Statewide CWA HistoryThe first chapter of California Women for Agriculture was the Coachella Valley Chapter, which was officially organized in Indio in November 1975. The group, originally named CROP – Committee to Relieve Organized Pressure, was made up of concerned women to give support to the harassed and intimidated grape workers in the Coachella Valley during the farm labor union conflicts. These local women rallied together and carried picked signed in support of the farmer, counter picketing anti-farmer protests. When stores were picketed for the products they carried, these women crossed the picket lines top purchase those items. They circulated flyers, wrote letters, and contacted leaders in their own communities to tell them a different side of the story. At the same time, women in other parts of the southern valley were recognizing that farmers rarely had the time or the opportunity to “get off their tractors” to fight for their rights in front of the legislature, the media and the public. There was a need for an organization that would be composed of consumers as well as those in the agricultural industry.

The name, “California Women for Agriculture” was chosen after a great deal of consideration. The word “in” would indicate only those employed in the industry, by contrast the word “for” was considered a key word to develop a cross section of members. In fact, the nucleus of the first chapter were consumers, not farmers.

The four founders of a statewide organization of California Women for Agriculture, Corky Larson, Beverly Sfingi, Cherry Ishimatsu, and Jeri Taylor headed the statewide organizational seminar in Palm Springs in January 1976. Fifty-five concerned women from numerous agricultural areas of California assembled, coming from the south in Imperial Valley and as far north as Napa Valley. During a six-hour meeting, they approved a constitution and by-laws, set up five districts for the statewide organization, approved the cornucopia logo, and elected Cherry Ishimatsu as the first state President of California Women for Agriculture.

Since that time, California Women for agriculture has grown to twenty-two chapters statewide with a volunteer membership of almost 3,000 today. As our state becomes increasingly urban, and as more people become further removed from their source of food and fiber, California Women for Agriculture remains dedicated to building bridges and ensuring that agriculture continues to be recognized for its contributions to the economy, the lifestyle and most importantly, to the people of California and the entire nation.