FEBRUARY 2008 VOLUME 4, ISSUE 1

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PresortedStandard MailU.S. Postage

PAIDPasadena, CA

Permit No.1132

Start healthy and stay healthy with 100% virus checked and virus free trees only from Burchell Nursery.

Doria “Ruby” Barlow Our Very Resourceful Human Resources Assistant

At Burchell Nursery, we’re proud of the longevity of our employees. A big part of the credit goes to human resources assistant Ruby Barlow. Ruby keeps the HR part of our business humming, before, during and long after the hire.

She handles employee recruitment, applications, and assists with interviewing. She manages our timekeeping system and records. In fact, the HR office is a veritable library, thanks to Ruby. She assists the HR manager in coordinating our safety program and training to help us be accident-free. She also assists with our 410K and insurance paperwork; helping new enrollees complete their insurance forms, explaining benefits, and making sure that the insurance companies have everyone’s current information. And she makes sure our timekeeping and payroll systems are in perfect sync, which with today’s computer programs is no easy task. But Ruby is humble about it all. She says simply, “I like numbers and I like to help people.”

Ruby’s background makes her the perfect HR assistant for us. She has 25 years of human resources expertise, is bilingual, and has a lifetime of experience with agriculture. Every one of us is glad to have Ruby on our crew.

All Stars★

Ag Hall of Fame Honors The Burchell Nursery

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ver 400 people gathered at the Assyrian-American Civic Club of Turlock on November 15, 2007 for the 10th Annual Ag Hall of Fame Dinner honoring The Burchell Nursery.

Each year the Ag Hall of Fame selection committee chooses an individual or business that has helped to enhance and promote the agriculture industry in Stanislaus County. This year’s Honoree was The Burchell Nursery. For over 65 years the Burchell family has served the farming communities providing the finest rootstock and potted trees setting the quality stands for plant breeding and development and leading the way with innovative research that has benefited the entire industry.

Irvin Burchell founded the Burchell Nursery in Modesto in 1942, eventu-ally relocating to Oakdale where the current main operation is housed. Today with offices in Oakdale, Fresno, the Sacramento Valley and with representation extending into the Northwestern States, The Burchell Nursery continues to adhere to its core belief, “Plant good trees on good land, take care of them and they will take care of you.”

Like his father before him, Tom Burchell recognizes that he has a

commitment to his customers that extends well beyond the sale of his trees. The Burchell Nursery Difference is its nurturing of the relationship with its customers — providing ongoing support for days, weeks, months and even years to help them generate the best possible returns on their investment.

This commitment to its customers translates into a bigger com-mitment to the community at large helping to build the local economy and to give back to the community through its charitable efforts and public service through various organizations.

The Burchell Nursery is extremely proud of its induction into the Ag Hall of Fame, and we look forward to our continued participa-tion in the development of the AG Science Center and furthering

the agricultural industry in the communities we serve.

t all started in 1942 in Modesto. Six and a half decades later, Burchell Nursery thanked its many customers and business supporters at not one

but two festive celebrations. About 150 employees played host to more than four times that many guests at the company’s anniversary celebration on October 5 at the Oakdale headquarters. The Fowler location also hosted a celebration event on October 3 in honor of those who have helped our business prosper over the years. The Oakdale celebration featured stories of how Burchell Nursery has grown, with speeches by Bill and Tom Burchell and special guests, and with displays and guided tractor tours. While our operation started with just 1-1/2 acres, thanks to your support, we have grown to more than 1,000 acres and 130,000 square feet of greenhouse space today, and have introduced more than 100 new tree varieties through the years. Keynote speaker Eric Stein, Deputy Secretary of Legislation for the California Department of Food and Agriculture, addressed the gathering. Third generation leader Tom Burchell was presented with commemorative letters from Governor Schwarzenegger and Senator Feinstein; Certificates of Recognition from U.S. Congressman Radanovich and CalPoly San Luis Obispo; Resolutions from California Senator Cogdill and California Assembly Member Berryman; a Commendation from the California Dept. of Agriculture; and a note from President Bush on his personal stationery, signed by him. The Almond Board of California, the Ag Science Center and Stanislaus Farm Supply staged informative exhibits. And all guests were treated to a buffet luncheon. After months of anticipation, the Retro Price Rollback contest winner was announced at the festivities. Dean Johnson of Kingsburg will pay the low, low 1942 price of just 55 cents each for the plum trees he ordered, about one-tenth of what they would cost today. Please join us in congratulating Dean. And thank you to all who helped us celebrate this milestone in our company’s history. We hope to be here to serve you for many generations to come!

