The California Nut Festival Highlights and Events

LES HERINGER NAMED 2008 HONORARY CHAIR OF THE FESTIVAL
By Casey Elston

One of the most active contributors to Butte County’s agricultural and civic communities is the 2008 Honorary Chairman of the California Nut Festival. Les Heringer, manager of the M&T Ranch in Chico, has participated in and helped lead Northern California’s agricultural evolution since moving to the area in 1986. He considers the Nut Festival an important addition to the region.

“The Nut Festival has done a remarkable job,” Heringer said, adding that he was honored to be linked with former Honorary Chairs Emmett Skinner and Fred Montgomery. The event has been “very, very successful as a tool to educate the public” about major concerns that impact agriculture in the region.

Rapidly rising costs of fuel have made farming a much more expensive proposition in a very short time span. “Natural gas prices have tripled and diesel fuel has doubled during the last five years,” according to Heringer. “We’re competing with farms from around the world” and the added expenses are not easily absorbed.

Another hot button—one that has been pushed increasingly throughout the country—concerns the supply of workers. Most of the agriculture laborers in the region come from south of the United States border. “we raise 350 crops in California, many of them labor-intensive,” Heringer noted.

Heringer helped oversee one of the most significant changes locally during the past 20 years. When he first moved to Chico from the small delta town of Walnut Grove, M&T was one of several farms that featured row crops and grains, such as beets and sorghum. Under his supervision, M&T changed its emphasis to permanent, higher value tree crops. The ranch currently produces walnuts, almonds and prunes in addition to rice, still a regional staple.

Heringer has been a major contributor to the agricultural community in a number of fronts. He currently serves as a board member for the Butte Creek Watershed Conservancy and the Central Valley Flood Control Association. In addition, he is past chairman of Farm City Celebration and past president of both the Butte County Farm Bureau and the Sacramento Valley Landowners Association.

His reach expands beyond agriculture. Heringer serves on the Silver Dollar Fair board, is a member of the Chico Noon Rotary and previously was a scoutmaster and president of Chico Eastside Little League. “I feel an obligation to be involved in the community my children grew up in. It’s an obligation to give back to the community that has helped me personally. It also helps my career because I meet so many people.” Heringer and his wife, Janet, have three children, all of whom are adults.

Communicating with the general public about ag issues is of paramount importance to Heringer. “Less than two percent of us remain that grow crops to feed the nation. We need to communicate with people about why we do what we do,” he said. That’s where the California Nut Festival serves a crucial purpose as it helps enlighten people in an extremely entertaining fashion.

“This festival ties in to what (the Far West Association) is accomplishing at the Patrick Ranch,” said Heringer, referring to the historic property located along the Midway between Chico and Durham. The message is “we’re all one community and let’s roll up our sleeves and help each other accomplish our goals.”

Nobel peace Laureate to give Keynote Address at 2008 California Nut Festival
by Erik Ostrom

Global climate change is rapidly becoming one of the greatest concerns on an international scale. California State, Chico, biologist Dr. Jeff Price, one of the world’s foremost experts on this subject, will deliver the keynote address of the 2008 California Nut Festival.

Dr. Price, assistant professor of Geological and Environmental Sciences at the university, will discuss the impact of global warming on agriculture on Saturday, February 23rd at 7:30 p.m. in Ayres Hall, Room 106 on the campus of CSU, Chico. Tickets are $5 per person (free for those with student ID) and will be available at the door.

One of the lead authors of the Intergovernmental Panel Climate Change report released last year, Dr. Price was among those honored with the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize "for their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change.” Former vice president Al Gore, whose contribution helped ensure a high profile for the report, shared the award with the IPCC. The prize was awarded in December 2007.

As lead author of the chapter “Ecosystems, Their Goods and Services” within the main report Climate Change 2007: Climate Change Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability, Dr. Price emphasized how changes to ecosystems can create extinction risks. He predicts that 20 to 30 percent of known plant and animal species assessed are likely to be at increased risk of extinction if global average temperatures rise by more than 1.5–2.5 degrees Celsius.

