The Organic Trade Association (OTA) recently published a white paper detailing how federal policy can best support organic production. The ‘Advancing Organic to Mitigate Climate Change’ paper details the value …
Wine Glass Half-Full: Challenges Help Balance Winegrape Oversupply
The multiple challenges that 2020 has presented may ultimately help to provide some relief to the winegrape oversupply. The pandemic created a variety of issues for the wine industry. Tourism …
Week in Review: New Romaine Rules for Salinas Valley, Newsom Vetoes Friant-Kern Canal Fix
Romaine growers in the Salinas Valley will now have new requirements for exporting products to Canada. CDFA and UC Davis have teamed up to provide more testing resources for winegrape …
First Citrus Forecast Low, Just Slightly for CA
The estimated citrus production for the nation this coming season is low overall, but just slightly for California. USDA’s first Citrus Crop Forecast for the 2020-2021 season was announced and …
Freezing Avocado Shoots: the ‘Han Solo Treatment’ Security Blanket
Researchers have recently developed a protocol for preserving avocado shoots that will help ensure the integrity of the avocado germplasm. Successful cryopreservation of avocado plant material has taken more than …
Housing for the Harvest Continues to Reach Rural Communities
The Housing for the Harvest Program created by Governor Newsom is making its way to more agriculture communities. The program provides temporary hotel housing for farm workers and food processors …
Canada Implementing New Romaine Rules for Salinas Valley Growers
Growers in the Salinas Valley will now be working under new romaine rules when exporting produce to Canada. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is implementing new import protocols aimed …
Making Sense of Biologicals: Entomopathogenic Fungi Mythbusting
Do entomopathogenic fungi based products have a shorter shelf life? Because it is a fungus, can you use a fungicide in conjunction with these products? Growers still have many unknowns …
CDFA Teams with UC Davis to Provide Additional Smoke Testing
The University of California, Davis and the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) are teaming up to provide more smoke testing options for agriculture. The overwhelming number of wildfires …
Water Accounting Platform is Working Well in Kern County
A relatively new water budgeting platform appears to be working well for producers in Kern County. The Rosedale-Rio Bravo Water Storage District (District) has worked with multiple stakeholder partners to …
CDFA Accepting Proposals for 2020 CalAgPlate Grant Program
The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) is accepting proposals for this year’s California Agriculture Special Interest License Plate (CalAgPlate) grant program. Every year the program provides approximately $250,000 …
How to Tell if a Watermelon is Ripe
How to tell if a watermelon is ripe. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours. When picking a watermelon at the market the first way to tell if it’s …
Conservation Challenges Highlighted in Subcommittee Hearing
Several conservation challenges were highlighted during a House Agricultural Subcommittee on Conservation and Forestry. Testimony centered around the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and how conditions of COVID-19 have been …
Nut Crops Benefit from Atmospheric Pressure Adding Nitrogen
The atmospheric pressure that has resulted in springtime lightning storms appears to have provided some benefits for nut crops. The weather systems that generated lightning storms in recent years brought …