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Rural Broadband a Top Priority for Secretary of Agriculture, Sonny Perdue

On Wednesday, April 18, the 2018 Cap-to-Cap Food & Ag policy team had the opportunity to meet with Secretary of Agriculture, Sonny Perdue. The meeting, secured through the leadership and persistence of Linda Budge, mayor of the City of Rancho Cordova, was held Wednesday morning at U.S. Department of Agriculture headquarters, located in the historic Agriculture South Building in Washington, D.C.  Mayor Budge and Secretary Perdue are former high school classmates, having attending high school together in Georgia, Purdue from a local farming family and Budge from a military family. The two have remained in contact over the years.

The Food & Ag team was there to talk about several policy priorities for the greater Sacramento region including rural broadband, forest management, conservation, and expanding support for and access to healthy foods for the hidden hungry, including college students and working families.

On the issue of rural broadband, Secretary Purdue noted that the lack of “e-Connectivity” is the top issue he hears about wherever he visits, most recently Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee. Purdue believes “e-Connectivity is the number one issue holding the [U.S.] ag industry back.” In fact, after meeting with our team, the Secretary was launching the first of a series of national listening sessions on improving e-connectivity in rural America, along with Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai and a coalition of industry leaders. (The Food & Ag team held a meeting with the Chairman’s office earlier in the week on the same topic).

Relaying to Purdue the challenges from a California perspective were third generation Clarksburg farmers, David and Phil Ogilvie. David shared his personal story of his ability to apply modern farming techniques to drive efficiencies in water use on several of his fields through sensors and remote irrigation management with an iPhone app. Due to lack of broadband access, he isn’t able to deploy the technology on all of his fields. His farm in Clarksburg is located is a community less than a fifteen-minute drive from the California State Capitol. Unfortunately, lack of broadband access in rural areas of California is not an issue unique to Clarksburg. In fact, as a whole, the region has relatively poor grades for broadband infrastructure.

The world views California as leader in technology and innovation. However, we are not leading in terms broadband speed and access. Many rural residents are disconnected from the many benefits of e-connectivity, including opportunities for distance learning, expanding global markets for small businesses, connecting to information on employment and job applications, and accessing telemedicine for improved health.

Fortunately, there is growing awareness of the importance of broadband as a critical utility for 21st Century competitiveness. As affirmed by Secretary Perdue, it’s time to build a 21st Century Highway of Connectivity. We can look to models from the past that have expanded utilities such as electricity and telephone service to all for ideas. Solving the problem will require creative partnerships between federal, state, local government and private partners.

The Connected Capital Broadband Consortium is working with partners and stakeholder across the region to elevate the importance of this issue and to help fill our broadband infrastructure gaps. Together, we can envision the future-ready e-connectivity infrastructure we need for regional prosperity and competitiveness. Let’s work together collectively tackle the challenge!

Tammy Cronin was a Valley Vision Project Leader working in the 21st Century Workforce and Healthy Communities strategies.

International Delegation Will be Looking for Trade, Research, Partners

By Mark Anderson – Staff Writer, Sacramento Business Journal

An international delegation for entrepreneurship and innovation will tour Northern California this fall, ending with a week-long tour of Davis and Sacramento to study advanced food and agricultural business ecosystems.

The tour will also focus on innovation, science and research, said Trish Kelly, managing director of the local research and advocacy group Valley Vision. “This is food and ag in a big sense.”

This is the first time the Americas Competitiveness Exchange has visited Northern California. The 50 members of its tour group will include government ministers, academics and entrepreneurs looking to forge trade, business ties and research partnerships, she said.

“These events are very focused on outcomes. They want to make connections,” Kelly said.

The tour group will include members from Canada, Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean and South America, as well as Germany and Israel.

The University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, which is based in Davis, is a primary sponsor of the tour, along with Valley Vision.

Some of the highlights of the local tour will be the University of California Davis, the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Sciences and Golden 1 Center, as well as some local food companies, beverage purveyors and briefings on local food systems, Kelly said.

Read full article on the Sacramento Business Journal website.

Harvesting Opportunity Through Local Food System Investments

Valley Vision, the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, and USDA Rural Development hosted over 125 people on January 30th, 2018 for a forum on the economic power associated with investing in regional food systems.

Harvesting Opportunity: The Power of Regional Food System Investments to Transform Communities, was published in 2017 as a partnership between the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The book illustrates regional food systems as a tool for community and economic development; offers unique financing models and case studies of financial investments that are supporting today’s smaller food-related businesses and entrepreneurs; and profiles successful collaborations among the financial sector, government, philanthropy, academic, and others.

