Agriculturalist
Olson cultivated his first crop at the age of six with what he imagined, at the time, was the world’s biggest tractor. He has since participated in the commercial production of beans, beets, blueberries, cattle, garlic, hay, oats, shallots, strawberries, turf grass, wheat and wine grapes in the states of California, Montana andOregon. Olson also consults on farm projects throughout the world, with projects ranging from the City of Watts to the island nation of Cyprus, to the jungles of the Amazon. Michael Olson: Oregon Vineyard
Syndicated Radio Host and Journalist
Michael Olson produced, wrote and/or photographed feature-length news for a variety of media, including the San Francisco Chronicle and Examiner newspapers, Skiing and Small Space Gardening magazines,NBC, ABC, Australian Broadcast Commission, and KQED Public Television networks. His production and photography helped win a National Emmy nomination for NBC Magazine with David Brinkley. Olson is the author of MetroFarm, the Ben Franklin Book of the Year Finalist and Executive Producer and Host of the syndicated Saturday Food Chain Radio talk show, which received the Ag/News Show of the Year Award from the California Legislature. He recently authored Tales from a Tin Can, which is the oral-history of a World War II US Navy destroyer that earned a Starred Review from Publishers Weekly.
Business Person
Olson designed, blended and packaged a fertilizer for container-grown house and garden plants; certified and registered the product as a “specialty fertilizer” with the State of California; and sold the product to the national lawn and garden market. Olson has over two decades of broadcast media management and, as General Manager of newstalk radio stations KSCO & KOMY in Santa Cruz, California, has helped hundreds of locally-owned businesses compete against national chains. Olson is currently a partner in the MO MultiMedia Group of Santa Cruz, California.
Al Smith Friend of Agriculture Award
The Al Smith Friend of Agriculture Award was presented to Michael Olson, who is an award winning broadcast personality and speaker. The award was presented at the Santa Cruz County Farm Bureau and Agri-Culture’s National Agriculture Day Spring Luncheon held at the Codiga Center & Museum located at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds. Michael Olson Friend of Agriculture Photo: Monterey Bay News & Views John Chown