By Regina B. Jensen, Ph.D.

Contributing Writer

Please don’t ask me why my Danish husband is fascinated by German news, this time about French law no less. So this is the latest article he sent over from his home office to mine, where we “reside” and send each other news: “Did you see this, Honey?”

Well, it appears that Maurice, the now famous rooster who caused this new French law to come into effect last week (the equivalent of our “passed the House and the Senate,” I suppose), is now deceased. But long live Maurice, the rooster who started it all.

His dear owner had to fight when he was still alive and crowing, and actually went to court so he could continue his morning songs (my husband calls his mini-rooster Marvin’s sounds “singing”). It appears that too many city folk coming from Paris (make that L.A.) were used to sirens at night, but not to roosters crowing in the morning and sounds of sheep, such as my mini-sheep,who bleat dependably when they see my husband walk by.

Now, Maurice could crow his heart out, says the article “because the cock-crow, the mooing of cows and the bleating of sheep” will be part of France’s Cultural Heritage in the future — because France now has a law to protect noises and smells in the country.

It appears that Maurice became somewhat of a media star a few years ago, when a retired couple were bothered by his “morning-celebration of life” and went to court to silence him. Other communities followed suit, sometimes about rural smells, sometimes about rural sounds that city folk disliked.

My city-neighbors once were so upset about my favorite mini (tea-cup) rescue piglet, that they caused the death of him.

 “We are ALL five very upset over here”, they said, ganging up against my pig, also named Maurice, who had been very frightened by something and got stuck under their fence and, confused, went from there into their horse paddock and no, the horses, as I watched him pass through their place with them sniffing him, were not upset by “little-old him” whatsoever. (Maurice, my gentleman pig who would try to get into my kitchen!)

Losing my Maurice was the trauma of my life (plus caused me to lose the $500 it cost me, all-in-all, to get him and his brother Max with hired help in a day-long trip way up in far-away Oroville!!) My Maurice thought I was a princess and I believed him. The princess and the piglet! (My husband never thought I was a princess!)

Back to the French law, which says that vacationers were even bothered by church bells ringing! The article said “an enervated lady from Paris even demanded that the crickets chirping in the evening in the village she had chosen as a retirement home should be killed with insecticides.”

Bless mayor Bruno Dionis, of the 400-souls village of Gajac in southwest France, who started an initiative called “The sounds of our country.” 

My dear husband often says “What can one man do!?” Well this man Bruno, and Maurice the rooster and his dear mistress, did do a lot. 

“Those who live in the country have to accept some irritation,” he said, and the article ends with: “Many farmers are now breathing a sigh of relief, because the law not only declares the ringing of church bells or the chirping of crickets to be characteristic. The smell of pig or horse stables is now also part of typical French country life.”

The author, Dr. Jensen (German!), is a former psychotherapist and trauma therapist, enjoying her retirement and only working with what she calls “old” clients and her students, while running between her animals bleating, crowing and smelling.

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Staff Report – Photos by Daniel Dreifuss

Fall in the Santa Ynez Valley is a busy time as farmers and vintners are in full swing of harvesting crops from apples to grapes.

Among the Santa Ynez Valley’s many award-winning wineries and vineyards is Beckmen Vineyards, which allowed the Santa Ynez Valley Star to document their harvest this season.

The label was started in Los Olivos by Tom and Judy Beckmen with their son Steve, and they have set themselves apart as one of the leading wine labels in the area. Their 365-acre certified biodynamic vineyard is planted in mostly clay with a limestone subsoil, which is great for Rhone varietals that yield more intensely flavored fruit. Their vineyard, Purisima Mountain Vineyard, has an elevation change of 500 feet, which offers multiple climate changes.

Their vineyard doesn’t use any herbicides, insecticides, pesticides or nitrogen-based fertilizers, and they produce mainly white wine that includes Sauvignon Blanc, Marsanne, Grenache Blanc, Viognier and Chardonnay, as well as reds such as Syrah, Mourvedre and Counoise.

Harvest usually begins in late August or early September and runs through November. The farmers work around the clock harvesting, often at night to ensure that the grapes are picked at the lowest temperature and the peak of flavor.

Beckmen is open daily from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 2670 Ontiveros Road in Los Olivos. Log onto www.beckmenvineyards.com for more information.

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The competition provides an opportunity to showcase ideas and business innovations that benefit rural regions of the United States. Organizers say it is the first national rural business competition focused exclusively on innovative entrepreneurs working on food and agriculture businesses.

Competitors are invited to submit ideas for appropriate for-profit businesses at www.strongruralamerica.com/challenge.

Businesses related to food and agriculture include farms or ranches, value-added food processing, food hubs, community-supported agriculture programs, farm-to-table restaurants, farmers’ markets and craft beverage startups. Eligible businesses can also support food and agriculture, such as crop scouting, agritourism, ag advertising agencies and ag technology companies.

“Rural entrepreneurs typically face hurdles that make it challenging to develop successful businesses, including lack of capital, business networks and business training,” said Dr. Lisa Benson, AFBF’s director of rural development. “Through the challenge, we’re helping food and agricultural entrepreneurs take their businesses to the next level.”

Applications, which include a business plan, video pitch and photo, must be submitted online by June 30. Judges will review the applications and provide feedback to the participants.

The top 10 teams, to be announced in October, will be offered the opportunity to pitch to multimillion-dollar investors, in addition to receiving education about venture capital and expanding their businesses.

New this year, six best-in-show winners will each be awarded $10,000 in startup funds for the best start-ups in these categories:

– Farm – farms, ranches, hydroponics, aquaponics, greenhouse production, forestry, etc.