Valley Vision board member Shawn Harrison of Soil Born Farms opened the meeting, followed by a welcome to Sacramento and Council District 3 from Sacramento City Councilmember (and beekeeper) Jeff Harris, and comments from Yolo County Supervisor and food access champion Don Saylor, who also introduced keynote speaker Kim Dolbow Vann, the new California Director for USDA Rural Development. Director Vann spoke about the need for increased broadband in rural communities, her office’s ability to facilitate communications and partnerships, and getting food processing and manufacturing “back to where the farming is.” She emphasized that our region has “transportation on our side” with easy access to rail, ports, and multiple freeways.

The event was followed by a reception opened by Assemblymembers Anna Caballero (D-Salinas) and Cecilia Aguilar-Curry (D-Winters) who spoke as champions for rural communities including the importance of agriculture to our state and regional economies, economic development, and bridging the digital divide.

Expert panelists focused on topics addressed in the publication including:

  • Innovative strategies and financing for the next generation of farmers and entrepreneurs
  • Turning the risk-return model of investing into a three-pronged approach that includes social impact
  • Addressing social equity in the food system through investments

Panelists included (listed alphabetically):

  • Anthony Chang, Kitchen Table Advisors
  • Catherine Howard, Northern California Community Loan Fund
  • Reggie Knox, CA FarmLink
  • Ami Naik, Radicle Impact
  • Allison Paap, American Ag Credit
  • Olivia Rebanal, Capital Impact Partners
  • Meredith Storton, RSF Social Finance

Shawn Harrison and Managing Director Trish Kelly moderated the panels.

Topics addressed in questions from the audience included the need for transparency in the investment community, how CDFIs and other investors make decisions to match lending tools with specific projects, and further conversation about the need for social equity in food system investments.

Valley Vision will continue to work with our funding partners, nonprofits, and entrepreneurs to create real opportunities for people on the ground. As stated by Leilani Barnett of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco in closing out the event, there are some very real projects that come out of these important discussions, and we will continue to elevate them.

Robyn Krock is a Project Leader managing Valley Vision’s food and agriculture portfolio.

Agplus Generates New Ideas for Access to Capital

What can funders – bankers, lenders, government program administrators, fund managers, and others – do to help California’s vital food and agriculture businesses more easily access capital?

Over 65 leaders from business, finance, government, and the nonprofit sector gathered at the AgPlus Funders Forum on December 12th to address the critical issue of access to capital, hosted at the UC Agriculture and Natural Resources offices in Davis.

Meg Arnold, Managing Director of Valley Vision, kicked off the Forum, calling on attendees to leverage other leaders in the room, and to liberally share best practices. She then introduced Justin Emmi with Chase Bank – a presenting sponsor of the event – who specializes in agribusiness and food banking for nearly the entire State of California.

Glenda Humiston, Vice President of UC Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR), provided the keynote address and set goals for the day. She described the work done to organize, categorize, and describe different types of financing for California businesses, resulting in the California Financial Opportunities Roundtable’s (CalFOR) 2012 Access to Capital publication. For years, this comprehensive guidebook has been the best resource available for information about financing and community investment in California. The CalFOR team is currently working on a 2018 update, which will include additional innovative and creative financing strategies that have arisen since 2012. The AgPlus Funders Forum is an important step toward collecting these innovative models and strategies for inclusion in the next iteration of this fantastic resource!

Following the keynote, a panel of experts spoke about the challenges they face in supporting or lending to food and ag businesses. Carrie Ellinwood, Lead Lender Relations Specialist with the U.S. Small Business Administration, observed that her SBA district is up 300 loans in the last year, and that average loan sizes are increasing, strongly indicating the need for more support programs for smaller businesses. Ismael Herrera, Associate Director of the Office of Community and Economic Development at Fresno State, talked about the interest that Silicon Valley is taking in the San Joaquin Valley, and the opportunities that provides to food, ag, and agtech businesses. Catherine Howard, Director of Strategic Initiatives at the Northern California Community Loan Fund, noted that borrowers often need meaningful assistance in addition to, and complementing, financial resources, which could help accelerate projects to market more quickly. Marc Nemanic, Executive Director & Chief Credit Officer at 3CORE, pointed out that entrepreneurship among millennials is made even more challenging due to deep student loan burdens, and that this area is not being addressed by existing business support programs.

During the afternoon, participants took part in four working sessions based on key areas of opportunity identified in the original CalFOR report, addressing a set of questions designed to identify tangible next steps:

Session #1: Supporting Economic Development: What are the emerging best practices in support of economic development in California’s communities? Are roles changing, are tools being added or updated? What hurdles, either in policy or in practice, are slowing progress, and how can they best be mitigated? This session will identify current and emerging examples, such as CALED’s statewide revolving loan fund, as well as the use of appropriate metrics to assess local economic development work.