Price also predicts that flooding will create chaotic disruptions and displacement of millions of people every year due to sea-level rise by the 2080s. Densely populated coastal areas where adaptive capacity is relatively low and which already face other challenges such as tropical storms are especially at risk, particularly in the mega deltas of Asia and Africa, with small islands being especially vulnerable. Low lying areas in North America would also be threatened with rising water levels that could make huge chunks of major population centers uninhabitable.

Despite its dire forecasts, the report is not intended to frighten people, but to provide the international community with a sense of urgency to reduce the emissions that have a direct impact on climate.

Dr. Price is also co-author of “Fingerprints of Global Warming on Wild Animals and Plants,” an article in the international journal Nature, author of the joint American Bird Conservancy/National Wildlife Federation publication The Birdwatcher’s Guide to Global Warming, as well as author of numerous scientific papers on the potential impacts of global warming on birds. Dr. Price’s work has also been the subject of Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Steve Benson and is featured in the murder mystery Death of a Songbird by Christine Goff.

He earned his B.S. in Biology from Arizona State University and his Ph.D. in Biology (avian ecology) from Wayne State University in Detroit. A stint as director of Climate Change Impact Studies at the American Bird Conservancy in Boulder, Colo., preceded his move to CSU—Chico.

The Chef's Event takes place Saturday, February 23rd at 11am and 4pm. See event schedule.

INSIGHTS FROM FESTIVAL’S FEATURED CHEF
By Casey Elston

The California Nut Festival continues its tradition of showcasing the world’s greatest chefs this year with the appearance of Deborah Madison. The chef event, held at the Sierra Nevada Brewery’s Big Room, has been a highlight of the two previous festivals. This year’s chef event will be held Saturday, February 23, with cooking demonstrations at 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. Both events are sponsored by Paramount Farms.

Deborah Madison will bring a plateful of accomplishments to Chico. She worked for Alice Waters at the world famous Chez Panisse in Berkeley before opening her own restaurant, Greens, in San Francisco. Greens became one of the most acclaimed vegetarian restaurants ever. Madison ultimately gave up the life of a restaurateur to write a number of award-winning cookbooks about vegetarian dishes of all sorts, including scores of recipes that include locally grown nuts as a primary ingredient.

Madison is familiar with Northern California, having been raised in Davis. She recently interrupted her hectic schedule to discuss her career and philosophy, and even provided a sneak preview about the nutty piece-de-resistance that will be on the menu for the Big Room’s lucky attendees.

When did you know you wanted to be a chef?
It crept up on me. In a way I was forced into it kicking and screaming. When I was growing up being a chef was just another trade. But I became interested in cooking while in high school. The turning point came later when Alice Waters visited a farm in Marin County where I was at. We had great produce. One thing led to another and she invited me to work at Chez Panisse.

Who were your most important influences?
Alice Waters and Lindsey Shere, who was the pastry chef at Chez Panisse. Lindsey eventually went to Europe and I worked on pastry. Later I went on the line for dinners, doing salads and first courses. Another influence is Alan Chadwick, who created the biodynamic/French style of gardening.

What inspires you?
Mostly ingredients. Interesting, alive, well-grown produce, unusual heirloom varieties, farmers' markets - these things inspire me most of all. I'm not at all inspired in a supermarket, but a good, earthy, public market can be exciting. I'm also inspired by people I know who have a certain flair or style in their cooking, but that's different than picking up a gorgeous head of lettuce or cracking open a walnut.

