Three appointed to CDFA board

Three new members have been appointed to the State Board of Food and Agriculture, which serves as an advisory body to the governor and the secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture.

The three members appointed to the 15-member board include:

• Charles Boyer, dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology at California State University, Fresno;
• Nancy Casady of La Jolla, general manager of Ocean Beach People's Organic Food Co-op;
• Mike Gallo, co-owner of Joseph Gallo Farms in Merced.

Prior of joining the faculty of Fresno State, Boyer was department head and associate dean at Oregon State University from 1993 to 2006, and a professor at Pennsylvania State University from 1981 to 1993. He is a member of the American Society for Horticultural Sciences and the American Association of State Colleges of Agriculture and Renewable Resources. Boyer earned a doctorate in genetics at Penn State.

Casady, a former vice president of the National Cooperative Grocers Association, was a member of the National Cooperative Development Board from 2009 to 2011. She was co-owner of Casady Whole Foods Market from 1988 to 1994 and has been in her current position since 1996.

Gallo has been a co-owner of Joseph Gallo Farms since 1965. The farm produces milk and markets cheese under the Joseph Farms label.

Members of the Board of Food and Agriculture are selected to represent a broad range of agricultural commodities, a variety of geographic regions and both the University of California and California State University academic systems.

As an advisory body, the board addresses key issues of importance to California farmers and ranchers, community stakeholders and citizens.

For online information on the state Board of Food and Agriculture, go to www.cdfa.ca.gov/State_Board.