Looking Toward a Thirsty Future

I

Drought Strategiesby Fruit and Nut Tree Species

t seems dry times are here to stay. As Burchell Nursery customers are well

aware, much of the Western US has experienced warmer and dryer years than usual of late. But additional forces besides Mother Nature’s are having a significant impact as well. We’re experiencing a perfect storm of circumstances that should prompt growers to plan now for a drier future. California and the West have seen dry times before. But this time the situation is complicated by the ever-increasing demands that development, population growth and environmental concerns are placing on water supplies. On the environmental side in 2005 the Natural Resources Defense Council sued state and federal agencies responsible for water delivery from the San Joaquin Delta, charging that they had failed to protect the Delta smelt, a fish which is listed as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act. On December 14, 2007, US District Judge Oliver Wanger ruled that the various Federal and State agencies responsible for the water system of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Delta were enjoined from taking any actions contrary to interim remedial measures he imposed to prevent the extinction of the delta smelt. Among other things these measures include flow restrictions of the Central Valley Project and the State Water Project. In practical terms, this means pumping water from the Delta will be reduced, and the State Department of Water Resources, in its December 24 advisory, suggests possible reductions from 7 to 30 percent. This reduction will remain in effect through June 20, 2008, and it’s likely that water delivery issues will be impacted in the future. But in the short term we will be affected by the District

Court’s ruling and according to deputy director Jerry Johns of the

California Department of Water Resources while it won’t be as grim as first expected, “Everybody should be

planning as if next year is going to be a dry year.” The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is the lynchpin of the state’s water system. It provides

drinking water to roughly 25 million Californians and, as our readers know firsthand, irrigation to more than two million acres of farmland, the backbone of the state’s $32 billion agricultural industry. Looking to our state’s future, Governor Schwarzenegger has taken a number of steps over the past 15 months to address the state’s various water issues as well as the situation presented by the recent court ruling. Late last year, he signed an Executive Order creating the Delta Vision Task Force to develop a strategic vision and management plan. In January, he introduced

a comprehensive plan to invest in additional surface and groundwater storage to meet the needs of population growth and manage the effects of climate change on the state’s hydrology and water delivery systems. Additionally the plan addresses flood protection and the capture of water from storms and snowmelt to help the water supply to cities and farmers. On December 1st of last year the Sacramento Bee reported that the Governor’s Delta Vision Task Force has so far determined “…there is no mythical single fix for the complex estuary... New plumbing is needed…but too little is known about costs and environmental effects to choose now.” The task force reportedly is calling for a study that will lead to that type of decision by June 2008. It wants the Governor to authorize an assessment of what has come to be called the “dual conveyance” approach — building an isolated canal for a portion of Sacramento River flows around the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, while also improving water flows through the estuary and boosting upstream water storage.

