If there were a reality television show called “America’s Next Top Farmer,” Brenda Farias would definitely be a contender for first place.
The 29-year-old is the executive director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency. Based in Santa Maria, the office acts as a USDA liaison for farmers in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties.
“I started at the age of 23. They said I was the youngest person they ever hired [for the position],” said Farias, who did her undergraduate work in dairy science at Cal Poly, SLO, and received a master of business administration from University of La Verne.
Farias is also a member of the California Agricultural Leadership Foundation, a prestigious agriculture advocacy group, and a member of the ag advisory committee at Righetti High School.
She’s clearly passionate about farming, both in her professional and personal life. But she hasn’t always been that way.
“I was born in downtown L.A. I had no contact with farm animals,” she said. “I wanted to be a veterinarian because there were always a lot of strays with broken legs and no one would help them.”
So how did a kid who grew up seeing cows only on TV end up studying dairy science and working for the USDA?
“My family moved to Visalia,” Farias said and laughed good-naturedly.
Located halfway between Fresno and Bakersfield, the town of Visalia is home to countless dairies and farms. Once settled, Farias’ family found jobs in agriculture, the city’s flagship industry. Her mother worked in a packinghouse and her uncles picked in the fields.
“I joined the FFA,” Farias said. “And my counselor said, ‘Why don’t you go to Cal Poly? They have a great dairy department and they need more people.’ So I did.”
Even today, she said, many of her peers in the industry are surprised to learn that she doesn’t come from a farming family. But Farias said it doesn’t faze her.
“I’m probably even more serious and passionate about agriculture because I chose it for myself, and not because my family pushed me to do it or because I was going to inherit the family farm,” she said.
Farias is the perfect example of the up-and-coming farmer—a farmer who is young, highly educated, and ready to infuse the industry with new life and new energy.
A growing trend
It used to be the average age of the American farmer was somewhere around 70. Today it’s closer to 56, according to national statistics. That rejuvenation can be credited in great part to the increasing number of young people joining FFA programs and studying agriculture at the collegiate level. This is especially true among young women.
“Definitely ag has seen a little more of a balance [between men and women], with the young ladies pursuing degrees and careers and taking more leadership roles in agriculture,” California Farm Bureau Federation spokesperson Danielle Rau Oliver said.
“Especially if you’re not coming from an ag family, it can be harder to get started. It’s a tough business to enter. Land prices are high, and it’s a competitive industry,” said Rau Oliver, who oversees the Farm Bureau’s Young Farmers and Ranchers program, which gives adults ages 18 to 35 the opportunity to network and get involved with ag-related legislation and community events.
She said the competitive nature of the business leads many young professionals to start their careers in management as opposed to production.
“But I think it’s the goal of each and every one of us to get back to the farm,” she continued. “Young farmers and ranchers today are so creative. In today’s economy, like in any industry, you have to be creative and innovative to build your niche.”
Santa Maria resident Farias has created quite a niche for herself, and she wants to help other young people do the same thing by leading Santa Barbara County Young Farmers and Ranchers.
The county’s committee is currently going through a bit of a rebirth, with Farias at the helm.
“It kind of died out because a lot of the members started having kids,” she said. “The age range for Young Farmers and Ranchers is 18 to 35, and they were all in the 30 to 35 range. I think it became too much to leave your family to go set up a volunteer event.”
Farias is in the process of revamping the committee’s website and application. She and Santa Barbara County Farm Bureau employee Teri Bontrager are also planning a kick-off event to sign up new members and discuss club leadership.
A main focus of Young Farmers and Ranchers committees statewide is to donate food to their local foodbanks. Farias said she wants the Santa Barbara County chapter to do this, but with a fun twist.
“I want to have shopping cart competitions,” she said. “I want the whole community to get involved.”
Farias got the idea from Tulare County Young Farmers and Ranchers, which won committee of the year for 2011.
“They had grocery cart races as part of the national Food Check Out Week where teams had to fill their carts as fast as they could. There were awards for the healthiest foods and the heaviest cart, and all that food went to the food bank,” she explained.
The committee of the year award, she said, is “something to strive for eventually,” but her goal right now is to build a strong and active membership base.
