[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 159 (Thursday, October 29, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2664-E2665]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          HONORING ELLIE RILLA

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. LYNN C. WOOLSEY

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 29, 2009

  Ms. WOOLSEY. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Ellie Rilla, a 
woman who has helped lead the way to a new model of sustainable 
agriculture in Marin County.
  Ellie is now taking a much needed sabbatical after 21 years as a 
University of California Extension Farm Advisor. In those 2 decades, 
Ellie was one of a handful that brought together the old-time farmers 
of the region with a new generation and created a unique fabric that 
has held the farm community together during difficult times for 
agriculture, and has in fact, helped many not just survive, but grow.
  I am proud to say that the quality agricultural products of Marin 
County are today unmatched for nutritional value, taste, and 
sustainable production--and much of this is due to the passionate 
commitment, hard-headed economic realism and collaborative spirit of 
Ellie Rilla.
  Ellie grew up in Mill Valley where it was a short jaunt to the 
forests and rangelands of West Marin. She began her career as an 
environmental educator at Circuit Riders, a Sonoma County non-profit 
that was a leader in environmental restoration, and whose ranks have 
produced several of the North Bay's most prominent restoration 
specialists. Ellie still lives in Sonoma County in Sebastopol, a city 
well-known for its progressive politics and its fine food and wine.
  In 1988 she became the UC Cooperative Extension Director in Marin and 
was immediately welcomed by two of West Marin's farm elders, Boyd 
Stewart and George Grossi. Coming in the midst of the organic 
revolution and the creation of California cuisine, Ellie saw the 
promise of local farmers on the edge of the metropolitan Bay Area 
producing high quality agricultural products. She became, according to 
Albert Strauss, the owner of Strauss Creamery, ``. . . an awesome 
advocate of sustainable agriculture and organic and local dairy 
farms.'' While big and bland agribusiness and real estate development 
continued to gobble up small farms elsewhere, Ellie saw that survival 
lay in producing quality products, and developing in consumer's minds a 
pride in local, sustainable agriculture.
  As organic agriculture entered the mainstream, first with California 
certification, then with USDA certification, Ellie advised farmers on 
how to meet the new standards, write business plans and market their 
products. She also helped farmers and ranchers tackle tough new water 
quality, through the development of best practices and conservation 
projects, which continue to evolve today.
  It was apparent to Ellie that West Marin's small farms and ranches 
needed to diversify to survive. While dairies were preeminent, though 
faltering, 2 decades ago, West Marin agriculture now produces an array 
of products including olives and olive oil, strawberries, row crops, 
grapes, free range poultry and grass fed beef. Besides high quality 
milk, local dairies also produce a variety of cheeses, and even organic 
ice cream.
  Ellie realized that the bucolic beauty of West Marin and farmer's 
adjacency to the Point Reyes National Seashore were important assets. 
She became an advocate for ``agritourism,'' an industry in which farms 
and ranches are opened to visiting guests. ``These stays give their 
guests a flavor of what it is like to live on a farm, to see how food 
is produced and gain an appreciation for natural ecosystem,'' wrote 
Rilla. ``At the same time it provides farmers and ranchers with 
additional operating income to save their farms from development.'' A 
tireless promoter of agritourism, Rilla both wrote a book about it and 
helped develop a UC Cooperative Extension Agritourism Project and 
website.
  On June 30 she will begin a very busy sabbatical with three writing 
projects. She will be writing an analysis of a state-wide survey into 
agriculture diversification and agritourism, completing a second 
edition of her book, Agriculture and Nature Tourism, and updating her 
decade-old case study of three woman-led farm families. Ellie is then 
expected to return to the University of California Cooperative 
Extension program in a year to develop statewide resources for 
marketing and leadership development.
  It's been my pleasure to work with Ellie and to observe the seeds 
that she has planted in West Marin to sprout, grow and spread, ensuring 
a bounty for future generations. Thank

[[Page E2665]]

you, Ellie for all you have done and all that is still to be 
accomplished.

                          ____________________