Contact NCAT’s California Office
36355 Russell Blvd.
PO Box 2218
Davis, CA 95617
530-792-7338
800-411-3222 (Spanish Toll Free Hotline)
NCAT’s California office is located at the historic Glide Ranch in Davis, with the Community Alliance with Family Farmers. The California office helps NCAT to meet the needs of a large and diverse agricultural community. It serves as a hub for NCAT’s work with immigrant and Spanish-speaking farmers.
NCAT collaborates with many government agencies and nonprofit organizations in the region, offering training on transitioning to organic agriculture, direct marketing, and other sustainable agriculture topics.
The NCAT/ATTRA California office has three staff members, all with different areas of expertise to assist farmers and ranchers throughout California, Nevada, Washington, Oregon, Hawaii and Arizona. The office is located in Davis, California, near the state capital of Sacramento. The specialists focus on training, technical assistance, and support related to sustainable agriculture production. They provide individual assistance to farmers and ranchers on a variety of topics. Whether you are a farmer wanting to transition to organic farming, develop a marketing plan for your new farm business, integrate livestock or poultry into your farm business, need someone to decipher your soil test, find out about USDA cost share programs, need assistance with implementing CAP 138 plans, or someone to give advice on your cover crop rotation… we are here to help! Call our office at 530-792-7338 or email us at the contacts listed below.
Current Grant Projects
USDA Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Grant (https://growingroots.berkeley.edu/ ) (2015-2017)
On-Farm Conservation Best Management Practices for Sacramento County Underserved Farmers (2016)
Recent ATTRA Publications written by California staff:
National Organic Program (NOP) Sound and Sensible Tipsheets.
Staff
Rex Dufour:
Western Regional Director
Rex Dufour has been with NCAT since 1994, and opened the California office for NCAT in 2001. The focus of his work is training agriculture professionals on organic practices and certification, ecological pest management, ecological soil management, and on-farm beneficial habitat. He has been trained by the International Organic Inspectors Association (IOIA)as an organic crop inspector, and is registered with Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) as a Technical Service Provider (TSP) in California and Nevada. Rex can speak Lao and Thai.
rexd@ncat.org
530-792-7338
Thea Rittenhouse:
Thea Rittenhouse is a Sustainable Agriculture Specialist with NCAT and an organic vegetable and fruit farmer near Davis, California. Her areas of expertise include small farm business planning, direct marketing, organic certification and recordkeeping, organic vegetable and berry production, small orchard management, urban agriculture, school gardens, and farm to school programs. She also has experience in designing food system assessments and community food security assessments. She provides technical assistance, training, and workshops for farmers on these topics. In 2015, she completed the IOIA Organic Inspector Training in Crop Production and will become an organic inspector over the coming years. She is fluent in Spanish.
thear@ncat.org
530-792-7338
Omar Rodriguez:
After receiving his degree in International Agriculture Development from UC Davis, Omar journeyed to South America where he worked with small farmers to encourage diversification, business development, alternative technologies and reforestation. In the two years since, he’s been managing several farmers’ workers in the Bay Area and working on an 80 acre permaculture farm in Montana. Omar will use his skills and knowledge to reach farmers within the Latino community. Omar is fluent in Spanish.
omarr@ncat.org
530-792-7338
Martin Guerena:
Martin most recently served as the Integrated Pest Management Specialist with the city of Davis, California. He is also a licensed Pest Control Advisor and has experience as a teacher, farm manager and extension agent with the University of Arizona. Martin adds his technical writing and outreach experience to the NCAT team.
marting@ncat.org
406-533-6648