Patrick Brown
PO Box 1116, Lone Pine, CA 93545
Phone (760) 876-5566
Fax (760) 876-5588
pat@sonorapacific.com
Large Scale Project Management
Certified Drip-Micro & Sprinkler Irrigation Designer
Certified Irrigation Auditor - Certified Crop Advisor
Licensed California Agricultural Production Advisor
Water & Soil Chemistry, Agronomy & Salinity Management
Aquatic Ecology and Waste Water Systems
Business Management Skills
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
2002 to present. Senior Scientist, Sonora Pacific Group, Inc., Lone
Pine, California.
Director of the Sonora Pacific Group, Inc., which provides management
and technical consulting to the Owens Lake Dust Mitigation Project in
Keeler, California. Primary responsibilities are serving as the Lakewide
Operations Manager, the project-wide management of salt and water, movement
of salt in the soils and technological information liaison between the
client, CH2M Hill and Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.
1996 to 2002. Irrigation Systems Analyst, Vineyard Water Systems,
Cayucos, CA.
Partner in the consulting company Vineyard Water Systems, an independent
irrigation consulting company specializing in micro irrigation design,
developing operation and maintenance programs and bilingual irrigator
training. Recent projects have included the development of an irrigation
operations guide for Potlatch Corporation Hybrid Poplar Program and
irrigation management training for Robert Mondavi Winery.
1995. Sabbatical, Latin American Agriculture.
Focus Countries: Guatemala, Chile, Argentina and Bolivia.
1978 to 1994. Director, San Joaquin Sulphur Company, Lodi, California.
'91 to '94. Director of Quantum Irrigation. Responsible for the design
and installation of drip and micro-spray irrigation systems in vineyards,
orchards, row crops and green houses. Projects included sub-surface
irrigation systems.
'86 to '94. Vineyard Consultant and Fieldman, actively monitoring over
one thousand acres of winegrapes, and consulting on several thousand
more acres. Providing guidance in the areas of disease and invertebrate
pest management, fertility and nutrition, irrigation scheduling and
maintenance, rootstock selection, trellising and canopy management.
'83 to '94. Pest Control Consultant for walk-in customers, varying from
homeowners and landscape maintenance supervisors to agricultural producers,
providing a broad range of experiences and challenges in the pest control
field.
'81 to '94. Responsible for the formulation of hydroponic micronutrient
fertilizers, developing and blending specialty fertilizers for production
and research greenhouses. Customers include Gourmet Gardens Produce,
Calgene, Calgene-Fresh and DNAP. Crops varied from commercial cucumbers
to research tomatoes and cotton.
'85 to '94. Responsible for Regulatory Affairs, including Designated
Agent for California Pesticide Dealer's Licenses, Development of Emergency
Response Procedures, Plant Safety, California Hazardous Material Transportation
License, California Fertilizer Dealer's License and liaison to County
Office of Emergency Services.
'85 to '93. Production Manager for Formulation of Pesticides produced
by San Joaquin Sulphur Company. Responsible for quality control and
maintenance of the EPA Pesticide Producing Establishment.
'85 to '93. Served as Liaison to US EPA and California Department of
Food and Agriculture in the maintenance of Federal and State Agricultural
Pesticide Labels.
'83 to '84. Managed the Valor Brand Products PVC Fittings Division,
supervising the production and marketing of fabricated large diameter
plastic fittings.
'81 to '84. Developed a line of solvent weld cements, marketed under
the Valor Brand Label. Responsibilities included the production and
sales of the product line.
'78 to '81. Managed the subsidiary San Joaquin Pump Company. Designed
and installed sprinkler and micro irrigation systems in permanent crops.
Engineered and sold centrifugal, propeller and deep-well turbine pumps.
Received factory training at Sta-Rite Pumps, Delevan, WI.
1976 to 1978. Vice-President, Production, Alta Lipids (USA), Ltd.,
Boise, Idaho. Coordinated the development of a full-scale production
process for micro-encapsulated cattle feed, from a laboratory model
developed by the CSIRO in New Zealand. The successful pilot plant resulted
in marketing the process in Texas and Idaho.
1975. Director, Gonzaga University Aquatic Research Laboratory. Supervised
four technicians in procedures of water and wastewater analysis. Conducted
contract research on an electrochemical sewage treatment process.
