[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 11]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 15471-15472]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




    RECOGNIZING THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE KERN COUNTY FARM BUREAU

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. KEVIN McCARTHY

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, September 19, 2014

  Mr. McCARTHY of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition 
of the Kern County Farm Bureau's 100th anniversary, and to commend this 
organization which has done so much for Kern's hardworking farming 
families.
  The foundation of Kern County's rich history rests with our 
agricultural heritage. When the first Californians settled in Kern, 
they brought their seeds with them, planting carrots, cotton, potatoes, 
citrus groves and vineyards, which they passed down through the 
generations. The most recent fruits of their labor--the 2013 harvest--
tallied more than six billion dollars. Whenever our farmers sow, our 
whole valley and nation prospers.
  A hundred years ago, the creation of Kern County Farm Bureau forged a 
coalition of 200

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farms and 200 families, uniting to lend a neighborly hand through 
drought, earthquake and fire. These were the farmers who founded Kern's 
first reservoir system with water brought down from the mountains, who 
built 800 square miles of canals to make the valley bloom. By their 
labor, Bakersfield, Kern County and our region flourished; our 
population boomed. By a succession of horticultural breakthroughs--
irrigation drip lines, and precision sprinklers to name a few--Kern 
County's farmers have learned to do more with less water, leading our 
state and nation with some of the most innovative and effective 
conservation practices. In the last fifty years, Kern's farmers have 
doubled our valley's crop yield without adding a single drop of water 
to their allotment. Our farmers have humbly overseen nothing short of a 
production revolution and yet Americans have become so accustomed to 
the stability of our food supply--itself a testament to the quality of 
our agriculture--that scarcely anyone notices the triumphs managed on 
their behalf.
  Today, the Kern County Farm Bureau serves 1,400 farmers, large and 
small, educating and inspiring the community, closely monitoring the 
agricultural legislation and regulation proliferating from Sacramento 
and Washington, and effectively advocating on behalf of its members 
across all levels of government. Kern County farms run the gamut, from 
the very small to the very large, and Kern County Farm Bureau works 
with all of them to educate policymakers on agricultural practices and 
traditions, and, most importantly, make Kern agriculture's voice heard.
  Challenges and opportunities for Kern County agriculture still lay 
ahead. We cannot ask the sky for rain or the winter not to frost, but 
we can choose the friends we depend upon when crisis comes. The Kern 
County Farm Bureau has been a friend and a partner in our community 
over the past 100 years, and on behalf of our communities and 
neighbors, I congratulate the Farm Bureau's century of richness and 
relationships, and wish them another 100 years of success in the 
future.

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