[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 79 (Wednesday, May 30, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E903]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  IN HONOR OF WILLIAM FRANK McFARLANE

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. DEVIN NUNES

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 30, 2012

  Mr. NUNES. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor William Frank 
McFarlane, who passed away on Tuesday, May 15, 2012. Mr. McFarlane was 
a pillar of the California agricultural community.
  Bill McFarlane was born in Fresno, California, on January 1, 1926, 
and grew up on a farm in Clovis. He attended Jefferson Elementary 
School and Clovis Union High School. While at California State 
University, Fresno, Bill transferred to the University of Southern 
California, earning Bachelor of Science degrees in Naval Science and 
Business Administration.
  At a young age, Bill began his successful career in agriculture. He 
and his parents formed a partnership in 1948, McFarlane and McFarlane, 
growing Muscat grapes for raisins and wine, cotton, grain, plums, 
vegetable and flower seeds, almonds, citrus, and rice. While many other 
achievements would follow in his long career, Bill always remained a 
farmer at heart.
  A tireless supporter of other farmers in the San Joaquin Valley, Bill 
was a member of the Sun-Maid Raisin Growers Advisory Council; president 
of Clovis-Sanger Cooperative Gin; joined the board of Calcot, Ltd. in 
1955 and was chairman of that organization from 1966 to 1974; served as 
president of California Cotton Growers Association; a member of the 
Producers Steering Committee of the National Cotton Council; a director 
of the Western Cotton Growers Association; the founding president of 
Central California Almond Growers Association and served on the board 
of Blue Diamond Growers for 17 years, 4 years as chairman.
  Bill was a principal of the family-farming group Cinco Farms; served 
as president of California Westside Farmers for 8 years; a chairman of 
Farm-Water Alliance for 6 years, whose effort culminated in the signing 
into law of the federal Reclamation Reform Act of 1982. Bill was also a 
member of the board of Westlands Water District, and served on the 
board of the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation of the U.S. Department 
of Agriculture during the 8 years of the Reagan Administration. In 
1967, he became a director of the National Council of Farmer 
Cooperatives, as well as the Agricultural Council of California, 
becoming chairman of the council and was awarded their Co-Op Farmer of 
the Year Award in 1994.
  Bill received the 1994 Agriculturalist of the Year Award at the 
California State Fair, and in 2000 the Greater Fresno Area Chamber of 
Commerce Agriculturist of the Year Award. After serving for 14 years on 
the board of the California State University, Fresno, Agricultural 
Foundation, Bill's final expression of his love for agriculture was his 
commitment to Friends of Agricultural Extension, reflecting his belief 
in the public value of university agricultural research.
  While his commitment to the San Joaquin Valley agricultural community 
was unmatched, Bill's commitment to education was equally impressive. 
He was a member of the Jefferson Union Elementary governing board; a 
charter member of the Clovis Unified School District board; a founding 
member of the board of directors of the Foundation for Clovis Schools; 
and a member of the Reagan Educational Center Agriculture Department 
Advisory Committee. Bill was particularly proud when Clovis Unified 
School District honored him by naming the McFarlane-Coffman 
Agricultural Center after him.
  Bill McFarlane's legacy to his friends, family, colleagues, and 
countless numbers of students will be remembered for generations to 
come. The San Joaquin Valley has been blessed with many people whose 
commitment to the valley has made it the greatest agricultural region 
in the world. Among these people, Bill was one of the greats.

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