Session #2: Supporting Small Business & Micro Enterprises: The smallest businesses in any community can be among the most challenging to both identify and then to serve, including access to capital. What is proving most effective in supporting these businesses, and what challenges remain?

Session #3: Effective Intermediaries: A variety of intermediaries already help to “close the gap,” offering access to capital with different terms and structures intended to expand its accessibility. What policy constraints do intermediaries face, and what changes would strengthen the roles they fill?

Session #4: Regional Finance Fund: Targeted financing vehicles, often defined in terms of regional or industry focus, can fill critical gaps while also providing funders a means of “investing in Main Street” to support local economic growth. What might a Regional Finance Fund supporting food and agriculture in the Central Valley look like? How has the California FreshWorks Fund evolved in the five years since its founding, and what lessons does its experience, as well as that of similar funds, provide?

Group participants then reported out to the full group and had an in-depth discussion around next steps in each of these areas. The CalFOR team is synthesizing the information gathered and preparing it for inclusion in the forthcoming 2018 CalFOR update intended to be a leading-edge resource for California’s entrepreneurs, businesses, and governments in securing financing.

For food and ag businesses and nonprofits who want to participate in the conversation around innovative financing structures, we invite you to join us for two AgPlus events on January 30th. The first event will take place in Woodland, and will feature a morning panel discussion around the importance of establishing an Ag Innovation Hub in Northern California, in proximity to UC Davis. The second event, in the afternoon, serves as the West Coast launch of Harvesting Opportunity: The Power of Regional Food System Investments to Transform Communities. This new publication from USDA and the Federal Reserve Bank delivers the latest insights on innovative strategies and resources to:

  • Supporting the next generation of farmers and food economy entrepreneurs
  • Models for collaboration between policymakers, practitioners, and the financial community
  • Research addressing how to improve regional food systems
  • Strategies for improving food access and security

Please register for both events to join Valley Vision, the AgPlus Consortium, and our local partners in contributing to this important work. Let’s support our vital food and ag businesses and nonprofits!

The Central Valley AgPlus Food and Beverage Manufacturing Consortium is managed by Valley Vision (Sacramento region), the Office of Community and Economic Development at CSU Fresno (San Joaquin Valley), and the Center for Economic Development at CSU Chico (North State) as part of a federal designation as a manufacturing communities partnership, or “IMCP.” This work is funded by the federal Economic Development Administration (EDA) to drive growth in the region’s food economy.

Adrian Rehn is a Valley Vision Project Manager leading the Cleaner Air Partnership and managing the organization’s communications.

Visit Sacramento & Valley Vision Announce New Farm-to-Fork Partnership

Organizations will work in tandem to promote and grow the region’s food and agricultural efforts

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Visit Sacramento announced today that it will partner with regional leadership organization Valley Vision to enhance the Sacramento region’s America’s Farm-to-Fork Capital identity.

Visit Sacramento took on the development of a program around farm-to-fork after the region was declared America’s Farm-to-Fork Capital in 2012. Since that time, the destination marketing organization has led the effort to grow farm-to-fork into a year-round national identity that has been embraced throughout the greater Sacramento area. Over the last five years, Visit Sacramento has shared the region’s farm-to-fork story with tour operators, visitors and travel media across the country, while helping to guide local programs and endeavors that bring farm-to-fork to life for the community.

“When we set out to make a year-round initiative around farm-to-fork, we never would have believed how far the concept would have come in just five years,” said Visit Sacramento President and CEO Mike Testa. “As we moved into our fifth year, we were looking for a strategic partner that could help us take farm-to-fork to the next level. The partnership with Valley Vision will allow Visit Sacramento to concentrate on our strength areas of sales and marketing, while Valley Vision simultaneously continues the growth of the program in other areas.”

In its new role, Valley Vision will work to extend the reach and impact of farm-to-fork, with the organization taking over Visit Sacramento’s farm-to-fork committees and expanding the network of partners, continuing research work around regional food and agriculture, and helping to facilitate solutions to related issues. Visit Sacramento will continue to lead marketing for the region’s farm-to-fork identity, along with hosting the annual Legends of Wine event, Farm-to-Fork Festival and Tower Bridge Dinner in September. Proceeds from the Tower Bridge Dinner will also continue to be used to fund initiatives such as the Sacramento Food Bank and Family Services’ fresh produce drive and the Visit Sacramento CAMP scholarship at Sacramento State.

“We are excited to lift up all the people, the data, and the inspirational stories that make us the nation’s farm-to-fork capital,” said Valley Vision CEO Bill Mueller. “By drawing on Valley Vision’s two decades of work supporting the growth of the food and agriculture sector – from close ties with local farmers, restaurateurs and food access organizations to statewide associations and our ties to federal agencies, Valley Vision can bring additional breadth and depth to this initiative.”

