January 5,2019-
Two of the nations top ag counties will be losing their agricultural commissioners in coming weeks as both are planning to pull up stakes from the San Joaquin Valley relocating to Nebraska. While it may sound unusual, it is not.
Les Wright is Fresno County Ag Commissioner and his wife Marilyn Wright heads up the Tulare County Ag Commissioners office. Both are retiring.“We own 480 acres, a cattle ranch near the So Dakota and Wyoming border says Marilyn who has been on the job for 9 years.Their rolling rangeland includes Ponderosa pines.
Marilyn will be retiring March 29 after working with Tulare County since 1993. Fresno will be losing Ag Commissioner Les Wright in January. In honor of both of their service, funds are being raised at Fresno State to support the Fresno State Rodeo Team, which is one of Les’ passions. A retirement reception honoring Les and Marilyn will be held on January 12 at the Clovis Rodeo Hall; social and appetizers will be available from 3 – 6 p.m. and a recognition program will be held at 5 p.m.
Les recently made the news official.“It truly has been my privilege to serve the citizens of Fresno County for the last nine years. For the past five years, I have been proud to serve as Agricultural Commissioner and Sealer of Weights and Measures. Nevertheless, no career, no matter how rewarding, lasts forever and I have decided that the time has come for me to retire. I plan to leave County service on January 27, 2019.”
In 1999, Les Wright began working as a deputy agricultural commissioner in Kings County. In 2010, he joined the team in Fresno County, where he became chief deputy and was later appointed to serve as the agricultural commissioner for Fresno County on August 2, 2013. In his position, he enjoys strengthening his relationship with Fresno County farmers and ranchers. Although he has always favored livestock, he has done almost every job in the business from inspecting bee hives to inspecting pesticide applications.
“Agriculture has always been my love,” said Wright. “I’ve always been involved in agriculture and don’t see myself doing anything else.”
Marilyn came to Tulare County from Merced County where she worked the ag department as well.”I moved to Visalia because I was familiar with the community coming to town on a regular basis to have my hair done at the Don Estes studio by Dons wife Lydia Estes.”
In 2017, the latest year we have figures for – Tulare County finished second in the running for top farm production counties with Fresno County falling to third on a surge of nut planting Kern County. Kern took over bragging rights to the top spot. Tulare continues to be number one in milk production.
Marilyn grew up in Nebraska and looks forward to retiring there with Les. “I don’t mind the winter in the Midwest” she adds.
Marilyn has been busy in her position overseeing a huge increase in export shipments from Tulare County overseas in the past decade.The Ag Commissioner does inspections on the loads.
County packing houses are scrambling this year looking to replace China that had been the top destination. In 2017 China received 6.3 million cartons of fruit shipped from Tulare that year. A decade earlier the county shipped just 1.7 million cartons to China. In 2018/19 those number are likely way down.
Korea was number two in 2017 with 5.9 million cartons shipped in 2017 and probably will be number one in 2018.
The peak season for shipping citrus is coming up in March and Marilyn says packing houses are busy looking to replace those trade war losses with other buyers. “We ship to over 80 countries around the world.”
Marilyn has also been a leader in the fight to limit the spread of the Asian Citrus Psyllid, enforcing the ban on moving fruit without tarping of the trucks in the county, a rule that has been successful so far
Two highlights of Marilyn’s career include implementing an aggressive County Walnut Theft Ordinance, along with taking in over 113,000 pounds of outdated and unwanted pesticide products from Tulare County growers during the department’s Legacy Pesticide Disposal Event.