What does all of this mean to us in Agriculture? What can we do? Among other things we must get more efficient in our irrigation techniques. The days of being able to water according to a calendar are gone. The timing and amount of water applied must be based on the moisture needs of the trees, not old habits. We all must become expert at using evapotranspiration rates as a guide for when and how much to irrigate. Evapotranspiration, or ET, refers to the combined measure of soil evaporation and plant transpiration. These two processes represent the water loss from the plant-soil

system due to evaporative demand of the atmosphere. The ET rates are correlated to the amount of ground surface covered by the leaf canopy — as the plant grows and expands its leaf area over the ground, the ET increases. Environmental factors such as temperature, wind and humidity also influence ET. Knowing this, Burchell Nursery installed a weather station in March 2006 to measure temperature, rainfall, humidity, wind speed and direction, as well as ET for its operation. The station is monitored daily to time our irrigation practices. We rely on the ET rates reported for the day, and take soil samples in the field to directly correlate the amount of water needed over a period of time. We’re happy to share this information with our customers, either on specific data collected or the general techniques we employ. Information is also available from local farm bureaus. Additionally, the California Irrigation Management Information System, or CIMIS, is a network of standardized weather stations scattered throughout California, which report weather data on an hourly basis. The weather stations use this data to calculate ETo (a particular measure of ET), which is a reference point for evaporative demand for that micro-region. More information on this is available at www.cimis.water.ca.gov and www.wateright.org. Burchell Nursery also encourages you to investigate and invest in more efficient irrigation systems. Drip irrigation is highly efficient, applying water right to the ground next to the tree where it can be used. Drip irrigation has a 90 percent efficiency rating, which means if you apply one inch of water, .90 inches will be available to the plant and not lost to evaporation before being used. Buried drip irrigation, where the drip line is four to five inches below ground next to the plant, is the only other method with a higher efficiency rating. It comes in at an outstanding 95 percent efficiency. Sprinkler irrigation is 75 to 80 percent efficient. Flood irrigation is 70 percent efficient. Furrow irrigation is the least efficient method at 60 to 70 percent (30 to 40 percent is not available to the plant and essentially wasted). Whatever questions you have, we encourage you to talk to your Burchell field representative. We believe you’ll find their experience invaluable. Together, we can weather the dry conditions.

Peach, nectarine, plum Early season varieties should receive full irrigation through harvest. Post-harvest water can be appreciably curtailed except during bud differentiation, usually mid- to late August, to prevent fruit “doubling.” Late varieties can be stressed during stage two fruit growth, usually about four weeks after fruit set, when pit hardening occurs through the start of rapid fruit growth in stage three and during post-harvest. Clings should not be stressed in late stage one or early stage two and then irrigated heavily in order to limit “split pit.”

Apricot Apricots can be stressed during the middle part of fruit development, but should receive full irrigation early in the season and during rapid fruit growth just prior to harvest. Excessive post-harvest stress can result in bud drop, reducing the following year’s crop, so the soil profile must not be allowed to dry out after harvest.

Cherry Cherries should be fully irrigated until just before harvest. Except during the bud differentiation period when irrigation is required to prevent “spur fruit.” Post-harvest deficit irrigation can be used.

Prune After full irrigation through the rapid initial fruit growth phase — about late May — reduced irrigation can be tolerated with little if any effect on fruit size, weight or drop. In fact, stress during this period may increase flowering the following season. Severe stress during fruit development, followed by heavy irrigation, can result in cracking. Post-harvest irrigation should be geared to preventing premature defoliation.

Walnut, pecan For hedgerow plantings, some water should be applied throughout the season except for the final two or three weeks in the fall. The appropriate percentage of normal amounts to apply depends on available water supplies. With about 20 acre-inches available, growers should irrigate at about 50 percent of normal rates. With 10 acre-inches per acre available, growers should apply about 25 percent of normal rates. Research found conventional density plantings suffered an 80 percent yield reduction in the year following a simulated drought when a total of 16 acre-inches per acre was applied — mid-March to late May — followed by a progressive cutback through harvest. Spreading out applications over the season for hedgerow plantings appears to be a better strategy. For heat sensitive cultivars, irrigating at near-normal levels in the two-week period before harvest may reduce sunburn. Applying whitewash may also lessen sunburn damage.

