Academy students from the fields eye leadership futures
financial literacy; disaster preparedness; and learning about wine production. The academy takes its name from the late Richard and Saralee Kunde, longtime Sonoma County farmers and advocates for agriculture. Karissa Kruse, executive director of the Sonoma County Grape Growers Foundation, said thenewacademybegan withaquestion: “Howdowe create future leaders inour agworkforce andbeyond?” In 2018, she noted, the foundation began recognizing employees of themonth and an employee of the year, all nominatedby
their employers; the academy’s first class was recruited from this pool. Farmers in the county have an exten- sive network of neighbors and fellow farmers they can call on for help, and she wanted “to create that same net- work amongst our vineyard employees,” Kruse said. “We said, ‘What if we had our work- force that was also as connected, had those resources, could call their friend
ByKevinHecteman Even after 25 years in farming, Jose Cervantes is not done learning. Th e op e r a t i on s s up e r v i s o r a t Cornerstone Certified Vineyards in Sonoma County’s Russian River Valley is oneof 15students inthe inauguralRichard and Saralee Kunde LeadershipAcademy. Hosted by the Sonoma County Grape Growers Foundation at its headquarters in Santa Rosa, the academy is a training initiative that aims to secure the viability of agriculture in the county andCalifornia and impart business-development skills for new generations in agriculture. “This class is going to help me maybe to be a better person, and how to treat my workmates better,” Cervantes said through an interpreter, adding that he believes “if your workmates are doing well—if you treat them well—we’re all well. If they are frustrated, then the com- pany won’t do well.” Cervantes’ boss, Jim Pratt, had noth- ing but praise for his longtime employee, who started as a sprayer andnowmanag- es the vineyard’s day-to-day operations. Students in the class are nominated by their employers, and Cervantes was Pratt’s choice. “He’s just very, very well talented,” Pratt said. “It’s not so much that he wants to treat his crew better ; he al- ready treats them great. He wants to learnmore. I saw a desire in him to have more resources that would be available to him that he could pass to his crew, so the crew could prosper in what they do and understand more what they do, so we all work better in a growing and changing environment.” Cervantes said he had the backing of his family. “Sometimes this really consumes a lot of time, but my family also understands, and they say, ‘No problem, no problem,’” Cervantes said. The academy’s first class focused on Sonoma County agriculture past and present. Karen Ross, secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture, spoke to the class about the challenges facing agriculture—among them climate change and water avail- ability—and the need to get involved in coming up with ways to confront them. “We need all the voices at the table to inform our policy, to inform our invest- ments,” Ross said, adding that being in the class means “you want to be a leader in your industry and your community, and hopefully every now and then we’ll see you in Sacramento.” S o n oma Co u n t y A g r i c u l t u r a l Commissioner AndrewSmith presented anoverviewof his office’s responsibilities and a history of farming in the county, as he praised the leadership academy. “Any opportunity toprovide leadership experiences for employees of agricultur- al operations in the county is going to
promote sustainability in agriculture,” Smith said. “It’s going to promote a great- er, more comprehensive understanding of the laws and regulations that govern agriculture or that regulate agriculture, not just in the county but in the state.”
Future classeswill focus on topics such as communication; conflict resolution;
See LEADERSHIP, Page 19
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February 16, 2022 Ag Alert 3
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