Bob Vice

I have been farming since my late twenties, just over 40 years. I raise avocados in Valley Center and Fallbrook. I also serve on my local (San Diego) County Farm Bureau Board, San Diego Irrigated Land Group, San Diego Fair scholarship Board, and as a consultants and advisors to the PBS weekly, national, agriculture program, "America's Heartland." Along with those, I also serve as the senior advisor to the Pacific Legal Foundation and their work to protect farmer's and rancher's property and water rights.

I was elected first vice president of the California Farm Bureau Federation in 1981 and one of the programs that the Farm Bureau was stressing, through the YF&R, was interactions with elementary schools leading to Ag and Farm days at elementary schools. I could see the great potential the program was having, with not only students, but also with teachers, who were looking for more information about agriculture. Several elementary schools met on the campus of a Los Angeles area school. The students, teachers, and administrators were so supportive to see farm animals and learn more about the animals and the farmers who cared for them.

Being raised around agriculture and serving in various leadership roles within the industry has certainly made me realize how little the general public understands about where their food comes from and the work involved to produce it.

I think the CFAITC ambassador program—an educator representative in every school—is an important goal. The Summer Ag Institute where I got to spend time with more than 30 teachers that attended was one of my favorite CFAITC events. I particularly enjoyed their description of the "stay over" they had with a farm family.

It's no secret that people are getting further and further removed from their agrarian roots. It is also true that there is a misperception that agriculture is mostly run by large corporate farms. That farmers and ranchers don't take good care of their livestock and mush of food is unsafe. Only through educational efforts can we get the truth out. Education takes on many forms, and CFAITC is one of the real important efforts.

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