Jonathan W. Field, who served as manager of the California Tree Fruit Agreement for over a decade, led the Walnut Bargaining Association and served as the compliance officer for the California and Arizona Leafy Greens Marketing Agreements and the California Cantaloupe Advisory BoardField, 77, died peacefully Aug. 5, surrounded by his loving family.

Mr. Field’s passion for agriculture began at age six when he received his first sheep on Christmas morning. A lifelong 4-H member, he spent nine months in Kenya, Africa with the 4-H and Peace Corps, teaching crop rotation and agricultural best practices. He always maintained his own sheep and cattle, fulfilling his lifelong dream of farming.

He attended California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo where he earned an undergraduate degree in Agricultural Business and then a master’s degree in Agricultural Economics from University of California, Davis.
 
Mr. Field’s professional journey as part of California’s agricultural industry was as expansive as it was impactful. He began his career with California Agricultural Statistics Service and then as an economist for the California Department of Food and Agriculture where he worked on programs for iceberg lettuce, fresh tomatoes, carrots, celery, potatoes, cling peaches and processing pears. While at CDFA, Field wrote the first Marketing Agreement program and was the economist assigned to the first Commission laws created in California.
 
In 1981, Field became assistant manager for the California Tree Fruit Agreement, a conglomerate of marketing order programs representing California-grown peaches, plums, nectarines and pears. He became Manager in 1987, serving until 2000 where he championed growers, strengthened industry standards and left a lasting mark on California’s tree fruit sector. Importantly, he was integrally involved in the litigation which went successfully to the U.S. Supreme Court upholding the legality of mandatory commodity programs.
 
"During the 1990s, the California Tree Fruit Agreement was extremely fortunate to have Jonathan Field as its manager,” said Melvin Enns, a tree fruit grower-shipper who served on the CTFA Board for many years.  “Jon was well-versed in the intricacies of government regulations. He formed a diverse team of experts in the areas of merchandising, export development, communications and grower relations to create programs that complied with these directives. And, together with the 1500+ growers of California peaches, pears, plums, and nectarines, Jonathan and his team built a federal and state marketing order that was the envy of tree fruit growers in every other state."
 
Not only did Mr. Field leave a lasting impression on the California fruit industry, but he championed several causes impacting California agriculture in general. Working with a group of marketing order and commission managers (who are now retired) including:  Bruce Obbink, California Table Grape Commission; Dennis Balant, California Walnut Board; Rich Peterson, California Prune Board; Terry Stark, California Raisin Advisory Board, and Dave Riggs, California Strawberry Commission, Field was instrumental in founding the Alliance for Food and Farming, the Agricultural Issues Forum, the Minor Crop Farmer Alliance, the California Specialty Crop Council and the Buy California Marketing Agreement, or “California Grown”.
 
After leaving CTFA, Mr. Field formed Paradigm Consulting Company where he worked for several organizations including as executive director of the Walnut Bargaining Association, a cooperative of California walnut growers.