THE MAN BEHIND IT ALL
Meet Farmer Bob
In addition to raising oranges and mandarins in the Ivanhoe area, McKellar Farms diversified by adding weddings and special events under the name Historic Seven Sycamores Ranch and the 83-year old McKellar family farm home is rented to folks as a farm stay to people who want to spend some time on a working citrus farm.
A 1953 Cal Poly graduate with majors in Animal Husbandry and Ag Journalism, McKellar has an extensive background in public relations/government advocacy, advertising and marketing. Bob was a member of the California Citrus Mutual board, and he believes a strong CCM and California Citrus Growers Association are critical for the health of the industry and its grower-members. He feels it is important for CCM to increase its membership and develop a strong relationship with the public. He sees a need for the industry to do outreach to the public to explain how they will be affected by any loss in the citrus industry and garner public support and understanding.
- My parents named me Robert “Bob” McKellar but you can call me Farmer Bob
- My lovely Bride’s name was Ann
- These people call me Dad…Craig, Mark, Terri, Shawn and Kerin
- I blow out the candles and eat some cake on…October 2nd
- I’m an alumni of…Cal Poly State University. Class of…1953.
- I worked hard for two degrees in…Animal Husbandry and Ag Journalism.
- When I graduated, I moved to Oregon where I spent 50 years doing Public Relations work.
- I began managing the farm after my father passed away in 1972. It wasn’t until my mother died in 2002 that I moved back permanently.
- My taste buds dance when I eat Basque Lamb.
- I think the best color is red.
- The best thing about being a farmer is the lifestyle. It’s challenging, relaxing, risky, you get to work with nature and be close to God.
- My biggest life accomplishment is being able to successfully follow in my father’s footsteps after he passed away. I never will be the farmer he was, but with the help of some wonderful people, the farm is still here and growing.
- The words I live by are the Lord’s Prayer.
- I admire Ronald Reagan because he was a good communicator whose way was much like that of a farmer. His private lifestyle was the western, rural lifestyle. He was a remarkable public servant and perhaps, more importantly, President of the United States of America
- Something I always wish I could have done is ride the John Muir trail from Tuolumne Meadow to Sequoia National Park.
- One of my favorite memories of the farm, well, there’s too many wonderful ones to single any out. Living and working on a farm is an exciting, sometimes joyful and sometimes sad, experience, one that I believe has made me a better person.