Almond In almonds, full irrigation early in the season is important for good fruitwood growth and therefore necessary for long-term tree productivity. In early to mid-season cultivars, irrigation can be severely curtailed

between mid-June and harvest, which is about a two-month period. Later harvest cultivars can also tolerate a two- month period of sever water deprivation before harvest. This practice will reduce kernel weight by only about 10 percent, but will drastically reduce hull split. Resuming full irrigation two weeks before harvest can improve splitting. For almonds planted on shallow or drip irrigated soils, post-harvest water management is crucial for the following year’s crop. Recent research showed that post-harvest water deprivation reduced fruit set and, to a lesser extent, also reduced bloom. Growers should reserve at least three to four acre-inches per acre (of the normal eight inches) for post-harvest irrigation. Irrigation should begin as soon as possible after harvest, With deep soils that are surface or sprinkler-irrigated close to harvest, a post-harvest irrigation may not be as important. Prematurely defoliating trees indicate inadequate irrigation. Pre-harvest defoliation followed by post-harvest irrigation can lead to refoliation (a new canopy). Contrary to conventional wisdom, this practice benefits the tree by improving tree water status during a critical period of flower morphogenesis. Flowering in the late fall, however, will reduce yield the following year. This occurs when orchards refoliate in the fall and when cold weather in October is followed by a warm November. Limiting irrigation during the late fall may deduce premature flowering.

Pistachio Pistachio trees are fairly stress tolerant from leaf-out through mid-May. Stress during this period may actually enhance shell splitting at harvest, but at the expense of nut size. Research indicates that a controlled deficit irrigation strategy where stress is imposed after the full shell size is attained, about mid-May, and before rapid kernel growth occurs in early July results in little or no negative impact on production. Severe stress from late June through mid-August will reduce harvestability and modestly reduce shell splitting. Water deprivation from mid-August through harvest, about mid-September, will decrease shell splitting and slightly reduce harvestability. Severe post-harvest water stress can be tolerated.

Article reprinted in total with permission from AgAlert, October 10, 2007.

Looking Toward a Thirsty Future

I

Drought Strategiesby Fruit and Nut Tree Species

t seems dry times are here to stay. As Burchell Nursery customers are well

aware, much of the Western US has experienced warmer and dryer years than usual of late. But additional forces besides Mother Nature’s are having a significant impact as well. We’re experiencing a perfect storm of circumstances that should prompt growers to plan now for a drier future. California and the West have seen dry times before. But this time the situation is complicated by the ever-increasing demands that development, population growth and environmental concerns are placing on water supplies. On the environmental side in 2005 the Natural Resources Defense Council sued state and federal agencies responsible for water delivery from the San Joaquin Delta, charging that they had failed to protect the Delta smelt, a fish which is listed as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act. On December 14, 2007, US District Judge Oliver Wanger ruled that the various Federal and State agencies responsible for the water system of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Delta were enjoined from taking any actions contrary to interim remedial measures he imposed to prevent the extinction of the delta smelt. Among other things these measures include flow restrictions of the Central Valley Project and the State Water Project. In practical terms, this means pumping water from the Delta will be reduced, and the State Department of Water Resources, in its December 24 advisory, suggests possible reductions from 7 to 30 percent. This reduction will remain in effect through June 20, 2008, and it’s likely that water delivery issues will be impacted in the future. But in the short term we will be affected by the District

Court’s ruling and according to deputy director Jerry Johns of the

California Department of Water Resources while it won’t be as grim as first expected, “Everybody should be

planning as if next year is going to be a dry year.” The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is the lynchpin of the state’s water system. It provides

drinking water to roughly 25 million Californians and, as our readers know firsthand, irrigation to more than two million acres of farmland, the backbone of the state’s $32 billion agricultural industry. Looking to our state’s future, Governor Schwarzenegger has taken a number of steps over the past 15 months to address the state’s various water issues as well as the situation presented by the recent court ruling. Late last year, he signed an Executive Order creating the Delta Vision Task Force to develop a strategic vision and management plan. In January, he introduced

