Almonds and Advocacy: California Farmer Maximizes Farm Bureau Opportunities

Sep 24, 2024

By Daniel Jones

For fourth-generation California farmer Jocelyn Anderson, Farm Bureau is an organization that has enriched her life with opportunities to connect with people from across the country.

Jocelyn farms almonds and walnuts and operates a walnut huller on her family farm. Jocelyn was on the AFBF Young Farmers & Ranchers Committee from 2020-2022, serving as vice chair during the second year of her appointment. She was also on the California YF&R Committee for six years, with four of those years as part of the executive committee, serving as chair in 2022. She is currently the 1st vice president of Glenn County Farm Bureau, a farmer envoy for Solutions from the Land and a board member for her local California Resource Conservation District in the northern part of the state.

When asked how to get involved with Farm Bureau at any level, her answer was simple: “Just say YES!” There are so many unique ways to promote and share about farming. Jocelyn utilized the knowledge she gained through being involved with Farm Bureau to help further her advocacy and leadership skills, particularly identifying others’ leadership styles and qualities, helping to prepare her to work with others on governing boards.

Anderson on stage at the 2022 American Farm Bureau Convention in Atlanta.

Along with connecting with farmers and ranchers all over the country, Jocelyn has educated people outside of the agricultural sector on what practices farmers and ranchers use to be sustainable and climate-smart. Farmers and ranchers are some of the best stewards of the land, and she very much enjoys speaking to outside groups, informing them of innovative technologies.

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Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.