2025 Agriculture Award Winners

Santa Rosa Junior College’s Shone Farm is a 365-acre outdoor classroom, or “living lab” located in Sonoma County’s Russian River Valley. Named in honor of Robert Shone, longtime agricultural leader, SRJC trustee, and former president of the Sonoma County Farm Bureau, the farm is one of the largest agricultural education sites in the California Community Colleges system. Shone Farm provides students with valuable real-world experience across a variety of agricultural sciences disciplines, including sustainable agriculture, viticulture, wine production and business, natural resource management, horticulture, floristry, and animal science. The farm also supports numerous programs in the SRJC system, including botany, ecology and culinary arts.

During World War II, the property served as a military listening post. In 1972, the federal government declared the land surplus, and it was acquired by SRJC. In 1999, the SRJC Foundation’s Ag Trust Committee was established and over the years has guided fundraising efforts to raise millions through endowments, capital campaigns and scholarships. With the community’s backing, Shone Farm has thrived for over 50 years. 

Today, Shone Farm features vineyards, forests, pastures, gardens, livestock facilities and wine production. Students are able to grow and produce numerous food items to be sold commercially and often manage commercial-scale crop production from planting through sale. This includes award-winning wine, olive oil, dried goods, pasture-raised meats and seasonal produce.  

“Shone Farm has become a hub for agricultural education and innovation, a cornerstone of industry here in Sonoma County,” said Connor Murphy, Shone Farm Director, “it’s a real training ground for the next generation of agricultural and environmental leaders who are cultivating the future. It is so motivating to students to get this kind of community recognition.”

Shone Farm products are sold on campus and at farm events as well as to local restaurants, retailers and the SRJC Culinary Café. Members of the community are encouraged to visit the farm and wine tasting room during regular summer U-Pick events, the popular Shone Farm Fall Festival, Holiday Open House and the Spring Plant Sale. All sales of Shone Farm items are reinvested to support the academic goals of the farm. 

It’s no surprise that Cort Munselle’s love and respect for the land and agriculture were fostered during his childhood, growing up and working on his family’s farm in Alexander Valley. His upbringing has proven integral to his work as a civil engineer.

In 2001, Munselle graduated from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo where he studied ag business and agricultural engineering. He returned to Sonoma County and accepted an internship at a local civil engineering firm where he achieved quick success working on agricultural projects, often related to vineyard design and VSCO permitting for vineyards. “As a young college graduate, I didn’t realize that growing up on a working farm would impact my career as greatly as it has,” said Munselle. “I quickly learned that I could talk to farmers comfortably and explain the engineering and permitting processes because I grew up around them and worked on the family ranch as a kid. I think they felt they could trust me because of my understanding of farming practices as a result of how I was raised,” said Munselle. “It’s actually a unique ability for an engineer.”

Munselle has farming roots as deep as almost anyone in Sonoma County. His mother’s family, the Osborns (and later the Wassons), settled in the area around 1870, growing grapes and operating Alexander Valley’s first winery. Later generations focused their efforts on cultivating the land with everything from prunes and dairy cattle to vegetables and now wine grapes. Munselle and his two brothers, Bret and Lance represent the 5^th generation of their family in the region and his two daughters, and an additional 6 of their cousins (all girls) make up the 6^th generation. Both Munselle and his wife Mia attended Healdsburg High School and made their way back to Sonoma County after college.

In 2007, after managing entitlement projects for a home builder – a career change fortuitously thwarted by the collapse of the housing market – Cort Munselle opened Munselle Civil Engineering. In the early days, he operated out of his home and was the only employee. “It was a true family business,” he said. “I had my four-year-old daughter help stake vineyards for surveys more than once. Growing up the way that I did, failure was never an option. Farming teaches you to find a way to make it work. Engineering is similar and although starting my own business was challenging, I was taught to work hard and never give up, even if that meant asking my father-in-law to be my survey rodman when I had no other employees to help,” he said with a laugh. While starting a new business in a recession was a risk, Munselle’s perseverance, ag connections and earnest love of the land helped him build his client base, many of who were (and still are) friends and family members.

Throughout his career, Munselle has served as a valuable resource to the local ag community, volunteering on technical advisory committees and helping to interpret and negotiate ag regulations to ultimately help farmers stay in compliance. Over the years Munselle has served on boards and committees with the Sonoma County Ag Commissioner’s office, Permit Sonoma, and the California Department of Food and Ag. He has done compliance work with North Coast Water Coalition and developed and implemented frost regulation for the Russian River Tributary as well as advising on farm plans for the California Land Stewardship Institute.

In his free time, Munselle raises cattle with his brother, Bret, and farms nine acres of Cabernet Sauvignon in Cloverdale. He and his family are active in 4H, the Healdsburg Fair Board and the local livestock industry.

When Mel Sanchietti was born in 1948, his family was farming their home ranch on the Santa Rosa Plains. His grandparents had settled there in 1919 after immigrating from Italy and embarked on a family farming legacy that has lasted over a century and five generations. Today, Mel Sanchietti and his wife of over 40 years, Janeen, continue to live in the same home Mel’s grandparents built in 1929. “My ranch is my hobby,” he says, “I never get tired of it.”

When Sanchietti’s grandparents purchased the Irwin Lane property it was planted to wine grapes, but the ensuing decade brought prohibition, and vineyards were no longer a viable farming business. Like many Sonoma County farmers, the Sanchiettis looked to other crops, planting prunes, walnuts, pears and apples and raising poultry. During World War II when there was an abundance of fruit on the property, Mel’s father, Gus Sanchietti, and other local farmers began selling produce on a vacant lot on Market Street in San Francisco, returning weekly and eventually establishing the San Francisco Farmer’s Market.