1973 to 1975, (winters). Teaching Assistant, Gonzaga University.
Instructed Laboratory courses in Environmental Chemistry, Photographic
Chemistry, Sanitary Engineering, Limnology and Ecology.
1973 to 1974, (summers). Analytical Chemist, United States Bureau
of Reclamation Regional Laboratory, Boise, Idaho. Conducted nitrogen
gas supersaturation survey of USBR reservoir pools in the Pacific Northwest
in 1973. In 1974 conducted algae productivity survey of Cascade Reservoir
in central Idaho, correlating algae blooms to adjacent land uses. Outcome
of research resulted in design modifications of Bureau dam spillways
and formal recommendation to State of Idaho regarding land use in Cascade
Basin.
EDUCATION
Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry and Biology (Honors) 1975, Gonzaga University
S.J., Spokane, Washington. Focus of studies in Aquatic Ecology and Waste
Water Systems. Chemistry Thesis: "The Occurrence of Chlorinated Hydrocarbons
in Effluents of Electrochemically Treated Domestic Wastewater." Biology
Senior Seminars: "The Ecology of Hot Springs" and "The Metabolic Pathway
of Nitrogen Fixation in Blue-Green Algae". Received the 1974 Undergraduate
Achievement Award in Analytical Chemistry, The American Chemical Society.
University of California, Davis. Various courses in the fields of
viticulture and crop sciences.
California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, California,
Irrigation Training and Research Center. Various courses in irrigation
design and maintenance, soils and salinity.
LANGUAGES
English (native), Spanish (fluent), French (basic)
COMPUTER SKILLS
Access, Acrobat, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Photoshop, QuickBooks,
Word.
CERTIFICATIONS
Certified Irrigation Designer No. 001653, Specialty: Drip/Micro
The Irrigation Association
Certified Irrigation Designer No. 001653, Specialty: Sprinklers
The Irrigation Association
Agricultural Pest Control Advisor License No. 07920
& Ground Water Protection Training
State of California, Department of Pesticide Regulations
Certified Crop Advisor License No. 19117
The American Society of Agronomy
Certified Irrigation System Evaluator
California Department of Water Resources &California Polytechnic State
University
Certified Landscape Irrigation Auditor
The Irrigation Association
Certified Irrigation Designer
Netafim Irrigation
Certified EnviroSCAN® Installer & Consulting Agronomist
Sentek Soil Moisture Monitors, Australia
FACTORY TRAINING
Netafim Irrigation, Israel
Dorot Valves, Israel
ARI Vents, Israel
Arkal Filters, Israel
Sta-Rite Pumps, Delavan, Wisconsin
Dan Sprinklers, Israel
ODIS Filters, Israel
Fresno Valves & Castings, California
Cornell Pump Company, Portland, Oregon
PUBLICATIONS
“Managing Salt to Stabilize the Owens Playa with Saltgrass”, a technical
paper delivered at the International Salinity Forum in Riverside, California,
April 2005. (Co-authored with John Dickey, et al.)
“Collection and Reuse of Extremely Saline Drainwater on Owens Dry Lake”,
Proceedings of the Eighth International Drainage Symposium, March 2004,
American Society of Agricultural Engineers. (Co-authored with J.K. Smesrud,
et al.)
“Nitrogen Budgeting.” From the series of Columns, Irrigators Notes from
the Field, appearing in the January 2001 issue of California Grower Magazine.
(Co-authored with L. E. Wheeler.)
“Nitrogen Formulations for Micro-Irrigation.” From the series of Columns,
Irrigators Notes from the Field, appearing in the March 2001 issue of California
Grower Magazine. (Co-authored with L. E. Wheeler.)
“TMDL's & California Viticulture, Part 1.” The first part of a feature article
on the Clean Water Act and its impact on California Agriculture, appearing
in the March/April 2001 Issue of Practical Winery & Vineyard Magazine. (Co-authored
with L. E. Wheeler.)
“TMDL's & California Viticulture, Part 2.” The second part of a feature
article on the Clean Water Act and its impact on California Agriculture,
appearing in the May/June 2001 Issue of Practical Winery & Vineyard Magazine.
(Co-authored with L. E. Wheeler.)
