Hayley Thomas/Paso Robles Press Assemblyman Sam Blakeslee presents the 2010 Cattlewoman of the Year, Darlene Rotta, with a proclamation at Thursday’s awards dinner.

The San Luis Obispo County Cattlemen’s Association’s highest honor was bestowed upon Ray Allen — the 2010 Cattleman of the Year.

Allen was born and raised in Pocatello, Idaho, where he grew up on the family ranch. Allen’s family raised cattle and farmed the land.

While attending Idaho State College, the Korean War began. Allen, no doubt heeding an inner-spark of duty, left college and joined the Air Force, where he served for four years as an Airborne Radar Technician.

Allen worked on various ranches until 1957 when he began working for the Jackson Family’s Silver Creek Ranch starting colts for their thoroughbred horse breeding and racing ranch in Tuscarora, Nev. and Santa Barbara.

In 1970, Allen was named general manager of Silver Creek Ranch, which included horses in Nevada, California and Kentucky as well as at the major racetracks in California.

Allen also served as general manager of the Jackson family’s California Agricultural Operations in 1980, which included the Silver Creek horses, the home ranch land and orchards at Rancho San Carlos in Montecito and the land and cattle of their Alisal Ranch in Solvang.

After his retirement in 1993, Ray and his wife, Mike, moved to the eastside of Paso Robles, where they own horses and some stocker cattle.

According to his peers, retirement hasn’t slowed the man down, and Allen continues to help his neighbors and good friend John Lacey work cattle, care for the horses, bail hay and more.

Allen was an active member of the Santa Barbara County Cattlemen’s Association and now the San Luis Obispo County Cattlemen’s keeps him quite busy, farm bureau officials said. According to fellow club members, Allen primarily works on water issues locally as well as at the state level.

Allen and Mike were married in 1955 and have three children, Vicki Allen Penwell, Terri Allen Woods and Craig R. Allen. The pair is also grandparents to seven children and great-grandchildren and five children.

Allen serves on the Board of Directors for San Luis Obispo County Cattlemen and serves as chair of the Water and Environmental Committee. He also serves as the association’s Ag Representative to several Advisory Committees such as Central Coast Ag Water Coalition, San Luis Obispo County Water Resources Advisory Committee and others.

As part of his position, Allen attends countless meetings representing the association, and he also serves on the Natural Resources Committee for the California Cattlemen’s Association. Allen is a member of San Luis Obispo County Farm Bureau, Thoroughbred Club of America, California Thoroughbred Breeders Association, American Quarter Horse Association and Rancheros Vistadores.



CattleWoman of the Year: Darlene Rotta

The San Luis Obispo County CattleWomen named longtime rancher and beef industry advocate Darlene Rotta as the 2010 Cattlewoman of the Year.

According to friends and peers, Rotta has been a dedicated and devoted member of the SLO County Cattle Women since she joined the group back in 1986.

When Rotta retired from teaching she returned to her roots at her family’s ranch, Rotta Ranch situated in Huasna Valley, located southeast of Arroyo Grande.

Rotta and her sister Jean specialized in the sale of Angus range bulls. A second-generation Californian, Rotta is said to represent the third-generation of “cattle people” in the U.S. as her grandparents immigrated here from Italy.

In 1957 Rotta left her family’s ranch to pursue a career in education after graduating from San Jose State with a degree in physical education. She would go on to teach for a whopping three decades.

According to friends, Rotta began her first four years in the field at Ripon Union High and the last 26 years at San Lorenzo Valley High. She taught a range of subjects from physical education, English, math, library, reading, driver’s education and typing.

Rotta was born in Santa Barbara, moved to Santa Maria when she was very young and her family lived on a dairy until she entered her junior year in high school. When her parents, Sam and Annie Rotta, bought a cattle ranch in the Huasna Valley, the group relocated for good.

Both Rotta and her sister were charter members of the first 4-H Club in Santa Maria. Rotta was also a Santa Barbara County All-Star and held club offices. In addition, she showed dairy cattle, steers and lambs, farm bureau officials said.

According to friends and family, Rotta’s pride and joy was raising one of the first 4-H guide dogs in the state. Apparently the hound was the K-9 Valedictorian of her class. Rotta and her family enjoyed attend the graduation and meeting the guide dog’s new owner.

Rotta has served as membership chair of the SLO CattleWomen for six years, and according to organizers the SLO CattleWomen have the largest state and national membership. Fellow members said that due to Rotta’s firm dedication to CattleWomen and to the cattle industry, she was selected as Cow Belle Mom last year.

