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2009
San Joaquin County Agricultural Hall of Fame Honorees
The
San Joaquin County Agricultural Hall of Fame, now in its 25th
year, is pleased to announce its 2009 inductees.
This
year’s award recipients are Paul Burkner, William
“Mick” Canevari, Bradford Lange, Randall Lange, Angelo
Marchini (posthumous),
and Les Schmid.
The Agricultural Hall of Fame honors those
individuals who have contributed to agriculture and to their
community in significant ways. The winners will then be
recognized at our annual Agricultural Hall of Fame Banquet
on Thursday October 22, 2009 at the Robert J. Cabral Ag
Center, 2101 E. Earhart Ave, Stockton, CA. Tickets are $35
each, pre paid reservations only.
For tickets please call the Stockton Chamber of
Commerce 209-547-2770.
Paul
Burkner
From
1972 to 1976 Paul helped form the company Cal-Grape
Equipment. One
of this company’s main services was offering custom
mechanical harvesting of grapes, and they were the first to
do it in the Stockton-Lodi area of San Joaquin County.
It was also during this time period that Paul
designed a line of grape gondolas to transport harvested
grapes from field to roadside.
In 1976 Cal-Grape Equipment transformed into Poly Ag,
Inc. where in addition to providing custom mechanical
harvesting of grapes to their customers Poly Ag, Inc. also
developed new mechanized harvesting solutions for the
farmers of San Joaquin County.
In 1979, along with 2 partners, Paul formed AIM,
Inc.(Ag Industrial Manufacturing, Inc.).
AIM, Inc. continued to offer custom mechanical
harvesting until about 1990, the year AIM, Inc. came out
with their own locally designed and fabricated mechanical
grape harvester, the GH9000.
Over the past 30 years with AIM, Inc. Paul’s
specialty remains in the field of vineyard mechanization.
For over 20 years Paul has been involved with the
BioResource and Agricultural Engineering Department at his
alma mater, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.
He also serves on the advisory council of Tokay High
School’s Vocational Ag Program.
William "Mick" Canevari
His
love of agriculture and commitment to helping others
propelled him to an extremely successful 36-year career with
the University of California Cooperative Extension in San
Joaquin County. He attended Fresno State University where he
earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Agronomy and Plant
Protection in 1971. Mick
started his career with the University of California in
1971, working as a field and laboratory technician helping
farm advisors with their research and education programs.
In 1979, Mick was appointed UC Cooperative Extension
Agronomy Farm Advisor for San Joaquin County responsible for
conducting a research and education programs in field crops.
In 2003, Mick became Director of UC Cooperative Extension in
San Joaquin County. Mick
played a major role in the planning and construction of the
new San Joaquin County Robert J. Cabral Agricultural Center.
Mick has served on numerous boards and organizations
allowing him awards such as Agricultural Agents Achievement
Award & Distinguished Service Award, California Weed
Science Society Award of Excellence, Alfalfa Seed
Association Award of Distinction, California Alfalfa
Association Jim Kuhn Leadership Award, Honorary Member
of the California Weed Science Society, California
Rice Commission Circle of Life Award, San Joaquin County
Board of Supervisors Dedicated Service Recognition,
University of California Distinguished Service Award.
Randall
& Bradford Lange
Randall
(Randy) and Bradford (Brad) are 4th generation
farmers who followed in their family’s agricultural
footsteps when they started farming with their father and
brother in Lodi. Using
the knowledge they learned to expand out on their own and
start their own business, Lange Twins Vineyard Management
Company and eventually Lange Twins Winery and Vineyards.
Randy was educated in Viticulture at the University
of Washington and Fresno State University.
Brad graduated from the University of California,
Berkeley with a degree in business.
After college in the late 1970’s the twin brothers
returned to Lodi and established the Lange Twins Vineyard
Management Company with the slogan “we will always be
stronger together than apart.”
They purchased their first mechanical grape harvester
and today own 14 harvesters, ten of them being used as
multifunctional modular over the row units.
