Vegetable and dairy farmers win Young Farmers & Ranchers awards
Young farmers from Monterey and Humboldt counties have been awarded top prizes for agricultural achievement and excellence as well as their commitment to the California Farm Bureau’s Young Farmers & Ranchers program.
The awards were announced at the 106th California Farm Bureau Annual Meeting in Monterey in conjunction with the California YF&R State Conference.
Jynel Gularte, a fifth-generation farmer from Gonzales in the Salinas Valley, is the winner of the California Young Farmers & Ranchers Excellence in Agriculture Award. Gularte has been the controller and compliance officer on her family’s Monterey County vegetable farm, Rincon Farms Inc., since 2018.
She graduated summa cum laude from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural business in 2016 and spent time traveling the world and working various jobs in agriculture.
She currently serves as chairwoman of the Central Coast Young Farmers & Ranchers.
Ronald Vevoda, who works on his family’s Ferndale dairy farm, managing the crops and overseeing equipment maintenance, is the winner of the California Young Farmers & Ranchers Achievement Award.
Vevoda graduated from California State University, Chico, with a bachelor’s degree in agriculture science with an emphasis in crop science. Upon graduation, he worked for Sears Point farming in Sonoma County, growing grain hay and grain for animal feed, before moving back to the dairy where he was raised.
Madeline Schenken from Sacramento County earned top honors in the California Young Farmers & Ranchers Open Discussion Meet. She spoke about how Farm Bureau can work with energy companies, local governments and rural communities to increase domestic energy production, minimize loss of agricultural land and protect private property rights.
Schenken, of Elk Grove, emerged as the winner of the $6,000 first prize in the competition held at the California Farm Bureau’s Annual Meeting on Sunday, Dec. 8. She will represent California in the national contest during the American Farm Bureau Federation annual conference Jan. 24-29 in San Antonio.
The Open Discussion Meet featured YF&R participants from across the state. They advanced to the final competition from earlier rounds in which they were challenged to demonstrate their abilities in exchanging ideas and offering detailed opinions on important issues for agriculture.
Gularte, winner of the Excellence in Agriculture Award, was first runner-up in the meet, receiving $2,000. The other finalists were Cheyenne Erickson of Antioch in Contra Costa County and John Tamayo of Holtville in Imperial County, winning $1,000 each.
Andrew Angulo, a student at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, was named the winner of California YF&R’s Collegiate Discussion Meet, held Nov. 16 at Modesto Junior College. Angulo earns $2,500 and will represent California in the national competition during the American Farm Bureau Federation’s 2025 Fusion Conference set for March 7-10 in Denver.
Competing were 18 YF&R members from seven colleges. The final-round discussion analyzed how young farmers and ranchers can access and own farmland amid increasing land prices.
Becca Hamman of Shasta College was the first runner-up and winner of $1,000. Finalists, and winners of $500 each, were Joseph Aguiar of Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, and Madeline Zweegman of Modesto Junior College.
The champion team, and winner of $500, is Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. The California Farm Bureau works to protect family farms and ranches on behalf of more than 26,000 members statewide and as part of a nationwide network of 5.8 million Farm Bureau members. ###
Jynel Gularte of Monterey County, center, receives the California Young Farmers & Ranchers Excellence in Agriculture Award from Danielle Vietti, left, representing award sponsor Farm Credit Alliance, and California Farm Bureau President Shannon Douglass.
Ronald Vevoda of Humboldt County, left, receives the California Young Farmers & Ranchers Achievement Award from California Farm Bureau President Shannon Douglass.
Madeline Schenken of Sacramento County won the California Young Farmers & Ranchers Open Discussion Meet. She receives her award from California Farm Bureau President Shannon Douglass.
.svg.png?cacheid=0.9616018850896426)
