Deanna van Klaveren

Deanna van Klaveren

SCFB Foundation Board Member

For Deanna van Klaveren, agriculture and education have always gone hand in hand.

Deanna is part of Generation Growers, a wholesale nursery growing container plants for retail garden centers throughout Northern California. She also has the opportunity to share her knowledge with the next generation as an instructor at Modesto Junior College.

That passion for education is exactly what drew her to serve on the Foundation Board.

“Education is something near and dear to my heart,” Deanna says. “The Foundation’s focus on sharing agriculture in our county through educational outreach and programs for our community, industry and youth aligns with that.”

Sharing the Story of Agriculture

Deanna believes one of the Foundation’s greatest opportunities is reaching the people who live in Stanislaus County but don’t necessarily experience agriculture firsthand.

Many residents drive past orchards, fields, dairies and nurseries every day and are curious about what they’re seeing, they simply may not have an opportunity to learn more.

“The more we can inform, the more others will understand the good in agriculture and how it supports our community and the culture of Stanislaus County.”

It’s a mission she sees extending from young students all the way to the broader community. Deanna is particularly excited about opportunities to expand Ag EdVenture Day and potentially host a regional Ag in the Classroom event, creating even more ways to connect agriculture with education.

She would also like to see additional resources devoted to scholarship outreach as another way to encourage local students to pursue a future in agriculture.

Agriculture in One Word: Stewardship

If Deanna had to describe agriculture in just one word, it would be stewardship.

“To survive generations producing on the same land, we must be thoughtful stewards of our resources,” she says. “We care about the health and well-being of all who touch our products.”

It is something her family considers every day as they grow plants on land they’ve been producing on for 50 years, with the goal of continuing to produce there for generations to come.

For Deanna, that long-term commitment extends beyond the land itself.

Agriculture is a 24/7 relationship with what we love doing, with people we love. It takes work and commitment to keep up that relationship with the plants and the people.