Delegates to the 97th California Farm Bureau Federation Annual Meeting have re-elected Paul Wenger of Modesto as president and elected two new vice presidents. Jamie Johansson of Oroville was elected first vice president and Tony Toso of Hornitos was elected second vice president. The elections occurred on the final day of the meeting, held in Reno.
Wenger begins his fourth two-year term as the 15th president of CFBF. He has served as a statewide officer of the organization since 1997, when he was elected second vice president. He was elected first vice president in 2005 and president in 2009. Wenger grows walnuts and almonds.
“I’m proud of the fact that Farm Bureau today is a respected agricultural organization because of the leadership shown by the CFBF board and by county Farm Bureaus,” Wenger said. “We have to continue to fight and lead the way.”
Johansson assumes a new role as first vice president after serving three terms as CFBF second vice president, an office to which he was elected in 2009. He grows olives and citrus fruit and operates an olive oil company.
Toso was elected second vice president after serving since 2011 on the CFBF board of directors, where he represented Merced, Madera and Mariposa counties. He is a past president of the Mariposa County Farm Bureau and the Merced/Mariposa County Cattlemen’s Association, and president-elect of the California chapter of the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers. He raises cattle and is a partner in an appraisal company.
Seven members were newly elected to the CFBF Board of Directors. Ronnie Leimgruber of Holtville will represent Imperial and San Diego counties; Tom Rogers of Madera will represent Merced, Madera and Mariposa counties; Joe Martinez of Winters will represent Alameda, Contra Costa and Solano counties; Susan Hoek of Penn Valley will represent Butte, Nevada and Yuba-Sutter counties; Dominic Carinalli of Sebastopol will represent Marin, Napa and Sonoma counties; Willis Dow of Susanville will represent Lassen, Modoc and Plumas-Sierra counties; and Blake Alexandre of Crescent City will represent Del Norte and Humboldt counties.
Tyler Blagg of Lodi was elected to chair the statewide Young Farmers and Ranchers Committee and will serve as an advisory member of the CFBF board.
The California Farm Bureau Federation works to protect family farms and ranches on behalf of more than 53,000 members statewide and as part of a nationwide network of more than 6.2 million Farm Bureau members.