Describe your experience at Green's. What made it successful? What impact did it have on you personally and professionally?
I was the founding chef and it was a big, adventurous, risky start-up so my experience there was not the easiest. There was a lot of pressure to make it work while going against the grain with a vegetarian menu. Also, it was instantly popular and crazy - 300 people trying to have lunch! - and my only previous restaurant experience was at Chez Panisse which was much smaller and more controlled, so it was hard getting all the pieces to work. On a more positive note, it was very exciting to be able to introduce vegetarian food that was beautiful, and fresh and light and colorful - not brown and stodgy. I worked closely with Green Gulch farm to be able to have many new varieties of lettuces, cucumbers, potatoes - you name it. It was right when our foodstuffs were starting to change and arugula was new! Professionally it left me with a very strong vegetarian identity which has been a challenge because my interest has always been in vegetables, but not necessarily a vegetarian life style. I love produce, biodiversity, farming, organics—things like that—not just an absence of meat.

What is the process for writing cookbooks. Is it hard to come up with something original? How do you test so many recipes? What percentage of recipes you try make the cut?
It differs with each book. If you're read Julia Child's wonderful memoir, you can see how laborious working out recipes and instructions can be! Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone was something like that for me—I was trying to make a collection of recipes that was bigger than my experience or likes and dislikes, make the recipes work and have them feel simple and doable. The Greens Cookbook came out of the restaurant repertoire so the contents was sort of self-made. Local Flavors was driven by my experience cooking from farmers' markets —each book has its own demands.

I cook all the time so it's not that hard coming up with ideas —they evolve out of doing it, they're not conceptual. If someone else has a really good idea or recipe, though, and I can't find a way to make it better, I always give credit where it is due. Why not? Most of my recipes do make the cut, especially as I become more and more experienced. You sort of know what will work and how to go about it. If I can't figure it out in three tries, I give it up. There are a few, though, that I'm still wrestling with.

What are your favorite types of nuts?
I adore a really fresh English walnut - probably because I grew up in a walnut orchard in California and could pick them up off the ground and eat them when they were still so lovely and pale. The softness of the walnut meats make them ideal for incorporating into savory dishes as well as sweet ones. Almonds are a must for me. They are so perfect to put out for a little appetizer to have with drinks, but they also work so well in pastries. I adore almond paste and its many uses—it's not that hard to make. Pistachios—it’s hard to stop eating them. Their color is so pretty and refreshing, I even use salted ones in sweet pastries because that bit of salt balances the sugar. Shagbark HIckory nuts and black walnuts are exquisite, but so hard tocome by. I'm always on the lookout for them when I go to farmers' markets, especially in the Midwest.

Consumers have so much more available to us in grocery stores than ever before. But we also have more junk food and fast food that's not good for us at all. Does it frustrate you that we're getting fatter and less healthy even with so much great fresh produce available?
Yes, it is frustrating and it's a complicated issue. It has so much to do with education and income, habits and attitude. Where do we begin to change things? Probably with kids (because their parents are too busy), which is why I'm so passionate about the importance of school garden programs, like The Edible Schoolyard in Berkeley and hands-on cooking education for anyone who wants it. If kids have tended and grown a crop of kale or green beans or lettuces, they want to eat them! They get it. It's harder for their parents who already have bad habits and feel so pressured. It's not enough that there are vegetables in the markets when people don't know how to use a knife or how to keep it sharp for starters, let alone know what to do with a carrot or a turnip. We have seriously lost our way as eaters. Kids can get it back, though.

Is there an effective way to get people to change their eating habits for the better?
I don't think you can effectively GET people to do anything. People have to want to change and they have to see why change might be a good thing, or have a better taste. There's already tons of information out there that should convince anyone to adapt a more wholesome diet, but information obviously isn't enough. All changes, but especially those around food, are very hard to make. Knowing the detriments to our actions is never enough. But after that heart attack happens? Watch out! Change is rampant! Sadly, it often takes a big scare, not just logical thinking, for change to occur.

I think the best thing we can do is offer not just information, but wonderful tastes and food experiences to people, food that is so delicious that that's what will inspire them to change. Then make sure there's some kind of instruction available to help implement those changes –like learning to shop, learning to cook. People have to be led to experience, not just see, that it's not only necessary but enjoyable to make time to eat well and cook for oneself and one's family.

