Aaron Lazanoff, Vicki Janssen, and Brian Talley receive top awards at annual California Mid-State Fair event
By Maylia Baird
Guest Contributor
NORTH COUNTY — The annual Cattlemen & Farmers Award Day is an important day in the community dedicated to recognizing our local cattlemen, cattlewomen, and agriculturalist winners. At this annual event, there was a delicious barbecue steak dinner with the option of complementing your meal with a glass of wine or beer while the Cattleman, Cattlewoman, and Agriculturalist of the Year were announced. The event was hosted at the California Mid-State Fair (CMSF) in the Paso Pavillion on Thursday, July 18.
Farm Bureau Executive Director Paul Clark told Paso Robles Press, “To the agricultural community, it’s this opportunity for everyone to get together one time a year and meet and re-establish friendships … It’s just so much fun, and every year it feels like it’s the same group, but it’s really not; there are a lot of new faces too.”
The San Luis Obispo County Cattlemen’s Association was proud to announce Aaron Lazanoff as its 2024 Cattleman of the Year. Lazanoff is a member of the board of directors of the San Luis Obispo Cattlemen’s Association. He has chaired every committee and served as president for two years. He has also served on many California Cattlemen’sAssociation committees and is passionate about getting the next generation of cattlemen involved in the local and state association. He is the current advisor to the Cal Poly Young Cattlemen’s group and played a big part in getting 41 students to attend the 2023 CCA Convention in Nevada. He is co-leader of the Edna 4-H beef group and has served as president of the West Coast Junior Rodeo Association.
Lazanoff is also an event director for the California High School Rodeo Association, District 7. In addition to all this, he has also been the Cal Poly ranch manager since 2008 and oversees all cattle operations and manages 5,000 acres of school property. He manages the Cal
Poly Bull Test program that originally started in 1956. Students in this program are responsible for raising bulls, measuring bull health, and judging bull performance. Bulls that exceed the test results are sold at the Cal Poly bull sale to cattlemen from around the county. Lazanoff is also responsible for managing student housing, and assists in managing the feed mill, dairy unit, and equine unit at Cal Poly.
“It’s neat to be a part of an organization that is so progressive and gets so much done compared to a lot of other places,” said Lazanoff upon receiving his award. “This organization has a group of great people and they get a lot done for not only the Cattlemen’s Association but for business in general.”
San Luis Obispo County Cattlewomen were excited to announce their choice of Vicki Janssen as the Cattlewoman of the Year. Janssen has done everything from manufacturing fishing poles, working as a county legislative assistant for many of our local supervisors, being the first manager of the agriculture task force, and the first woman captain of the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Posse. She joined the Cattlewomen’s association 31 years ago and has been a valuable member serving many committees. She served in multiple roles including the Historian-Scrapbook chair, Highway Clean Up chair, Casino Night Fundraiser committee member, Merchandise chair, and currently serves assecond vice president.
Janssen has a passion for agriculture and law enforcement which keeps her involved in many community organizations. She is a 22-year member of the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Posse, serving as the first woman captain in 2007,and again as captain in 2023 and 2024. She was a member of the Santa Maria Chapter of California Women For Agriculture from 2010 until 2017. She also serves on the board for many nonprofit organizations, including the San Luis Obispo Law Enforcement Assistance Foundation and the James W. Brabeck Youth Legacy Fund, which supports youth in agriculture. Janssen even served as a Legislative Assistant for candidate Katcho Achadjian in 2010 and again for John Peschong in 2017. She has assisted constituents with many county issues.
“I would just like to say how humbled I am by this award,” Janssen said. “I never would’ve expected it. This is a group of amazing women who promote sustainable agriculture, they promote the beef industry and they promote education and agriculture. They give scholarships to our young ones and really advance our youth and agriculture.”
San Luis Obispo County Farm Bureau was happy to award Brian Talley as the 2024 Agriculturalist of the Year. He is president of Talley Farms and Talley Vineyards in Arroyo Grande. The Talley family began farming in San Luis Obispo County when Brian’s grandfather, Oliver Talley, started growing vegetables in 1948. Oliver and his sons then bought property in Arroyo Grande Valley in 1966. Brian and his family have followed in the footsteps of his grandfather, father, and uncle to continue to build and grow Talley Farms into the multifaceted and successful farming business thatit is today. They are well known in the community for their farm box program. They have over 7,000 customers and deliver weekly two sizes of boxes full of seasonal produce to over 70 pick-up locations — some of which they even deliver straight to buyers’ homes throughout Paso Robles and Santa Barbara.
They also produce some of California’s most highly regarded pinot noir, chardonnay, and sera wines. Talley Vineyards was named one of the top 100 wines in the world by Wine & Spirits Magazine in 2021. In 1992 Brian’s father, John Talley, was selected by the Farm Bureau as their Agriculturalist of the Year. Because John had prior commitments he had Brian accept the award in his honor so this is the second time Brian has received this award, only this time in his own name. For four generations, the Talley family has continued to grow and maintain a successful farming and wine business. The Talleys are proof that family farms are not a thing of the past because they continue to maintain the exceptional standards and quality that come with having a devoted family-led farm.
“What I do and the success that I enjoyed is really about the confluence of two really fundamental and special things about San Luis Obispo County: our very special climate,” Brian said. “I am blessed to farm in the San Luis Obispo Coast region which is one of the greatest places in the world to do what we do, which has produced about 30 different kinds of vegetables, avocados, chardonnay, and all kinds of wonderful stuff.
“The other thing that has been critical to my success is people. Starting with the people that show up to work in our operation every day, which are farm workers. We try to celebrate them and if it weren’t for those folks we all wouldn’tbe here because they are really the underpinning of our industry. Beyond that I am blessed to get to work with my family.”
Learn more about the San Luis Obispo County Farm Bureau and the agriculture leaders honored, visit slofarmbureau.org/news/article/2024-san-luis-obispo-county-agriculturalist-cattlewoman-and-cattleman-of-the-year-named
Feature Image: (From left) Agriculturalist of the Year Brian Talley, Cattlewoman of the Year Vicki Janssen, and Cattleman of the Year Aaron Lazanoff are shown on Cattlemen & Farmers Award Day at the California Mid-State Fair. Photos by Brittany App
