OVER 100 YEARS STRONG
The Voice of Farmers and Ranchers
Our Story
One hundred years ago, local farm leaders were shepherding a mass movement in Riverside County to form a Farm Bureau and obtain services of a farm advisor from the University of California. Their efforts culminated in the formation of Riverside County Farm Bureau and a commitment from the Board of Supervisors to fund an office that would become Riverside County Cooperative Extension.
The two organizations were created together because law provided for assignment of a farm advisor to a county only after one-fifth of the county farmers formed an organization - a Farm Bureau - that would make it possible for the farm advisor to meet with the farmers and provide them with information and training.
Frequent articles in local newspapers conveyed the excitement in the local farm communities as farmers organized 23 Farm Bureau centers, signed petitions requesting formation of the county organization and elected center directors to serve on a county board.
Prominent Highgrove citrus grower John L. Bishop accompanied University of California's assistant state leader of farm advisors, Professor William B. Parker, on a tour of agricultural communities to speak to growers, to organize them into centers and then to organize the countywide Farm Bureau.
Center directors met on the morning of April 18, 1917, to present the petitions bearing more than 800 farmers' names and to start the Riverside County Farm Bureau. That afternoon, they kept an appointment with the Board of Supervisors to obtain county funding for a farm advisor.
In those early days Riverside County Cooperative Extension and Riverside County Farm Bureau were a combined organization; today they are entirely separate entities but continue a close working relationship. ~ Written by Robert Eli Perkins.
What We Do Today
For more than 100 years, Riverside County Farm Bureau has been an important part of our community. We protect Riverside County’s diverse farming and ranching legacy and work to keep it strong and resilient for future generations. We believe the family farm is at the heart of our county and a major contributor to our economic stability. Farm Bureau is also a family—we consider everyone who works in agriculture, and everyone who enjoys its bounty, part of our family.
Our work includes advocacy, education, and collaboration on issues that impact farms and ranches across Riverside County—air quality, water quality and reliability, invasive pests, rural crime, and other challenges facing our agricultural community.
Education
Support
We sponsor local teachers
to attend the California Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom events.
Jr. Livestock Support
We proudly support local youth in agriculture by participating in Junior Livestock Auctions each
year at the Southern California Fair in Perris, Riverside County Fair & National Date Festival
in Indio, and Colorado River Fair in Blythe.
Industry
Protection
Through advocacy, education, and involvement in local, state, and federal issues, we help support farmers, ranchers, landowners, and the communities that depend
on them.
Community
Engagement
Through events, outreach, partnerships, and shared advocacy, we help build a stronger, more resilient future for Riverside County agriculture.
2025 - 2026
Riverside County Farm Bureau Board of Directors
Officers
Ellen Way • President
Rod Chamberlain • Vice President
Paul Cramer • Vice President
Alex Sanchez • Vice President
Richard A. Schmid, Jr. • Past President
Grant Chaffin • Treasurer
Dalton Abrams
Celeste Alonzo
Linden Anderson
Grant Chaffin
Stephen J. Corona
Cindy Domenigoni
Andy Domenigoni
Dan Hollingsworth
Nisha Noroian
Marlene Salazar-Pongs
Brad Scott
Andy Wilson
Richard Zapien
Executive Director
Rachael Johnson
Office Manager
Stephanie Bell