As Mel Sanchietti grew on the property, he farmed fruit with his dad and found that he liked be a farmer. He loved machinery. He loved dirt. As an adult, he started a small custom farming business. In 1979 he contracted with Korbel Winery to farm all their vineyards and in 1984 he purchased the family property from his parents.

In the late 90’s, at the age of 50 and after many years of contracting with Korbel (his largest client), Mel Sanchietti accepted a position at the winery as Vice President in charge of farming. In his role, Sanchietti helped purchase property and led grower relations. The role was integral to the winery at a time of expansion when Korbel purchased Kenwood Vineyards, Valley of the Moon, and Lake Sonoma Winery as well as property in the Sacramento Delta. Sanchietti held this role for 15 years before retiring.

Mel Sanchietti has two daughters, Angela and Lori, who live locally but work outside of farming. After graduating from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, Mel’s son, Mark Sanchietti returned to Santa Rosa. Like his father, Mark started his own farming business with his wife, Jenny. Today, Mark has over 400 acres in his own portfolio.

“Today, I work on my ranch. It’s not like a job. It’s what I love to do.” Said Sanchietti. “I have five grandchildren and they all live locally. And it doesn’t get much better than that.”

Since joining Bevill Vineyard Management (BVM) in 2018, Lupita Flores has excelled in her position as Administrative Director, becoming a truly invaluable member of the team. When she joined the farming company, it was as a temporary office worker for harvest. Within a month, BVM had offered her a full-time position. Today, Flores is considered the “hub of the BVM wheel” supervising the accounting department, and all administrative tasks. Accounting, financial planning and analysis are Flores’ favorite assignments.

“My biggest role is securing 80% of our labor force by completing all the paperwork and compliance pre-requisites related to the H-2A visas,” she says. The scarcity of domestic labor brought about the federal H2A guest-worker visa program. Flores handles all government compliance, arranges housing for the H-2A employees and works with Safety Supervisor, Rey Sanchez, to ensure safety and performance recognition for all employees. Given that Bevill Vineyard Management manages over 1,200 acres and employs nearly 100 skilled vineyard employees, this is, indisputably, a big job.

A Sonoma County native raised by immigrant parents, Flores shares her company’s values of inclusivity, community engagement and family. She notes that BVM’s founder, Duff Bevill, freely shares information and welcomes input. “Everyone’s ideas are valuable, and they are heard,” Flores says. “As an organization, we evolve with the times and change for the better.”

Emily Lokka grew up in Eagle Point, Oregon on a sheep and grass hay farm. Coming from a family with a long history of ranching, farming and supporting ag education, Lokka grew up showing large animal livestock (sheep, hogs, cattle and goats) at a competitive level at jackpot shows, the Jackson County Fair and the Oregon State Fair each year. “I am a proud product of 4-H and FFA programs!” says Lokka, “I was extremely competitive in livestock judging and public speaking.” These experiences, along with academic achievement (Lokka graduated as valedictorian of her high school) led to a full-ride scholarship to Linn-Benton Community College and later being recruited to California State University, Chico. While working on her BA in Agricultural Sciences and Education at Chico, she worked in the meats laboratory, lived at the university farm and continued in livestock judging as a key member of the senior college intercollegiate livestock judging team.

After college, Lokka spent time working in grower relations in the vegetable industry in the Central Valley. There, she met husband, Riggs Lokka, a Sonoma County native. The two decided to make the move back to Sonoma County, giving Lokka a chance to decide next career move. “I reflected on what my biggest passions were. I came up with agriculture and teaching.” Said Lokka, “Luckily, there was a position open at El Molino High School and after touring the campus and meeting students and staff, I was hooked.”

In the years since El Molino and high schools merged, Lokka has worked with colleagues to found the new Sebastopol-Analy Ag Program and to strengthen the agricultural pathway classes, facilities and program’s impact on the community. She coaches students to show animals and compete in livestock judging and public speaking. This past February, she led the students of Sebastopol FFA to a state championship in the 2025 FFA Grapevine Pruning Championship, held at Fresno State.

“One of my favorite parts of my job is coaching.” Said Lokka, “I’m pretty proud of my ability to tailor my coaching style to each individual student. Success to one student might be competing at a local contest and getting through their speech – but success to another student might be winning a state championship. I believe that great educators meet students where they are at and guide them to reach their maximum potential.”

Outside of teaching, Emily Lokka and husband Riggs own and operate Top of the Hill Show Stock, a club lamb and goat business. The couple are partners in Emeritus Vineyards, where Riggs is the Vineyard Manager and where the Lokkas live. Lokka is a big 49ers and Giants fan, and she loves gardening, making flower arrangements and taking their dogs on walks around the vineyard.

“I love my very rewarding career,” says Lokka, “it hasn’t been easy. Our school district went through a tough consolidation, we survived teaching through Covid-19, and being an ag teacher is flat-out exhausting on most days, but I wouldn’t choose any other profession. I’ve had the pleasure of connecting with countless students throughout the years and supporting them and their wildest dreams. Like farming, ag teaching is a lifestyle and I’m so thankful for the community in my home of west county and all of Sonoma County. It takes a village to support so many amazing students in agricultural education. Above all, I am thankful for all the graduates, current students and future students that let me be part of their journey.”