Sultans of Soil Morgan Houchin, John Moore, & Stephanie Frausto

Class is in Session with Ashleigh Rossi! Ashleigh is a Fresno State Alumni graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture Education and Communication. She worked for Bolthouse Farms for seven years in inside sales then completed her Career Technical Education Certification to start the Agriculture Education Program at Garces Memorial High School in 2018.  She is the FFA Advisor at Garces. Future Farmers of America was the original name of this program until they changed it to The National FFA Organization in 1988. The program focusses on premier leadership, personal growth, and career success through agriculture education. At Garces, Ashleigh teaches agriculture food and natural resources, floral design and horticulture, ag sales, and marketing, and ag leadership and communications. During our conversation we were blown away with how impactful this program is for young adults. Since Kern County is largely know for generations of farming and agriculture, we are grateful to shine a light on this program. Let's keep the farming traditions alive! 

Dr. S. Aaron Hegde, PhD joins us in the studio to talk about ag economics. Aaron is Chair and Professor of Economics at California State University Bakersfield. The department oversees degree programs in Agricultural Business, Economics and Environmental Resource Management. After receiving his PhD in Agricultural Economics from North Carolina State University in Raleigh, NC and spending a couple of years in Pennsylvania State University, Aaron moved to Bakersfield in 2003. Among his many service contributions to the university, he is most proud of starting the BS degree in Agricultural Business, which continues to grow with the help of the community. During our conversation, we cover topics like farm inflation, changes in generational farming, broiler chickens, almonds, pistachios, vanilla beans, oats, wheat, bourbon whiskey, and Wayne Gretzky. Join us while we sit back with Aaron Hegde and get a little bit smarter this week! 
 
 

On this episode of the Sultans of Soil we talk with Justin Pettit, co-owner and operator of Santa Carota Beef. The Pettit Family have been raising and producing extraordinary full-flavor beef for over 30 years. They had the inspiration to start feeding their cattle carrots back in 1989. The cattle are grass fed and carrot finished. They graze the rolling, lower foothills of Breckenridge Mountain, east of Bakersfield, California and enjoy a 95% carrot based diet. additionally, the Santa Carota Beef is gluten free, hormone free and never fed additional antibiotics. 
Justin talks about how he has grown the business over the past five years, and how he survived the pandemic as restaurants had to close their doors and had loads of beef to give away.
Talk about a family that doesn't give up! When faced with an obstacle they see an opportunity. Their youngest daughter was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy and while navigating through therapy and a pandemic the Pettits opened a Pediatric Physical Therapy office right here in Bakersfield, California called LEAP Physical Therapy.  Listen to this episode to hear the full story, but this is one of the leading sought after pediatric physical therapy centers in the United States. 
Find more information on Santa Carota Beef at https://santacarota.com/
Find more information on LEAP Physical Therapy at https://www.leappedtherapy.com/
Find more information on Walking with Cora at https://www.leappedtherapy.com/ (A non-profit which focuses on giving back to families affected with cerebral palsy and other genetic disorders)

Welcome back after a short break! We are ready to bring you many guests from the agriculture community this year. From row crops to beef, we've got you covered! 
This month on the "Sultans of Soil", we invite Zach Wortiska to the podcast. We talk about his position at Grimmway Farms as Seed and Planting Manager. His passion for the development of vegetables that make it to our grocery stores. How to build up young people in the agriculture industry, and last but not least, his brand @Seed_Farm_Table where he shares his time spent out in the field checking seed development and the bountiful row crop vegetables. Check him out on Instagram! 
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On this episode of Sultans of Soil, our Tech Ag Team welcomes Kern County Farm Bureau’s newly appointed President, Patty Poire, and newly minted Executive Director, Romeo Agbalog. Both Patty and Romeo have impressive resumes in advocacy here in Kern County and with their direction the best is yet to come. We discuss the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) in detail including the legislation’s meaning for California’s Farmers and Disadvantaged Communities.  The team dives in to aspects of water supply delivery and accessibility, water banking, and the regulatory agencies in charge of critical infrastructure management.  We examine the effects of new government regulations on Farmers and Landowners, and speculate on the future of agriculture in the Golden State. If you are interested in getting involved in agriculture advocacy to promote and preserve the farm and ranch industries, we highly recommend reaching out to the Kern County Farm Bureau at https://kerncfb.com/.

Our guests on episode 9 are Jacie Green and Derek Vaughn from Johnston Farms, a fourth-generation family business straight out of Edison, CA, near the base of the Tehachapi mountains. Jacie and Derek talk about how the family business got started, their catalog of products and labels, how the demand for Vitamin C ramped up business overnight, and  how Dark Chocolate and Cadillacs go hand in hand. You have to tune in to this one, it is entertaining and you will learn a thing or two about citrus that you didn't know before. 
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