“I would like to have a minimum of 20 active members by the end of next year and about two to three main people to plan social events and fundraisers,” she said. “What’s exciting is that we can shape [the committee] however we want. We have somewhat of a format to follow if we need it, but we can add our own ideas.”
So, who can become a young farmer or rancher? The answer: pretty much anyone between the ages of 18 and 35.
“I say, ‘you eat—you can be a part of [the club],” Farias said, adding that she’s excited by the trend of people being more interested in agriculture and the food they eat, but there’s still a long way to go.
“My passion is to educate, and that’s part of what Young Farmers and Ranchers does,” she explained. “A lot of people don’t know why we recycle or where their steak comes from.”
Along with community events, fundraisers, and advocacy, Young Farmers and Ranchers members also pass on their knowledge by mentoring local FFA students.
One of the committee’s biggest projects, in conjunction with the Santa Barbara County Farm Bureau, is “Blue Jacket Bonanza.” The program gives local FFA students the opportunity to earn their own blue FFA show jackets. Students fill out applications and go through interviews during which they tell Farm Bureau employees what the blue jacket means to them.
The Farm Bureau has already raised $18,000 in the last 10 months to pay for jackets.
“I think it gives them pride that they earned their jackets and didn’t just have them handed to them,” Farm Bureau employee Bontrager said. “Those jackets aren’t cheap. I think they cost $56, and some families can’t afford that.”
Bontrager said it’s very moving to hear students’ personal stories and what being in FFA means to them.
“I had one student tell me all of his siblings had dropped out of school, and he was going to do the same thing. … But then his counselor introduced him to the FFA adviser,” she said. “He told me [in his interview], ‘FFA has kept me in school.’”
Farias said she would have appreciated having access to a similar program when she was a student.
“I borrowed a jacket when I showed because my parents couldn’t afford it,” she said. “I was actually part of the marketing and financial team. I wanted a pig, but I don’t think my parents could afford it … or spend the time driving me to my pig and back.”
A greenhouse for all
Farias said she’d also like to see Young Farmers and Ranchers mentoring even younger potential farmers and ranchers in the community.
“Mentoring programs are really important. That’s why I got involved with the Righetti [High School] FFA program,” said Farias, who is a member of the Righetti Ag Advisory Committee. “Out of the 18 to 35 range, I am the teacher. I’m so thankful for the older ag professionals who shared their advice and knowledge with me. It’s helped me so much, and I’d like to offer that to the local FFA programs.”
Right now the big focus of the Righetti ag committee is building a new greenhouse. Built in 1963, the first greenhouse is one of the oldest buildings on campus. With missing panels of glass and dilapidated plastic, it’s definitely showing its age. A second greenhouse was built in 1988, but it’s reached its growing capacity.
The ag committee and staff at Righetti are fundraising the approximately $150,000 needed to replace the greenhouse. The money will go toward materials and labor costs for leveling, grading, landscaping, and irrigation.
Ag teacher Guillermo Guerra said the plan is to turn the current site into a mini orchard and garden and to build a larger, more state-of-the-art greenhouse on school land not far from the track and football field.
“The [greenhouse] shell is already here; we just need to pay for the construction,” he said. “We’ll get to plant all sorts of things: annuals, perennials, and even hydroponics.”
Ed Ward, the committee member heading up the greenhouse project, said the facility will also include an access road and a bathroom, and will be shared with the school’s Regional Occupational Program.
“The ag program has produced an unbelievable number of successful farmers over the years,” Ward said. “We’re looking forward to bringing the facility into the 21st century.”
Righetti junior Karla Ramirez said the school’s ag program has “offered a lot more opportunities that just a regular science class.”
“We’ve been able to travel to competitions and to meet people, and not just friends, but people who can really get you places in the future,” she said.
Fellow junior Shelby Barredo agreed, adding, “I really like design and flower arranging, and I’ve been able to put that on my college applications. Not many people have that on their applications.”
They both said they’re interested in pursuing ag-related degrees and activities in college.
Another student, freshman Manuel Gonzalez, said he’d maybe like to study finances to be an accountant.
“You know that we have accountants in the Farm Service Agency?” Farias asked. “You could be an accountant and work in agriculture.”
“Oh, cool,” Gonzalez answered.
Contact Managing Editor Amy Asman at aasman@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Nov 3-9, 2011.