After a two-year hiatus due to COVID-19, the California Department of Food and Agriculture hosted Ag Day at the Capitol in Sacramento on March 23.
“It was incredibly energizing to reconnect with so many legislators, partners, supporters and friends to share in the joy and promise of our work,” said Vice President Glenda Humiston. “Things almost felt ‘normal' again!”
Anne Megaro, government and community relations director, organized ANR's displays and representation, which included Humiston, UCCE farm advisors Sarah Light and Rachael Long, Sheldon 4-H youth and UC Master Gardeners of Sacramento County.
One booth displayed myriad citrus varieties grown at Lindcove Research and Extension Center and avocado varieties grown at South Coast Research and Extension Center.
Among the many legislators who visited the ANR booths was Senator John Laird, who championed the historic increase to ANR's budget.
“No other event that occurs here, of the hundreds every year, draws crowds like Ag Day, and a lot of the legislators who have no concept or association with agriculture come by, plus their staff,” said Senator Jim Nielsen. “It's really a special day because it affirms the importance of agriculture to California and the world.”
The day before Ag Day at the Capitol, ANR's Global Food Initiative Fellow Conor McCabe, Pam Kan-Rice of Strategic Communications, and Megaro visited legislators' offices to hand out Tango mandarins grown at Lindcove REC and personally invite legislators and their staff to Ag Day. Tango mandarins are a small, seedless, easy-to-peel fruit bred by UC Riverside genetics professor Mikeal Roose and often sold under the brand names Cutie or Halo.
The following are some photos of the Ag Day event. To see more photos, check out #AgDay2022 on Twitter.