John E. Eiskamp selected 2014 “Farmer of the Year”

By Santa Cruz County Farm Bureau

It was announced today that John E. Eiskamp has been selected by the Santa Cruz County Farm Bureau as the 2014 “Farmer of the Year” (bio attached).This award is presented annually to the farmer(s) who have contributed beyond their normal farming duties to help the community. The presentation was made during its 96^th Annual Meeting held Thursday, June 26, 2014 at Driscoll’s Cassin Ranch in Watsonville. The board of directors felt it was appropriate to honor John who serves on the Farm Bureau Board of Directors and has made significant contributions within Santa Cruz County and the Pajaro Valley.

Featured speaker for the evening was Lou Calcagno, Monterey County Supervisor, who spoke on the topic “Public Service – It’s Worth It!” Mistress and Master of Ceremony was Cynthia Mathiesen, President, Santa Cruz County Farm Bureau and David Van Lennep, 1^st Vice-President of the Santa Cruz County Farm Bureau.

Other activities of the Annual Meeting included the election of directors and officers:

There are a total of 19 directors on the board and all terms commence on November 1, 2014

Director Nominations:

• For 1^st term, three-year director: Chris Enright – Orchids • Geri Prevedelli-Lathrop – Apples • Brendan Miele – Herbs
• For 2nd term, three-year director: Arnett Young – Vegetables
• For 3rd term, three-year director: Matt Bissell – Timber

Officer Nominations:

• For President and State Delegate, two-year position: David Van Lennep – Timber
• For 1st Vice President and State Delegate, two-year position: Thomas Broz – Organic Vegetables
• For 2nd Vice President and State Delegate, two-year position: Frank Estrada – Cattle & Timber
• For Past-President and Alternate State Delegate, two-year position: Cynthia Mathiesen – Berries

Previous Farmer Of The Year Since 2000

2001 – Elio Rodoni • 2002 – Hulda Mclean • 2003 – Kirk Schmidt • 2004 – Tom Am Rhein • 2005 – Growers Who Donate To Ag Against Hunger • 2006 – Jim Rider • 2007 – Henry Washburn (Posthumously) • 2008 – Richard “Dick” Peixoto • 2009 – Diane Porter Cooley • 2010 – Bargetto Family • 2011 – Stanley E. Iversen • 2012 – John Pisturino • 2013 – Kenneth J. Kimes

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John E. Eiskamp: 2014 Farmer of the Year

Personal

• Born in August 1960 in Palo Alto where his father attended Stanford University.  He moved to Eugene as a toddler, with his parents and two sisters.
• Moved to Indiana in grade school.
• Spent summers and vacations in Watsonville where he worked on one grandfather’s (Cowles) berry farm driving tractors and truck and the other grandfather’s (Eiskamp) cattle ranch.
• It wasn’t until he was in college that he decided to farm because of his experience working with his grandfathers.
• Graduated from Fresno State and came to Watsonville to work for Kirk and Carol Schmidt at Quail Mountain Farms.
• Started his own farm with blackberries and raspberries in 1988 by taking out apple trees on his grandfather’s ranch. Has grown berries for Driscoll’s since 1988. Started with 28 acres, now over 230.

Community/Professional

• A leader in technological advances on farms. Farm tours have visited John’s operations to view the technology that he has implemented.
• Past President of the Santa Cruz County Farm Bureau
• Serves on the Ad Hoc Funding Committee for the Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency
• Legislative Co-Chair for the Santa Cruz County Farm Bureau
• Active participant in the Pajaro Valley Community Water Dialogue meetings
• Advocates for the preservation of farmland. He supported the 2013 Committee to Save Jobs and Farmland – to defeat Measure T in Watsonville.
• Delegate to California Farm Bureau Federation House of Delegates
• Serves on various Driscoll’s grower committees
• Coached Watsonville American Little League
• Booster Club member for both Salesian Sister’s School and St. Francis Central Coast Catholic High School

Hobbies/interests

• Spent time with his family in Indiana antique hunting; discovered old American clocks and started working on them and collecting them and now has over 100 clocks.  Learned about them from his father and a family friend Dr. Gilman.
• Loves old Porsches, which is an interest he shares with his father.   One of his first cars was a red Porsche that he completely restored in college.   He has restored a 1967 Porsche 912 and loves taking it to weekend track days and events.  He has a Porsche tractor a friend found in Holland that he drives in the fair tractor parade.
• He has restored a 1934 Chevy truck that belonged to his great grandfather and was a ranch truck that he drove as a teenager on his grandfather’s berry farm that he takes to car shows (Capitola, Elks, Twin Lakes, Good Guys in Pleasanton.)
• When he isn’t working at the ranch he can be found tinkering with his clocks or his cars or walking his dog Bosco at the beach.
• John is a certified scuba diver

Family

Wife Caroline, two children, Michael (22yrs) and Jennifer (19 yrs).  Michael recently graduated from University of the Pacific with a BS in computer engineering; Jennifer is a sophomore at Loyola Marymount where she is majoring in business and environmental studies.