Is organic really a better way to go?
Of course!

If you wanted to convince a diehard meat and potatoes person that vegetarian cooking is not boring or bland, what would you serve him?
Grilled leeks with Romesco sauce, a red sauce based on roasted peppers, hazelnuts, almonds among other things, which I'll make at the Nut Festival.

What's your greatest professional accomplishment or contribution?
Probably doing Greens and writing Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. I've had hundreds of letters and e-mails from people saying how that book saved their lives, taught them to cook and expanded their horizons. People call it their "bible" and refer to me in their kitchens —it's quite an awesome part to play, really, even though for myself, I like to think that my contribution has been to help grow the farmers' market movement and connect people to the idea of eating the good foods grown where they live. (I've been doing the local/seasonal talk and dance for about thirty years!)

What's next?
A book called What We Eat When We Eat Alone. It's somewhat irreverent and humorous and comically illustrated by my husband, Patrick McFarlin. Then a dessert book, which is almost done (it has lots of nuts in it), then other books that aren't cookbooks.

Click the picture for Ticket Info.

CA Nut Festival Family Fun Day
Sponsored by California Women for Agriculture
Northern Sacramento Valley Chapter

Location : Patrick Ranch 10am - 3pm

California Women for Agriculture Bake Sale benefiting Far West Heritage Assoc. & CWA
Ring Toss and Almond Tree

Bean Bag Toss through a Bee Hive Box

Bee exhibit: beekeeping suits, beehives, honey sticks

Nut Bake Off Bake your best dessert with nuts!! Entry form required
Drop off 12 pm, Winners Announced 1 pm

Madison Bear Garden Bear Burgers
Coloring Contest Winners Displayed

Chico FFA Fun activities for the kids

4-H 4-H Information, fun activities for the kids

Elmore’s Bees Bee demonstration and information

Antique Tractors Display of Antique tractors, Antique Almond Huller

UC Cooperative Extension Nut Nutrition

Las Senoras Cookie decorating with “Grandma”

Wool Spinners Demonstrating spinning wool

Chico Museum Store Products from the Chico Museum

TJ Farms Carriage Company Horse Drawn Carriage Rides $5.00 per person

Plein Aire Group Painting during the event

Community Photo 1:30 pm by Reflective Images

Nuts, Nuts, Nuts!!! Free samples of Almonds, Walnuts & Pistachios

Family Fun Day

Your third and fourth grade students are invited to participate in the Agribee™ which will be held on Thursday, February 21, 2008, as a part of the California Nut Festival.

All schools in Butte County are specifically invited to enter this educational spelling bee, and this year the contest is open to any school in California. A supplied Q. & A. flyer will give you further information and specific details about the event.

The first two Agribees™ had limited participation but major success. The winning students each year received an award plaque and a savings bond for $100.00, with media coverage by newspapers and television. All participants received certificates and goodie bags of nut treats. This same format will continue for 2008.

As a retired elementary principal, I recognize how little extra time there is in a school day to add something new. However, the Agribee™ is in line with social studies curriculum at the third and fourth grades and is designed to support and augment students’ learning. I hope your school will be able to find time to participate in this worthwhile educational activity. It could be organized at your site as an afterschool activity with interested students participating. It is not necessary for every classroom at the school site to take part, although we hope they will. You may use a process which works for you, to identify two school finalists for our Grand Final Agribee™ in February.

Beulah Robinson, Agribee™ Chairperson

26th Annual Almond Blossom Run

5K & 10K Race - 5K Walk

Saturday, February 23, 2008 - 9:00am start time

Location - Durham High School, Durham California

Durham High School is located ten minutes south of Chico. To reach the school from Chico, take the Midway south to Durham-Dayton Highway. Turn west, go two blocks and turn right on Putney Drive. Ample parking is available around the school area. Click here for Map.

Course

The 10K Course consists of one loop through the roads dividing the almond orchards of Durham. The 5K Course is a single loop incorporating the first and last miles of the 10K course. Walkers will follow the 5K Course. All roads are flat and paved.

