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 By K. Reka Badger
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Promoted to ranch manager in 1985, he runs the 1800-acre spread with a sure hand, deftly juggling a variety of crops, including cattle, pumpkins, squash, flowers, hay and the occasional “Happy Cows” cheese commercial. Casting his lot with the rhythm of the seasons, Mosebar quickly realized that beyond tending the fields, fiddling with equipment and addressing the million on-site agricultural demands, modern farming requires tireless advocacy and political involvement. Today, armed with a BlackBerry and never far from a suit and tie, the newly-elected president of California Farm Bureau Federation (CFBF), dedicates himself to helping farmers tell their stories. “There’re a lot of things that take place in ag that don’t get talked about,” Mosebar says, his blue eyes clear and steady. “For instance, the different types of tillage that farmers do to prevent erosion and put less dust into the air, their efforts to use more efficient irrigation. Things that are just good for the environment, but don’t get talked about. “Farmers think they don’t have a story to tell,” he continues. “I try to convince them they do. When the farmer members get involved, there’s a lot of impact that comes from the voice of experience.” To encourage his peers to participate, at least twice a year Mosebar and other CFB F officers accompany several farmers, nominated by fellow members, to Washington,D.C., where they dive headfirst into the political process. “They have the passion and the knowledge of their industry,” Mosebar explains. “We teach them the finer talking points, set up appointments with senators and congressmen, and then we march the halls. They’re so charged up when they come home,” he laughs, “they want to go back and continue to work at the state level. “Like it or not,” Mosebar declares, “politics infuses every aspect of our lives. There’s roughly four percent of the population that’s intimately involved with politics, and farmers are roughly two percent of the population. I tell them if all of us got involved, we could make a huge difference.” Committed to “working both sides of the aisle” to meet the needs of California’s farmers, Doug Mosebar speaks with a measured voice amid the often divisive cacophony of partisan politics. “We can’t agree with everybody on everything,” he allows, “but just because you don’t agree, you don’t talk to them anymore? I don’t think so.” He tackles hot-button issues, such as water for agriculture, immigration and guest -worker programs, inheritance taxes on family farms and environmental regulation, with a willingness to listen to all opinions. “Life is about balance,” he says. “Nobody has all the right answers. Be open to other viewpoints, because there may be some information you can put into your thinking cap that you may need. ‘Do unto others’ goes a long ways.” Raised on a farm in Yakima, Washington, where his parents struggled to make ends meet, Mosebar never intended to become a farmer. He studied agricultural business management at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo with an eye toward working in ag lending, farm equipment sales or some other support industry. “I heard Cal Poly was a good ‘learn by doing’ school,” he smiles. “I wanted to stay connected with ag, but not necessarily farming. I kept leaning back toward farming, though,” he shrugs. “I guess it’s in my blood. There’s something very satisfying about preparing the soil and watching a crop grow, and I couldn’t see myself being inside all the time. I love being outside, I love the seasons.” Just a few days before graduating, Mosebar spotted a job listing on the college placement board and wasted no time applying for the position of assistant farm manager at Gainey Ranch. “They hired me before I left and I accepted before I left,” he chuckles. “In July of ’73, we moved here in our Volkswagen bug. We didn’t have much stuff. “I was very much impressed by the pastoral scenery, the beautiful homes,” he says of his first glimpse of the Santa Ynez Valley. Mosebar and his wife, Susie, settled into Valley life and set about raising three children in a small house on the ranch. In 1975, he attended his first Farm Bureau meeting, held at the venerable Red Barn, in Santa Ynez. “It was at lunch,” he remembers, “and I wouldn’t have to miss work, so I went.” The organization, dedicated to promoting “agricultural awareness and environmental stewardship,” was a good fit for Mosebar’s intellect and blooming activism. He went on to serve as president of Santa Barbara County Farm Bureau from 1987 to 1989, second vice president of California State Farm Bureau Federation from 1989 to 1997, and first vice president from 1997 to 2005. In December 2005, the statewide membership elected him president of the 87-year old body, making him only the second Southern Californian since 1938 to win the post. “I didn’t view politics as something I really thirsted for,” he reveals, “but as you become more involved, you see the difference you can make in serving our ag community. There’s lots of mental food you get. It’s satisfying and it spurs you on to do more.” In 1994, deeply involved in farming, Farm Bureau and family life, Mosebar’s comfortable world shattered when his wife fell ill and died unexpectedly. “The most terrible thing,” he remembers quietly, “was telling my kids she wouldn’t be coming home.” Mosebar threw himself into work and Farm Bureau activities, while steeling himself to raise his children alone. To cope with the sorrow and stress, he jogged the Valley’s streets and rural byways, pursuing the benefits of fresh air therapy, a practice he continues to enjoy. “The breathing, pumping oxygen everywhere,” he muses, “it releases endorphins and you get that natural high. I ran to Buellton, fourteen miles and back. I run up to the high school and back. I figure I’ve run enough to have gone from here to Washington,D.C., and back.” In 2004, after a long courtship, Doug Mosebar married Misha, a dynamic businesswoman who founded the Valley-based Blue Sky Property Management. “I view Misha as a wonderful partner in my life,” Mosebar says thoughtfully. “She’s a wonderful ambassador when we go places. People enjoy her and she’s great in helping to break the ice. When I’m with her, it’s not like one and one is two, more like one and one is three.” On the political trail, Mosebar’s math adds up to a winning combination of clarity, diplomacy and above all, the voicing of the stories of California’s farmers. From asserting that ag doesn’t want more water, just the full measure it has already been allocated, to discussing immigration and endangered species, Mosebar spreads the word about farmers’ struggles, concerns and unsung efforts to be good neighbors. “It’s all part of telling our story,” he explains. “I let people know that we try to be considerate, we try to let them know if we’re going to do something that might bother them. If we have to disc, we try to time it for when the breeze is away, rather than toward them. It’s one of those things you don’t notice because it doesn’t make the headlines. “I relish being in a small minority in the career I’ve chosen,” he admits. “At an airport terminal, I’ll be dressed up in a suit and tie and someone will ask ‘what do you do?’ and I tell them ‘I’m a farmer.’ I take pride in it.” To those of us lucky enough to live amid the beauty of open farmland, Doug Mosebar offers this bit of advice, “When you move into an area and you love that scene outside your window or front door and all of a sudden, there’s some equipment that might not fit with your sleeping schedule, please be patient. We’re willing to work with you and we hope that you’ll work with us.” |
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Copyright 2006, Inside Santa Ynez Valley Magazine, All Rights Reserved |
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