Friends also sang Rotta’s praises when it comes to local county fairs, where she is known as a great supporter of children during auctions and livestock activities.

Rotta’s sister, Jean, sells a few replacement heifers to 4-H and FFA members each year and also helps the kids and the ranch by buying them back. Sometimes these Rotta heifers go pretty high in the auction, but the calves usually end up returning home.

According to her peers, “Darlene says cattle work is in her blood.”



2010 Agriculturalist of the Year: Tom Ikeda

Tom Ikeda, a man that many consider quite modest, beamed with pride as he took to the stage and was publicly recognized as the San Luis Obispo County Farm Bureau’s Agriculturalist of the Year for 2010.

A third-generation farmer, Ikeda is a partner with his uncle and three cousins in the Ikeda Bros. farming operation, where he serves as vice-president of operations and farm manager.

Ikeda Bros. grows fresh, diversified crops of leaf lettuces, head lettuce, spinach, broccoli, celery, green bell peppers, parsley, cilantro and green and red cabbage. The operation also specializes in oriental greens like Chinese Napa cabbage and bok choy.

Ikeda is part of a group of grower families known as Pismo Oceano Vegetable Exchange [POVE], a cooling, packing, sales and shipping cooperative where Ikeda serves as treasurer. The farmer is married to Maureen and the couple has two children, Brendan and Catherine.

Ikeda is a graduate of Arroyo Grande High School and earned a bachelor of science degree in Agricultural Science and Management from the University of California at Davis. He is also a graduate of Leadership SLO and the California Agricultural Leadership Program and was a recipient of the Knowledge Grows Scholarship from Chevron Lubricants to attend two one-week business seminars for agricultural producers in Texas.

Ikeda has served on the board for the local Boys & Girls Club of North San Luis Obispo County, where he is an honorary board member as well as with the Foundation for the Community Design. Ikeda has also served as one of the business members on the SLO County Board of Education’s P16 Council. After 25 years of dedication, Ikeda continues to coach youth basketball, according to the SLO County Farm Bureau.

Ikeda is a past president of San Luis Obispo County Farm Bureau, where he continues to serve as one of its directors and chairs their Legislative Committee.

Ikeda currently serves on the Agricultural Liaison Advisory Board as an appointee of Adam Hill, District Three county supervisor.

He also serves on the board of the Grower-Shipper Association of San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties and the California Leafy Greens Research Board.

According to friends, family and peers, Ikeda retains the values of his grandfather, father and uncles.

“Anything you do, you should do in earnest, and don’t do things halfheartedly,” said Ikeda. “Be strong for good and weak for evil. Also, give back to the community that has been good to our family. That is how my dad lived his life and how I try to live my life, and that is what I am trying to pass on to my own kids. It is about being a good person and looking out for your fellow man.”



2010 Native Tree Stewardship Award: Karl and Sue Luft

The San Luis Obispo County Native Tree Committee awarded Karl and Sue Luft with the 2010 Native Tree Stewardship Award.

The Native Tree Stewardship Award recognizes the importance of natural resource conservation and education within agriculture in San Luis Obispo County.

According to a press release, Karl and Sue Luft were “chosen for the award as great examples and leaders in sustainable agriculture and native tree protection.”

The couple’s property is east of Templeton and contains four acres of zinfandel wine grapes, a straw-bale home powered by solar panels, streambed with native oak woodland and open land.

According to their peers, not only is the couple highly involved with organizations like Central Coast Vineyard Team, Native Tree Committee, Land Conservancy of SLO County and the Upper Salinas — Las Tablas Resource Conservation District, but they are also intricately connected to their land and have a heightened awareness of ecological processes taking place.

Because Karl and Sue are both retired engineers, they also integrate science and technology into their vineyard practices, according to a press release. Their vineyard is Sustainability in Practice [SIP] Certified.

Oak seedlings were beginning to sprout up in their vineyard rows, where the vegetation is mowed or sprayed to reduce the competition for water.

With this practice, the oak seedlings are mowed as well.

The couple is firmly committed to transplanting the seedlings to areas where they would not be disturbed.

“However, they wanted to do more; they embarked on a restoration project,” the press release said. “Hundreds of acorns were collected from their property and in January of 2007 they were planted at more than 100 different planting sites on the Lufts’ open land. Last month they hosted an on-site tailgate, where they encouraged winegrape growers to incorporate oak plantings on their property.”

Topics also covered at the tailgate included oak regeneration, wildlife corridors, oak ecological structure and how native woodland can help with vineyard pest management.

“Karl and Sue Luft are great examples to other growers and landowners. Their stewardship, knowledge, and love for their land should be observed and commended,” the release stated.