a comprehensive plan to invest in additional surface and groundwater storage to meet the needs of population growth and manage the effects of climate change on the state’s hydrology and water delivery systems. Additionally the plan addresses flood protection and the capture of water from storms and snowmelt to help the water supply to cities and farmers. On December 1st of last year the Sacramento Bee reported that the Governor’s Delta Vision Task Force has so far determined “…there is no mythical single fix for the complex estuary... New plumbing is needed…but too little is known about costs and environmental effects to choose now.” The task force reportedly is calling for a study that will lead to that type of decision by June 2008. It wants the Governor to authorize an assessment of what has come to be called the “dual conveyance” approach — building an isolated canal for a portion of Sacramento River flows around the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, while also improving water flows through the estuary and boosting upstream water storage.

What does all of this mean to us in Agriculture? What can we do? Among other things we must get more efficient in our irrigation techniques. The days of being able to water according to a calendar are gone. The timing and amount of water applied must be based on the moisture needs of the trees, not old habits. We all must become expert at using evapotranspiration rates as a guide for when and how much to irrigate. Evapotranspiration, or ET, refers to the combined measure of soil evaporation and plant transpiration. These two processes represent the water loss from the plant-soil

system due to evaporative demand of the atmosphere. The ET rates are correlated to the amount of ground surface covered by the leaf canopy — as the plant grows and expands its leaf area over the ground, the ET increases. Environmental factors such as temperature, wind and humidity also influence ET. Knowing this, Burchell Nursery installed a weather station in March 2006 to measure temperature, rainfall, humidity, wind speed and direction, as well as ET for its operation. The station is monitored daily to time our irrigation practices. We rely on the ET rates reported for the day, and take soil samples in the field to directly correlate the amount of water needed over a period of time. We’re happy to share this information with our customers, either on specific data collected or the general techniques we employ. Information is also available from local farm bureaus. Additionally, the California Irrigation Management Information System, or CIMIS, is a network of standardized weather stations scattered throughout California, which report weather data on an hourly basis. The weather stations use this data to calculate ETo (a particular measure of ET), which is a reference point for evaporative demand for that micro-region. More information on this is available at www.cimis.water.ca.gov and www.wateright.org. Burchell Nursery also encourages you to investigate and invest in more efficient irrigation systems. Drip irrigation is highly efficient, applying water right to the ground next to the tree where it can be used. Drip irrigation has a 90 percent efficiency rating, which means if you apply one inch of water, .90 inches will be available to the plant and not lost to evaporation before being used. Buried drip irrigation, where the drip line is four to five inches below ground next to the plant, is the only other method with a higher efficiency rating. It comes in at an outstanding 95 percent efficiency. Sprinkler irrigation is 75 to 80 percent efficient. Flood irrigation is 70 percent efficient. Furrow irrigation is the least efficient method at 60 to 70 percent (30 to 40 percent is not available to the plant and essentially wasted). Whatever questions you have, we encourage you to talk to your Burchell field representative. We believe you’ll find their experience invaluable. Together, we can weather the dry conditions.

Peach, nectarine, plum Early season varieties should receive full irrigation through harvest. Post-harvest water can be appreciably curtailed except during bud differentiation, usually mid- to late August, to prevent fruit “doubling.” Late varieties can be stressed during stage two fruit growth, usually about four weeks after fruit set, when pit hardening occurs through the start of rapid fruit growth in stage three and during post-harvest. Clings should not be stressed in late stage one or early stage two and then irrigated heavily in order to limit “split pit.”

Apricot Apricots can be stressed during the middle part of fruit development, but should receive full irrigation early in the season and during rapid fruit growth just prior to harvest. Excessive post-harvest stress can result in bud drop, reducing the following year’s crop, so the soil profile must not be allowed to dry out after harvest.

Cherry Cherries should be fully irrigated until just before harvest. Except during the bud differentiation period when irrigation is required to prevent “spur fruit.” Post-harvest deficit irrigation can be used.