“Energy Costs and Chronic Pressure Losses.” From the series of Columns,
Irrigators Notes from the Field, appearing in the May 2001 issue of California
Grower Magazine. (Co-authored with L. E. Wheeler.)
“Basic Questions Regarding Irrigation.” From the series of Columns, Irrigators
Notes from the Field, appearing in the February 2000 issue of California
Grower Magazine. (Co-authored with L. E. Wheeler.)
“Spring Start-Up.” From the series of Columns, Irrigators Notes from the
Field, appearing in the April 2000 issue of California Grower Magazine.
(Co-authored with L. E. Wheeler.)
“GPS & GIS.” From the series of Columns, Irrigators Notes from the Field,
appearing in the June/July 2000 issue of California Grower Magazine. (Co-authored
with L. E. Wheeler.)
“Chronic Pressure Losses.” From the series of Columns, Irrigators Notes
from the Field, appearing in the October 2000 issue of California Grower
Magazine. (Co-authored with L. E. Wheeler.)
“Formation of Lime Scale in Vineyard Drip Irrigation Systems”, Practical
Winery & Vineyard, March/April 1998. (Co-authored with L. E. Wheeler.)
“Media Filtration: Are Two Tanks Enough?”, IRRIGATION Business & Technology,
April 1998. (Co-authored with L. E. Wheeler.)
“Maintaining your Micro-Irrigation System”, Practical Winery & Vineyard,
January/February, 1998. (Co-authored with L. E. Wheeler.)
“Irrigation Success”, Western Fruit Grower, January 1999. (Co-authored with
L. E. Wheeler.)
“Irrigation Advances: How to Successfully Adopt New Technologies”, California
Grower, March 1999. (Co-authored with L. E. Wheeler.)
“Gypsum Injection into Vineyard Drip Systems”, Practical Winery & Vineyard,
March/April 1999. (Co-authored with L. E. Wheeler.)
“Dealing with Silt in a Micro-Irrigation System”, Practical Winery & Vineyard,
May/June, 1999. (Co-authored with L. E. Wheeler.)
“Design Pitfalls in New Micro-Irrigation Systems”, California Grower, October
1999. (Co-authored with L. E. Wheeler.)
PRESENTATIONS and CONFERENCES
Managing Salt to Stabilize the Owens Playa with Saltgrass, a presentation
of a technical paper at the International Salinity Forum in Riverside, California,
April 2005.
Agriculture and the Clean Water Act, a presentation on the TMDL process
and its impact on Agriculture, given at FarmTech 2001 in Santa Barbara,
California, February 2001.
Building Successful Growing Systems, a presentation on the process of new
agricultural development using modern techniques, given at FarmTech 2000
in Santa Barbara, California, January 2000.
Irrigation Association International Symposium, 1999, Orlando, Florida.
IV World Avocado Congress and Pre-Congress Workshop, 1999, Uruapan, Michoacán.
High Density Plantings and Trellising Techniques in Burgundian Vineyards,
a study tour in Cote d'Or, France, 1999.
AGRITECH Symposium, Haifa, Israel, 1999.
Ten Keys to Successful Irrigation Management, a presentation given at the
1999 WineTECH/GrapeTECH Symposium in Sacramento.
Irrigation Technology Transfer, a presentation discussing the pitfalls of
embracing new technologies and ways to avoid these pitfalls, given at FarmTech
99, in Santa Barbara.
Irrigation Association International Symposium, 1998, San Diego, California.
Irrigation Controllers, a presentation on automated control of irrigation
systems, given at FarmTech '98, January 26, 1998, Santa Barbara, California.
Irrigation Management, a presentation on irrigation scheduling, management
and maintenance, given at the Irrigated Viticulture In The San Joaquin Valley
short course, California State University, Fresno, January 15-16, 1998.
Fertigation and Chemigation, a presentation on fertilizer injections and
lime scale formation, given at the Irrigated Viticulture In The San Joaquin
Valley short course, California State University, Fresno, January 15-16,
1998.
Irrigation Association International Symposium, 1997, Nashville, Tennessee.
FELLOWSHIP RECEIVED
'92 to '94. California Agricultural Leadership Program, Class XXIII. Agricultural
Education Foundation. National Tour Focus on Georgia, South Carolina and
Washington, D.C., International Tour focus on Chile, Paraguay, Peru and
Ecuador.
References Available upon Request
Patrick Brown's Resume