Awards

T-shirts will be awarded to all participants. The first 500 registrants will be given a t-shirt on race day. All awards will be presented immediately following the 10K run in the Durham High School Gym. Medals will be presented to the top three runners in each age bracket, (runners only). The first three male and female walkers to cross the finish line will get medals, regardless of age.

Timing

Splits will be given at every mile and at the finish line.

Registration

Only registered participants will be allowed on the course. PLEASE – NO DOGS ON THE COURSE!

Pre-Registration deadline is Friday, February 15, 2008. Late arriving entries will be assessed a late fee on race day.

Race Numbers and run shirts may be picked up on race day between 7:00am and 8:30am at the pre-registration tables in the Durham High School gym.

Race Day Registration will begin at 7:30am and will continue until 8:45am at the registration tables in the Durham High School gym.

Entry Fees
Pre-Registration…………...$20.00
Race-Day Registration…..$25.00

Make checks payable to:
DURHAM SPORTS BOOSTERS

Mail entry forms to:
ALMOND BLOSSOM RUN
P.O. BOX 602
DURHAM, CA 95938

Please fill out one entry form for each participant.

For further information contact Race Director – June Blasingame (530) 895-8484

Refreshments provided by:
ProPacific Fresh
Almond Control Board of CA
Blue Diamond Growers

Entry Form

Online Registration Information

First Name_______________________________________ RACE ENTERED 5K 10K

Walk 5K Wheelchair

(circle one)

Last Name_______________________________________

Address______________________________________ Phone____________________ Email_________________________

City__________________________________________ State______________________ Zip_______________

Shirt Size (Circle one) S M L XL XXL Sex M F

Age Group (Circle one)

< 10 11-14 15-18 19-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-54 55-59 60-70 70+

WAIVER: In consideration of your accepting my entry, I intend to be legally bound hereby for myself, my heirs, executors and administrators, waive and release any and all rights and claims I may have against the persons and organizations affiliated with this race, the Board of Trustees, Superintendent and Principal, the County of Butte and the State of California, and assign for all inferred by me while traveling to and from or while participating in the Almond Blossom Run on February 23, 2008. I further attest I am physically fit and sufficiently trained for competition in this event.

Signature _______________________________________________________ Date______________________

Parent/Guardian Signature (if under 18)_______________________________ Phone____________________________(required)

Thank you to our sponsors
Millenium Club – ($250 or more donation)
Agri-Electric
Air Dynamics
Books Family Farm
Butte Community Bank
Dollinger Chiropractic Clinic
Dutch Bros., Chico
Exchange Club of Durham
Golden West Nuts, Inc.
Industrial Power Products
Legacy Associates, Inc.
MJB Welding Supply, Inc.
MD Plumbing
Meeks Building Center
Northstar Engineering
RMS Builders
Joseph Stricker, D.D.S.
Sundance Properties
Tink, Inc.
Tri-Counties Bank
Wittmeier Auto Center
CENTURY CLUB: ($100 donation)
Butte Steel & Fabrication
Chambers Oil
Durham Pump
John Wheeler Construction
DOOR PRIZES:
Blue Diamond Growers
Bonnie B’s Hair Salon
Butte Creek Farm
Chico Locker & Sausage
Curves
Durham Auto Parts
Durham Veterinary Clinic
Eric’s Car Wash
Fleet Feet
Golden West Nuts, Inc.
Hearts & Roses Wedding Flowers
Hodge’s Nursery
Lavender Blue Flowers & Gifts
Manny’s Mexican Restaurant
Play It Again Sports
The Red Rooster Cafe
Sports LTD
Team Sports
Tozier’s True Value Hardware
Endorsed by the California Nut Festival
Printing by PBS Printing

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California Nut Festival

Main Events - Highlights

26th Annual Almond Blossom Run

5K & 10K Race - 5K Walk

Registration