The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) announced today that approximately $11.9 million in organic certification assistance is available through state departments of agriculture to make organic…
Almond Update: Almond Sustainability Tour
…zone, thus allowing for precise timing and rate of irrigation. This year the tour was in Western Fresno County, and hosted by Dennis Jizmejian with Bill Diedrich Farms. Jizmejian is…
The Western View: Teosinte
…sweet like sugar cane. For thousands of years, it was a staple of the Mayan diet, and sometime around 6000 BC, the Mayans began cultivating their Teosinte on farms, instead…
USDA announces $30 Million for Food Entrepreneurs and Agricultural Producers to Develop New Products
…family farms and ranches; farmer and rancher cooperatives; and applicants that propose mid-tier value chain projects are given special priority in applying for VAPGs. Additional priority is given to group…
Cricket: It’s What’s For Dinner
It’s been a refrain for years now: Cows, the most popular livestock in the U.S., need far too many natural resources (water, food, land) to produce each pound of edible…
The Western View: Governor Brown’s Tunnels
…it. The communities and farms in the Delta fear losing the flow-through of the Sacramento river water, as it helps with preventing salt water intrusion. They also deny that the…
Avian Flu Outbreak Requires Vigilance In California
A major disease event for poultry has landed in the U.S. Highly-pathogenic avian influenza has been detected in a number of states, and while the brunt of the impact has…
Illinois Congressman on California Smelt and Water Use
An Illinois congressman tells us what he thinks of regulations that protect “sardines” while dramatically limiting water for farms, and how he’s trying to change the situation. Sabrina Hill heard…
USDA Announces Grants to Enable More Farmers Markets to Serve Low-Income Families
SNAP Recipients Can Now Purchase Fresh Fruit, Vegetables at More Than 6,200 Farmers Markets and Direct Marketing Farms Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services Under Secretary Kevin Concannon today announced the…
California Cuts Habitat Fix for Delta Project
California officials have dramatically scaled back the habitat restoration planned during construction of two massive tunnels under the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta to send water to farms and millions of…
A Day in Marin: Farmers Share a Passion for a Place Called California
From CDFA: by Karen Ross, California Agriculture Secretary Talking shop: Secretary Ross and Bob Giacomini cover the finer points of cheese-making at his family’s Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company. Also…
Technology Opening Markets for Small Farms
…of several companies that have popped up in the last few years, and they saw a disconnect happening in a lot of other applications. Opening Markets for Small Farms Co-Founder…
Western View: The Almondnac
…2012 USDA Ag Census, there are approximately 6,800 almond farms in California. About half of these farms are comprised of 50 or fewer acres, and tended by a grower much…
California Leopold Conservation Award Seeks Nominees
…protect family farms and ranches on behalf of more than 74,000 members statewide and as part of a nationwide network of more than 6.2 million Farm Bureau members. www.cfbf.com ABOUT…