California farmers and ranchers honored for distinguished service

A Placer County couple with 65 years of contributions to farming and ranching and a third-generation orchard farmer who became the first East Indian-American to serve on the Yuba-Sutter Farm Bureau Board of Directors are recipients of the California Farm Bureau’s Distinguished Service Award.

The awards for Wayne and Barbara Vineyard of Placer County and Kulwant Johl of the Yuba-Sutter Farm Bureau will be presented at the 105th California Farm Bureau Annual Meeting in Reno. The Distinguished Service Award honors lifelong contributions to agriculture.

The Vineyards are rice farmers and beef cattle ranchers. Wayne Vineyard has served as a board member of the California Farm Bureau, the Placer County Farm Bureau, the Placer County Agricultural Commission and the Placer County Fair Board. Barbara Vineyard served on the Sierra College Board of Trustees for 28 years and is a longtime advocate of agriculture programs at the college. She also managed the Placer County Farm Bureau’s Mt. Pleasant Hall for more than 40 years.

Johl’s family-run Johl Orchards farms more than 1,000 acres of almonds, walnuts, peaches and prunes in the Yuba-Sutter region. Johl has served on the Yuba-Sutter Farm Bureau board for 35 years, including four years as board president. He is a member of the California Cling Peach Board and president of the American Punjabi Heritage Society.

The California Farm Bureau works to protect family farms and ranches on behalf of nearly 29,000 members statewide and as part of a nationwide network of 5.3 million Farm Bureau members.