[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 13]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 18076]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING OCEAN MIST FARMS

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. SAM FARR

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 9, 2004

  Mr. FARR. Mr. Speaker, it is with great honor and pleasure that I am 
able to rise to recognize Ocean Mist Farms, the premier grower and 
shipper of artichokes in the United States. Based in Monterey County, 
California of my congressional district, Ocean Mist Farms produces over 
a dozen other vegetables in addition to artichokes on its farms which 
are located throughout California. On Saturday, August 28, 2004, the 
people of Ocean Mist Farms celebrated their company's 80th anniversary.
  In 1924, Castroville area farmers Daniel Pieri, Amerigo and Angelo 
Del Chiaro, Alfred Tottino and Louis Bellone combined formed a company 
to grow, ship, and market artichokes. Their little company persevered 
through the Great Depression and WWII to transform artichokes from an 
obscure ethnic specialty to a national delicacy. It took genius and 
hard work to accomplish this, and these characteristics have assured 
their success through today. Under the current leadership of the 
Boutonnet and Bengard families, Ocean Mist Farms employs more than 60 
people in sales and administrative positions, more than 160 workers in 
its packing, shipping and cooling facilities, and nearly 600 
individuals in related harvesting and production operations, as well as 
operating several affiliate operations throughout California and 
Arizona. It is a company that has helped make the Central Coast of 
California the most productive agricultural region in the world and it 
continues to give back to the local communities of the Salinas Valley.
  Ocean Mist Farms is also an environmental leader in our region. It 
has remained in the forefront of innovations in farming methods 
designed to protect the environment. Using advanced techniques of 
irrigation and integrated pest and soil management, Ocean Mist Farms 
has proved itself to be truly invested in the preservation of the 
beauty and natural resources offered by Monterey County. It also took 
the lead in developing the world's largest reclaimed wastewater 
irrigation project.
  Mr. Speaker, I wish to congratulate Ocean Mist Farms on its 80th 
anniversary. Monterey County has benefited immensely from their 
commitment to growing outstanding produce and I wish the company and 
all who work for Ocean Mist Farms the very best in the future.

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