Greetings from California. Our team has been very busy with lots of projects, planning, and meetings.

The professional expertise of our chapter was recognized publically last year. Over the past few years the byproduct Almond Hulls have slipped in quality delivered to dairies. After numerous violations the Hulling industry contacted our group for input. Tim Riordan, Marit Arana, and Dennis Daugherty have been involved with improving quality as well as working on future direction for clearer laboratory analysis of almond hulls. This project is just underway, and getting the chapter’s input from the beginning is exciting news.

Our chapter “calendar” typically begins in February. During the World Ag Expo in Tulare we held various committee meetings to set the agenda for the year.

Our Finance Committee (chaired by Dennis Ervin) is up and running. They work closely with the President, Treasurer, and Governing Council providing oversight responsibility with respect to the chapter’s financial matters including those related to investment strategies. The Research Committee (Alfalfa Study subcommittee, headed by John Miller) got together to gather information on the last phase (marketing) of the Alfalfa Hay Project. The scientific information was presented at the International Symposium on Energy and Protein Metabolism last September. The organizing team for the Fifth annual Bang 4 Your Buck fundraiser held a brief meeting to discuss any changes that may be necessary. And finally, the Governing Council held a short business meeting. Each of the meetings was relatively brief, but in total over 4 hours was spent on chapter business. 

The rest of the calendar for this year was set at this meeting. 

Upcoming Events

May 14, 2014. 7-8:30 am Chapter Business Meeting. Fresno, CA. Held just prior to the CA Animal Nutrition Conference.

August 28, 2014. Bang 4 Your Buck V. Trap shooting fundraiser for research and scholarship funds.

October 29-30, 2014. Continuing Education Conference. Harris Ranch, Coalinga, CA. Last year we began a series entitled – A Year in the Life. This year we will do Part 2: Reproduction and Lactation. Speakers include: Ray Nebel, John McNamara, Troy Ott, Dale Woerner, and Ronaldo Cerri.

Check out our website for more details. www.arpasca.net 

I am honored that to be the President of our chapter for this year. Thank goodness the past presidents continue to give their valuable time to this organization. I rely on them regularly. They may say too regularly. Thank you all very much. The brightest spot for our chapter is the involvement of many new faces over the past couple of years. Their fresh ideas, and changes they implement, will make the chapter even stronger. 

Please join us at any of our events. Chapter members, national members, and guests are always welcome. 

Respectfully,
James Tully, PhD, Dipl ACAN