Prune After full irrigation through the rapid initial fruit growth phase — about late May — reduced irrigation can be tolerated with little if any effect on fruit size, weight or drop. In fact, stress during this period may increase flowering the following season. Severe stress during fruit development, followed by heavy irrigation, can result in cracking. Post-harvest irrigation should be geared to preventing premature defoliation.

Walnut, pecan For hedgerow plantings, some water should be applied throughout the season except for the final two or three weeks in the fall. The appropriate percentage of normal amounts to apply depends on available water supplies. With about 20 acre-inches available, growers should irrigate at about 50 percent of normal rates. With 10 acre-inches per acre available, growers should apply about 25 percent of normal rates. Research found conventional density plantings suffered an 80 percent yield reduction in the year following a simulated drought when a total of 16 acre-inches per acre was applied — mid-March to late May — followed by a progressive cutback through harvest. Spreading out applications over the season for hedgerow plantings appears to be a better strategy. For heat sensitive cultivars, irrigating at near-normal levels in the two-week period before harvest may reduce sunburn. Applying whitewash may also lessen sunburn damage.

Almond In almonds, full irrigation early in the season is important for good fruitwood growth and therefore necessary for long-term tree productivity. In early to mid-season cultivars, irrigation can be severely curtailed

between mid-June and harvest, which is about a two-month period. Later harvest cultivars can also tolerate a two- month period of sever water deprivation before harvest. This practice will reduce kernel weight by only about 10 percent, but will drastically reduce hull split. Resuming full irrigation two weeks before harvest can improve splitting. For almonds planted on shallow or drip irrigated soils, post-harvest water management is crucial for the following year’s crop. Recent research showed that post-harvest water deprivation reduced fruit set and, to a lesser extent, also reduced bloom. Growers should reserve at least three to four acre-inches per acre (of the normal eight inches) for post-harvest irrigation. Irrigation should begin as soon as possible after harvest, With deep soils that are surface or sprinkler-irrigated close to harvest, a post-harvest irrigation may not be as important. Prematurely defoliating trees indicate inadequate irrigation. Pre-harvest defoliation followed by post-harvest irrigation can lead to refoliation (a new canopy). Contrary to conventional wisdom, this practice benefits the tree by improving tree water status during a critical period of flower morphogenesis. Flowering in the late fall, however, will reduce yield the following year. This occurs when orchards refoliate in the fall and when cold weather in October is followed by a warm November. Limiting irrigation during the late fall may deduce premature flowering.

Pistachio Pistachio trees are fairly stress tolerant from leaf-out through mid-May. Stress during this period may actually enhance shell splitting at harvest, but at the expense of nut size. Research indicates that a controlled deficit irrigation strategy where stress is imposed after the full shell size is attained, about mid-May, and before rapid kernel growth occurs in early July results in little or no negative impact on production. Severe stress from late June through mid-August will reduce harvestability and modestly reduce shell splitting. Water deprivation from mid-August through harvest, about mid-September, will decrease shell splitting and slightly reduce harvestability. Severe post-harvest water stress can be tolerated.

Article reprinted in total with permission from AgAlert, October 10, 2007.

FEBRUARY 2008 VOLUME 4, ISSUE 1

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w.b

urch

elln

urse

ry.c

om

1200

0 St

ate

Hig

hway

120

& W

ambl

e R

oad,

Oak

dale

, CA

953

61

PresortedStandard MailU.S. Postage

PAIDPasadena, CA

Permit No.1132

Start healthy and stay healthy with 100% virus checked and virus free trees only from Burchell Nursery.

Doria “Ruby” Barlow Our Very Resourceful Human Resources Assistant

At Burchell Nursery, we’re proud of the longevity of our employees. A big part of the credit goes to human resources assistant Ruby Barlow. Ruby keeps the HR part of our business humming, before, during and long after the hire.