They grew their business from farming 200 acres of
their own land in the late 1970’s, to managing and owning
approximately 7,000 acres of wine grape vineyards in four
counties today. Overall
they farm over 20 different varieties of wine grapes.
In 2005 the Twins took on the venture of breaking
ground on a new winery and established Lange Twins Winery
and Vineyards. The
winery is home to the Lange Twins wine brand as well as a
state of the art custom crush facility used by many wineries
throughout the state. The
winery facility is designed for energy efficiency and is 85%
solar powered. The
Twins participated in the Biologically Integrated Farming
Systems Programs (BIFS) and are certified by Lodi Rules.
Their environmental conservation efforts were
recognized in 2006 when the won the first California Leopold
Conservation Award. Randy
is a Past President of both the Lodi District Grape Growers
Association and California Association of Winegrape Growers.
He is an alumnus of and has served as a Director of
the California Agricultural Leadership Foundation and has
been a member of the Woodbridge Winery Quality Enhancement
Team. Brad was
the first Chairman of the Lodi Woodbridge Winegrape
Commission and is a past Chairman of the Lodi Chamber of
Commerce Ag Committee. He
is an alumnus of the California Agricultural Leadership
Program, a former Board Member of the Woodbridge
Cooperative, a member of the Pierces Disease/Glassy Winged
Sharpshooter Commission, a former member of the Woodbridge
Winery Quality Enhancement Team, and is involved with the
Central Valley Farmland Trust.
Brad is also actively involved with the Lower
Mokelumne River Watershed Committee and the San Joaquin
Multiple Species Habitat Committee as well as being a past
Board Member of the Lodi Memorial Hospital.
Angelo
Marchini
After
graduating from Rio Vista High School Angelo went to work
with his father Marco in a share crop farming enterprise
where they grew asparagus, beans, and grain crops.
In 1938-39 the family purchased property on Union
Island near Stockton. Marco
and Angelo continued farming asparagus, alfalfa, wheat, and
barley and formed M. Marchini & Sons, which comprised of
Marco Marchini, Angelo Marchini, and brother Bruno Marchini.
Marco retired in the 1950’s and Angelo and Bruno
formed a new partnership known as Marchini Bros.
They quickly expanded their operation to include
farming property on Roberts Island and Fabian Tract near
Tracy. They
expanded to grow asparagus, tomatoes, sugar beets, and
walnuts. Angelo
took charge of the asparagus operation while his brother
Bruno took charge of the tomatoes and field crops.
Angelo teamed up with the Zellerback Paper Company
and they came up with the idea to bunch asparagus into 1 and
2 pound cardboard cartons for direct shipment to the fresh
market. Angelo
continued farming until the 1980’s when he and his two
sons formed A.M. Farms.
He managed and supervised the asparagus packing
operation until his death in October of 1990.
Angelo was a longtime member of the Roberts Union
Farm Bureau and also served on the Board of Directors of the
California Asparagus Association.
He was a big supporter of the Tracy Chapter of FFA
and he was a Board Member of the Tracy Community Hospital.
Les
Schmid
After
graduating from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Les began farming
for himself in San Joaquin County.
In the 1960’s Les worked with John Deere to field
test and assist their engineers in making improvements to
their equipment. Les
also worked with the CASE Harvester division developing and
designing a prototype combine.
Les worked for 6 months in India as a teacher of
agriculture and farming techniques.
In addition to all this work Les has been an active
member of the Farm Bureau and served many years as a
Director of the Roberts Union Farm Center, and he continues
to serve on the Farm Bureau Board of Directors as a Director
at Large. He
served 25 years on the Stockton Ag Expo Committee helping
plan the show, and also served as Chair of the Ag Expo
Committee. He is
a charter member of the local Hitch & Bitch Driving and
Riding Society and served many years on the board, as well
as serving as President.
He also remains active in the Sonoma County
Trailblazers and Reno Sierra Riders as well as volunteering
to speak to the kids at the AgVenture Days.
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