Bee in Turlock: Event will showcase CSUS ag students

Employers in farming and related businesses can get an idea Saturday of the training going on at California State University, Stanislaus.

The Fertile Ground Networking Mixer will be a chance for ag students to mingle with businesses, government agencies, nonprofit groups and other entities involved in growing and processing food. Reservations are required for the event, which is expected to draw about 300 people.

“We just want a diverse group of professions,” said Nina Ferretti, a senior who is organizing the mixer as part of the internship required for graduation. “Basically, if they touch agriculture, we want them there.”

The gathering is sponsored by a group called Women in Agriculture for Mentoring and Empowerment. It will benefit the Agriculture Ambassadors, a student group that promotes the department.

Along with jobs, the students will learn about internship and mentoring opportunities, as well as master’s programs at UC Davis and the CSU campuses in Fresno, San Luis Obispo and Chico.

The ag department at Stanislaus State is small compared with those schools, but it has offered a close-to-home experience for students in and near Stanislaus County since 2003. They learn agricultural economics, biology, sustainability and other subjects, with help from several faculty members from other departments. The students have a garden with fruits, nuts and vegetables, but not the livestock or expansive acreage at the other campuses.

Ferretti, whose family grows almonds and row crops near Los Banos, has a concentration in ag economics at Stanislaus State. She hopes to get a master’s in business administration at Fresno State and work in ag marketing and brand management.

The mixer will help students see that the opportunities go beyond “cows and plows,” said Pamela Sweeten, an agricultural consultant and founder and president of the women’s group.

Stanislaus State sits in a region where farming and food processing are major employers, along with related ventures such as farm equipment, pest management, transportation, marketing and lending.

The mixer also will honor Betty Wynne, whose father was the founder of Dave Wilson Nursery, east of Hickman. She has been a mentor and helped start the Stanislaus County chapter of California Women for Agriculture.

This story was originally published April 22, 2015 at 2:08 PM with the headline "Bee in Turlock: Event will showcase CSUS ag students."