Agriculture briefs

SRJC to honor administrator Olson in retirement celebration

Farm and education boosters will celebrate on Nov. 8 the contributions of retired Santa Rosa Junior College teacher and administrator Steve Olson.

Olson in 1970 became the college's second full-time instructor in the Agriculture and Natural Resources Department. He went on to become the college's dean of Occupational Education and Economic Development.

The retirement celebration, including wine tasting, dinner and auction, will begin at 4 p.m. at the college's Shone Farm, 6225 Eastside Road, outside Forestville. Reservations are required. Tickets cost $50 and can be obtained by calling 521-7898.

The event will be held by the SRJC Foundation Ag Trust.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed a bill that sets new rules for dealing with the drift of genetically engineered pollen or seed.

He signed a second measure that requires state hearings and analysis before aerial spraying occurs over urban areas.

Assemblyman Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, authored the two laws.

The genetic engineering law enacts protections for farmers with crops that become contaminated by patented genetically modified seeds or pollen. Currently farmers have been the target of such lawsuits without clear recourse or defense, according to Huffman's office.

The aerial spraying law was written in response to the state spraying program that took place last year in Monterey and Santa Cruz counties attempting to eradicate the light brown apple moth. The new law requires the state to hold public hearings, disclose the elements of the spray and to evaluate the human and environmental effects of the spray.

California has four of the nation's top 10 markets where consumers say they prefer fresh foods to canned or frozen.

The Bay Area tops the list, followed by Monterey/Salinas; Boston; Santa Barbara/San Luis Obispo; Seattle/Tacoma; Washington, D.C.; Hartford/New Haven, Conn.; Las Vegas; San Diego; and Chicago.

The survey was conducted by Mediamark Research.

The California Farm Bureau Federation pointed out that the Golden State was the only state to have more than one metropolitan area make the top 10.

-- Robert Digitale