– Agritourism – farm-to-school programs, pumpkin festivals, farm stays, etc.

– Farm-to-Table – CSAs, food hubs, farmers’ markets

– Ag Tech & Support Services – hardware, software and support services (marketing programs, scouting services and other services targeting farmers)

– Craft Beverage – including breweries, wineries, cideries and distilleries

– Local Product – food and non-food products

The final four teams will compete in a live competition at AFBF’s 99th annual convention in Nashville on Jan. 7 to win these prizes:

– Farm Bureau Entrepreneur of the Year award and $30,000 (chosen by judges)

– People’s Choice award and $25,000 (chosen by public vote)

– First runner-up, $15,000

– Second runner-up, $15,000

The Entrepreneur of the Year award and the People’s Choice award will be awarded to two different teams. The team that wins the Entrepreneur of the Year award will not be eligible for the People’s Choice Award.

The competition timeline, detailed eligibility guidelines and profiles of past winners are available at www.strongruralamerica.com/challenge.

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Even in the winter, farmers in Santa Barbara County and surrounding areas continue to provide high-quality produce at local farmers markets.

While markets may be slightly smaller on rainy days, all markets organized through the Santa Barbara Certified Farmers Market Association (SBCFMA) remain open as regularly scheduled, unless the weather is so horrendous the farmers can’t get their produce out.

(You can check the association’s Facebook page to get updates.)

The SBCFMA is a nonprofit mutual-benefit corporation founded in 1983 to provide farmers with direct access at landmark locations to market their agricultural products directly to the community. The association, owned and operated by its approximately 30 grower members and its board of directors, is committed to helping promote local family farmers while protecting the environment.

The group’s website, sbfarmersmarket.org, serves as the hub that invites those interested to look at their local farms and read their back stories, as well as a blog with posts about different produce or why planting mint in your garden is beneficial in addition to recipe ideas such as Super Bowl Sliders.

For more information, go to sbfarmersmarket.org.

Farmers Market Schedule

– Tuesdays: Old Town Santa Barbara, 3 – 6:30 p.m., 500-600 block of State Street

– Wednesdays: Solvang, 2:30 – 6 p.m., First Street from Mission Drive to Copenhagen Drive.

– Thursdays: Goleta, 3 – 6 p.m., corner of Storke and Hollister, 7004 Marketplace Drive in the Camino Real Shopping Center

– Thursdays: Carpinteria, 3 – 6 p.m., 800 block of Linden Avenue

– Fridays: Montecito, 8:30 – 11:15 a.m., 1100 and 1200 blocks of Coast Village Road

– Saturdays: Downtown Santa Barbara, 8:30 a.m. – 1 p.m., corner of Santa Barbara and Cota Streets

– Sundays: Goleta, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m., corner of Storke and Hollister, 7004 Marketplace Drive inside the Camino Real Shopping Center

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Central Coast native and former Lt. Gov. Abel Maldonado is being considered for Secretary of Agriculture, replacing Secretary Tom Vilsack as he left the Agriculture Department a week before his tenure ends and before President-elect Donald Trump takes office on Jan. 20.

Vilsack, who has led USDA for eight years and was President Barack Obama’s longest-serving Cabinet secretary, told employees in an email that Friday is his final day. The email did not say why he was leaving early. He has said he wants to remain involved with agriculture after leaving government, but has not detailed those plans.

As Vilsack leaves the department, some in farm country are worried that agriculture may be a low priority for the new administration. It is the only Cabinet position Trump has not moved to fill, yet rural voters were key to delivering him the presidency.

Farm-state lawmakers in Congress say they are eagerly awaiting the decision.

“We brought him home,” Kansas Sen. Pat Roberts, the Republican chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, said Thursday of delivering on Trump’s win. “Farmers, ranchers and small town America brought him home. So obviously they’d like to see a secretary of Agriculture that would be their champion. That hasn’t occurred yet. So we hope it will.”

According to exit polls conducted for AP and television networks by Edison Research, about 17 percent of voters in this year’s election were from small cities or rural areas, and 62 percent of them said they voted for Trump. But Trump has little agricultural history, and spoke rarely about farm issues on the campaign trail.

“People don’t know what he stands for in agriculture and everyone’s waiting for the secretary to be named so you can get some clues,” said Roger Johnson, head of the National Farmers Union. Johnson said there is a “growing, intense frustration” that a secretary hasn’t been named.

Trump and his team have interviewed several candidates, including Maldonado, former Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue and they have also talked to potential candidates from Texas and Indiana, home state of Vice President-elect Mike Pence. Ted McKinney, director of the Indiana State Department of Agriculture, was at Trump Tower on Thursday.

Incoming White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer, in a daily briefing call with reporters on Friday, played down any talk of a delay with the agriculture selection, saying that the president-elect had given it the same amount of attention and consideration as his other Cabinet picks.

Spicer said Trump had met with “several” qualified candidates and would make a decision in the near future.

Vilsack is one of the nation’s longest-serving agriculture secretaries and has remained generally popular in farm country as he worked to balance the needs of high-dollar production agriculture with other growing parts of the industry, including organics. During his tenure, he also focused on rebuilding rural communities, making school meals healthier and resolving civil rights claims against the department.

As for his next steps, he said in a statement that “I intend to be involved in promotion of agriculture and rural America, I hope to be connected to a university and work with young people, and I want to spend time with my family in Iowa.”

Michael Scuse, undersecretary for farm and foreign agricultural services, will be acting secretary until Trump is inaugurated.

___

Associated Press writer Jonathan Lemire in New York contributed to this report.

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