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About Visit Sacramento

Visit Sacramento is a non-profit, destination marketing organization funded by the City of Sacramento, the County of Sacramento a local hotel self-assessment and business membership throughout the greater Sacramento region. As the premier economic development and services organization for the region’s convention and tourism industry, Visit Sacramento develops and executes sales, marketing and customer service programs to help strengthen the regional economy, as well as the bottom lines of our member businesses and marketing partners.  Brands operating under the Visit Sacramento umbrella include America’s Farm-to-Fork Capital, Sacramento Sports Commission (Sac Sports), Sacramento365 (a joint partnership with Convention & Cultural Services and the Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission), Sacramento Film Commission (Film Sacramento) and Sac Event Crew.

About Valley Vision

Valley Vision has inspired change for a better, more livable future across California’s capital region for more than two decades. Using our expertise in research and collaborative strategies, along with our expert knowledge of the region’s food and agriculture sector that we’ve built over two decades, Valley Vision has long been committed to growing the many assets found in our local food economy. We work on a variety of food system initiatives and are known as a regional leader in food, agriculture and related health systems. Valley Vision led the creation of the Sacramento Region Food System Action Plan, the region’s roadmap for advancing the food system, and we are the regional lead for the federal designation of the Central Valley as a manufacturing community, AgPlus Food and Beverage Manufacturing Consortium. Our initiatives focus on pioneering innovations to make food and ag sustainable, healthy, productive and accessible, from strengthening our agricultural heritage to expanding our food processing and manufacturing sector to helping increase markets for local goods.

Touring the Region’s Food and Ag Ecosystem

August kicked off with a focus on many aspects of our region’s food and ag systems, including a site visit from Bryan Zulko, our USDA Rural Development federal representative for the Central Valley AgPlus Food and Beverage Manufacturing Consortium. The visit was a follow up to the Metro Chamber’s May Cap-to-Cap trip, where the Food and Ag Committee connected with our federal agency partners as well as congressional delegation to advance our regional food economy. Valley Vision hosted Bryan for a week-long tour showcasing some of the region’s diverse assets, with opportunities to discuss some of our key challenges and brainstorm strategies and approaches given the still evolving changes in Washington, and taste some of our delicious farm-to-fork bounty.

Site visit highlights included: a special meeting of the Chamber’s Food and Ag Committee to discuss our policy priorities, especially pervasive rural broadband gaps and workforce needs, and upcoming topics for the 2018 Farm Bill; a meeting with Woodland city leaders and tour of Boundary Bend Olive Oil company; a visit with Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry in Winters to discuss broadband and food hub development topics; a tour of the Delta hosted by Muddy Boot Wine’s David Ogilvie, Food and Ag Committee Co-Chair, which included a visit to Greene and Hemly in Courtland where packing of the pear harvest was underway; a meeting of the several nonprofit partners at Leataata Floyd School, future site of the Food Literacy Center’s learning center, including the Food Literacy Center, the Sacramento Food Bank and Family Services, River City Food Bank, Alchemist CDC (which has a USDA grant for a food business incubator feasibility study), and Sacramento City Unified School District; and a tour of the future site of the Food Factory incubator in downtown Sacramento.

The Week culminated with the Metro Chamber’s annual State of Agriculture event – Crushing It: How the Wine Industry is Influencing Agriculture. Four hundred regional food and ag supporters had the opportunity to network along “Winery Row,” sampling wines from 15 local wineries and meeting winemakers, then hearing about the important impact of the wine industry on the regional economy from wine industry leaders.

As noted by Congresswoman Doris Matsui, “A little less than five years ago, our region planted a flag in the ground and proclaimed ourselves the Farm-to-Fork Capital of America. While it was an acknowledgement of what we already knew, Sacramento is the heart of the breadbasket for the world, the designation recognized that we should play to our strengths and be proud of our heritage. The greater Sacramento region has over 200 wineries and that is something to celebrate. In our 21st century economy the intersection of agriculture and technology continues to be pivotal and I want Sacramento to embrace its agricultural heritage as a way to tap into this economic boom.”

Keynote speaker John Aguirre, President of the California Winegrape Growers Association, and a stellar panel discussed some of the major trends and challenges the industry is facing as it seeks to maintain a competitive edge in both California and the Capital region. Click here for a video by KVIE!

We closed the week with a continuing appreciation for the incredible people and places that make our region a center of ongoing collaboration, innovation and support for all aspects of our regional food system. Thanks to Bryan, we have new resources and connections for our mission and look forward to seeing him on Cap to Cap 2018!

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Trish Kelly is Managing Director of Valley Vision, leading the food system, workforce, and broadband portfolios.