Members of the House Committee on Agriculture recently heard from nearly 100 Californians on a variety of topics including the need to invest in agricultural education. The committee held a…
Dow Degree Day Report: NOW in Pistachios, August 7
…the calculator at the University of California integrated pest management website. All locations use CIMIS weather stations. NOW Degree Day reports are sponsored by Dow AgroSciences and Intrepid Edge insecticide….
Almond Producers Top Users of Pollination Services
The Department of Agriculture says almond growers were the top users of pollination services in 2016. Farmers growing crops that depend on pollination can rely on wild pollinators in the…
Laurel Wilt Experts Caution California Avocado Industry
The California avocado industry probed Florida laurel wilt disease experts at the final installment of the 2017 Avocado Growers Seminar Series, sponsored by the California Avocado Commission, U.C. Cooperative Extension,…
Labor Shortages Continue to Plague California
…making agricultural production in California even more difficult. President and CEO of the California Cotton Ginners & Growers Association Roger Isom commented on a number of challenges California growers face….
Farm Bill Could Reach House Floor Early 2018
…early 2018. Conaway told a farm bill listening session in California over the weekend that he hopes the farm bill will be on the House floor in the first quarter…
Ag Secretary Perdue Speaks from “Back to Our Roots” Tour
…One question involved a California case in which a nursery owner named John Duarte stands accuses of violating the Clean Water Act by illegally filling in a wetland when he…
Funding to Encourage SNAP Participants to Purchase Healthy Foods
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced 32 grants totaling $16.8 million to help Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants increase their purchases of fruits and vegetables. The program is…
Increase in Trade Funding leads Farm Bill Listening Session
California was host to a farm bill listening session on Saturday, August 5 in Modesto at the Modesto Junior College Ag Pavilion. The House Committee on Agriculture has labeled the…
Tomato Harvest Slowly Gains Momentum
…California Department of Food and Agriculture revised upward the amount of tomatoes under processor contract, from 11.6 million tons to 11.8 million. Acreage remains the same, at 235,000. The California…
Western View: Waters of California?
Waters of California Under Obama, The EPA and the Corps of Engineers were building this concept of Waters of the USA. They expanded the definition of wetlands to include almost…
Organic Family Farmers Need Strong Standards and Enforcement
American family farmers and ranchers grow and raise organic foods for the nation under strict standards. Those standards are set by the National Organic Program under the guidance of the…
Farmland Values Unclear in the Future
…2016. California farm real estate, the average value per acre for 2017 is $8700.00 with a 10.1 percent increase from 2016. Read the full USDA Land Values 2017 Summary. (.pdf)…
“Good-Guy” Fungus to Take on Killer of Oaks and Ornamental Crops
…Sudden Oak Death, a disease of oak and other hardwood trees in coastal forests of California and Oregon. Nursery growers are familiar with a different manifestation of the pathogen called…