JAMES E. MILLER -- AGRICULTURALThis is a featured page

RESUME OF JAMES E. MILLER -- AGRICULTURAL

  1. EARLY CHILDHOOD - ages 10 - 14
    1. Help parents plant and maintain a victory garden each season at 120 Bachman Drive, Santa Ana, California.
    2. Kept a pet duck at the above address.
    3. Planted a popcorn crop on the lot next door. My grandfather, John Dishman (formerly a commercial citrus nurseryman in Whitter, CA), taught me how to plant, water, weed and harvest the crop. The crop filed seven – five gallon glass pickle jars with popcorn seed.
    4. Helped my grandfather, John Dishman, in his back lot victory garden. Help him distribute produce to old folks in the neighborhood.
    5. Picked pomegranate fruit growing along the Santiago Creek banks. Help my mother make pomegranate jelly.
    6. Taught my dog, Pal, how to catch fish in the ponds of Santiago Creek.
    7. Mowed and watered the lawns for my parents and for neighbors.
    8. Grew up in Orange County, California, in the 40’s and 50’s while there were thousands of acres of citrus. “Toured” packing sheds and “sampled” oranges, lemons, grapefruit and persimmons.


  1. YOUTH – ages 13 – 18.
    1. Worked summers picking fruit and in packing sheds.
    2. Dug clams in Newport Harbor back bay and fished off the Newport and Balboa piers.
    3. Learned to skin and scuba dive; speared fish, caught lobsters and collected abalone.
    4. Learned to fish in lakes, streams and bays.


  1. PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
    1. 1965- 1969. County Counsel of Imperial County, California. As the chief civil legal advisor to the Board of Supervisors and County Departments, was responsible for enforcing agricultural laws.
      1. Worked closely with the Agricultural Commissioner relative to crop regulations.
      2. Drafted proposed legislation replacing the ad valorem tax on feed lot cattle with a unit tax (per head per day on feed). Testified before legislative committees. Law was passed. Worked closely with local legislators and the Imperial County Farm Bureau.
      3. Enforce business personal property tax levies on farm equipment.
      4. Member of the Imperial Valley Hunt Club. Hunted migratory waterfowl and upland game birds in California and Iowa. Leaned habits of same. Trained my black lab to respond to hand and whistle signals.
    2. 1961 - 2001. Completed six substantial residential irrigation and landscaping projects:
      1. Santa Cruz Ave., San Diego. Installed irrigation and landscaping around single family dwelling.
      2. Sandlewood Ave., El Centro, CA. Designed and install complete front yard and rear yard landscaping for new subdivision house. Planted three citrus trees by digging out large holes and refilling with sawdust and native clays and sandy loam.
      3. Whippoorwill Lane, Bonita, CA. Relandscaped single family residence.
      4. Horton Road, Bonita, CA. Install approx. two acres of landscaping and irrigation system for common area. Installed irrigation and landscaping on half-acre lot around single family dwelling.
      5. Ivy Tower, San Diego, CA, designed and installed hanging buckets with ivy and irrigation system for three story office building.
      6. Alpine Blvd., Alpine, CA Installed irrigation system for 2.5 acre site for single family residence. Installed portion of mini-leach field for gray water system. Installed complete black and gray waste water system and 550 feet of black waste water subsurface sewerage disposal field.
      7. Descanso, CA. Owned and operated Holidays on Horseback-- a recreational horse riding experience. Also boarded horses.
      8. Descanso, CA Employee housing. Graded pad, extended water, sewer and telephone to pad area. Installed double wide mobile home. Converted garage to workshop.
    3. 1991. Mt. Israel Recreation Area, for Olivenhain Municipal Water District. CA Employed as Project Manager by Bellfree Contractors, Inc. Supervised construction of riding and hiking trails, picnic areas, horse tethers, fences, gates, landscaping and irrigation systems. Designed and prepared all job cost spreadsheets; prepared progress billing; kept books, did banking; hired employees and subcontractors; supervised execution of work; acted as owner's representative to owner's staff; resolved fire damage and property claims; and operated heavy equipment.
    4. 1999-2000. El Campito, Descanso, CA, Employed as Project Manager for the development of a 63 acre horse ranch. Duties included due diligence review of project prior to close of escrow, planning and permits, construction of an extensive irrigation system ($30,000 plus); refitting well with pump and electrical service; brushing and grading; fencing; planting of 300 fruit trees.
    5. Belgrade, Montana. Selected varities of hazel nuts and asparagus. Conducted field trials of over 150 plants.


  1. EDUCATION.
    1. Stanford University, A.B, 1959, Tri-major: economics, history and political science.
    2. Stanford Law School, J.D, 1957. Law
    3. Community college: Diesel engine mechanics, small entire repair, machine shop, welding, desktop publishing, UNIX operating system
    4. Montana State University, Bozeman, MT. Department of Agriculture: Major: Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Operations Technology, December, 2005.
    5. MSU Courses: Chemistry 121 (Introduction to General Chemistry – Lecture and Lab); Biology 102, (Molecular & Cellular Biology -Lecture and lab); Chemical and Biological Engineering 100 (Introduction to Chemical and Biological Engineering – Lecture and Lab); AOT 401 (Farm structures); AGED 417, Food and Fiber; Mycology (audit); Vegetable Production; Plant Pathology; Independent study: Biodynamic Agriculture, Hazel Nuts; Cooperatives: Mondragon Cooperative Corporation and Coatia Beekeeping.
    6. Undergraduate research papers:
      1. The Healthy Soil Foodweb as a Foundation for Biodynamic Farming, By James E. Miller for Undergraduate Research supervised by Dr. Bruce Maxwell, Department of Agriculture, Montana State University, July 8, 2004
      2. The Selection of Hazelnut Cultivars Suitable for Crops in Montana and Biodynamic Crop Management of Hazelnuts in a Multi-specie, Multi-dimensional Environment, July 10, 2004, which research I did for Professor Nancy Callan, MSU Western Experimental Center, Corvallis, MT, dated July 10, 2004
    7. Current research:
      1. Mutagenesis Research
      2. Plant propagation -- French Black Truffles
      3. Community Supported Agriculture
      4. Farmer's Markets
      5. Barter Exchange Clubs
      6. Commercial fisher for Asian Carp in the Mississippi River Basin National Waters
      7. Low-profit, limited liability companies (business partnerships)






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jimmiller5417 		Latest page update: made by jimmiller5417 , May 1 2012, 3:48 PM EDT (about this update About This Update jimmiller5417 Edited by jimmiller5417


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