She handles employee recruitment, applications, and assists with interviewing. She manages our timekeeping system and records. In fact, the HR office is a veritable library, thanks to Ruby. She assists the HR manager in coordinating our safety program and training to help us be accident-free. She also assists with our 410K and insurance paperwork; helping new enrollees complete their insurance forms, explaining benefits, and making sure that the insurance companies have everyone’s current information. And she makes sure our timekeeping and payroll systems are in perfect sync, which with today’s computer programs is no easy task. But Ruby is humble about it all. She says simply, “I like numbers and I like to help people.”

Ruby’s background makes her the perfect HR assistant for us. She has 25 years of human resources expertise, is bilingual, and has a lifetime of experience with agriculture. Every one of us is glad to have Ruby on our crew.

All Stars★

Ag Hall of Fame Honors The Burchell Nursery

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ver 400 people gathered at the Assyrian-American Civic Club of Turlock on November 15, 2007 for the 10th Annual Ag Hall of Fame Dinner honoring The Burchell Nursery.

Each year the Ag Hall of Fame selection committee chooses an individual or business that has helped to enhance and promote the agriculture industry in Stanislaus County. This year’s Honoree was The Burchell Nursery. For over 65 years the Burchell family has served the farming communities providing the finest rootstock and potted trees setting the quality stands for plant breeding and development and leading the way with innovative research that has benefited the entire industry.

Irvin Burchell founded the Burchell Nursery in Modesto in 1942, eventu-ally relocating to Oakdale where the current main operation is housed. Today with offices in Oakdale, Fresno, the Sacramento Valley and with representation extending into the Northwestern States, The Burchell Nursery continues to adhere to its core belief, “Plant good trees on good land, take care of them and they will take care of you.”

Like his father before him, Tom Burchell recognizes that he has a

commitment to his customers that extends well beyond the sale of his trees. The Burchell Nursery Difference is its nurturing of the relationship with its customers — providing ongoing support for days, weeks, months and even years to help them generate the best possible returns on their investment.

This commitment to its customers translates into a bigger com-mitment to the community at large helping to build the local economy and to give back to the community through its charitable efforts and public service through various organizations.

The Burchell Nursery is extremely proud of its induction into the Ag Hall of Fame, and we look forward to our continued participa-tion in the development of the AG Science Center and furthering

the agricultural industry in the communities we serve.

t all started in 1942 in Modesto. Six and a half decades later, Burchell Nursery thanked its many customers and business supporters at not one

but two festive celebrations. About 150 employees played host to more than four times that many guests at the company’s anniversary celebration on October 5 at the Oakdale headquarters. The Fowler location also hosted a celebration event on October 3 in honor of those who have helped our business prosper over the years. The Oakdale celebration featured stories of how Burchell Nursery has grown, with speeches by Bill and Tom Burchell and special guests, and with displays and guided tractor tours. While our operation started with just 1-1/2 acres, thanks to your support, we have grown to more than 1,000 acres and 130,000 square feet of greenhouse space today, and have introduced more than 100 new tree varieties through the years. Keynote speaker Eric Stein, Deputy Secretary of Legislation for the California Department of Food and Agriculture, addressed the gathering. Third generation leader Tom Burchell was presented with commemorative letters from Governor Schwarzenegger and Senator Feinstein; Certificates of Recognition from U.S. Congressman Radanovich and CalPoly San Luis Obispo; Resolutions from California Senator Cogdill and California Assembly Member Berryman; a Commendation from the California Dept. of Agriculture; and a note from President Bush on his personal stationery, signed by him. The Almond Board of California, the Ag Science Center and Stanislaus Farm Supply staged informative exhibits. And all guests were treated to a buffet luncheon. After months of anticipation, the Retro Price Rollback contest winner was announced at the festivities. Dean Johnson of Kingsburg will pay the low, low 1942 price of just 55 cents each for the plum trees he ordered, about one-tenth of what they would cost today. Please join us in congratulating Dean. And thank you to all who helped us celebrate this milestone in our company’s history. We hope to be here to serve you for many generations to come!