Ron Kelley has always broken new ground, personally and professionally. Now, President Obama selected him to be the first African American chairman of the USDA Farm Service Agency State Committee in California.
With the help of family, he’s been operating a thriving 50-acre farm in the Sacramento Delta specializing in ethnic “u-pick” fruits and vegetables since 1994. He also is the seed division manager for The Lyman Group, serving wholesale agricultural clients.
“I try to plant for all the different ethnic groups in the area and there’s a lot, said Kelley, who grows a variety of black-eyed peas, purple hull peas, crowder peas, speckled butterbeans, green beans and cranberry peas. “It seems like if I have something they can’t get elsewhere, they’ll come to R. Kelley Farms to get it.”
A dedicated community volunteer, Kelley has served on the Sacramento County FSA Committee and numerous other groups ranging from 100 Black Men of America to Ducks Unlimited.
“We are fortunate to have Ron and each of our newly appointed state board members,” said California State Executive Director Val Dolcini.
—by Paul Lehman, West Region public affairs specialist
