around local food and agricultural issues. Ann is retired from the California Department of Education, where she served as special advisor to then Superintendent of Public Instruction Delaine Eastin, director of the Division of School Facilities, and most recently in the Nutrition Services Division as a nutrition education consultant to the Healthy School Environment Team. Ann now divides her time between consulting on local food systems and food writing. she is currently working on contract for the Yolo County Agriculture Commissioner on an Agricultural Marketing Initiative which features the food, wine and agricultural products of Yolo County, with her business partner Georgeanne Brennan, through Evans & Brennan, LLC. She cochairs Slow Food Yolo and is the former cochair of the Roots of Change Council and former chair of the Davis Farmers' Market Board.

Breakfast Speaker (Invited): 

A.G. Kawamura is secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture. He was appointed in November 2003 by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Secretary Kawamura is a produce grower and shipper from Orange County, where his family grows strawberries, green beans and other specialty crops. Secretary Kawamura is widely known for his passion for education and for his commitment to the issues of hunger and nutrition, in addition to his public and community service. At the time of his appointment as Secretary of Agriculture, he was a member of the California State Board of Food and Agriculture, where he had served since 1998. Most recently, Secretary Kawamura led CDFA in a series of listening sessions that will provided a forum for the agriculture industry and public to give their input into a California strategic agricultural vision for the next 20 years