A type of resistance-breaking tomato spotted wilt virus is continuing to spread through production areas of California. The virus has been an issue for growers for a number of decades,…
Disappointing Table Olive Harvest Highlights Deeper Industry Issues
…stated. Tulare County olive farmer John Werner said increasing costs of production are problematic, but there is more to the story. The low numbers produced by the latest table olive…
Comment Period Open Until November 24 for Organic Cannabis
…program that will establish and enforce comparable-to-organic standards for cannabis production. Last week CDFA released the modified proposed regulations for the program. The announcement of the modified regulations marks the official start…
Biden Transition Team Performing Agency Reviews of USDA and EPA
…of a background related to nutrition programs rather than production agriculture experience. Bonnie currently serves as the Farm and Forest Initiative Director at the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Energy Project. Previously,…
Renewable Natural Gas Milestone Reached by CalBio
A milestone was recently hit for Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) production in California. CalBioGas West Visalia has successfully achieved its first RNG production and sales from its dairy farms in…
EU Moves Forward with Increased Tariffs on American Goods
…with retaliatory tariffs. The underlying issue originated from an EU grievance with U.S. subsidies for aircraft production. “We have made clear all along that we want to settle this long-running…
USDA-NASS Report Affirms Continued Growth of Organic Sector
…in the U.S., an increase of 17 percent over 2016. Acreage also experienced a moderate increase of nine percent, with 5.5 million certified acres of organic production. The survey revealed…
Farmer’s Inspiration Leads to Large Squash Donation to Central California Food Bank
…crops and conventionally tilled without cover crops. Since it was established, the research plots have been managed in an annual rotation of cotton, processing tomatoes and, more recently, sorghum, garbanzo…
Public and Private Sector See Growth Potential in Organic Production
A variety of industry reports have shown that the organic sector is continuing to become even more valuable. Organic production is receiving increased interest on a federal level due to…
U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol Webinar for Western Producers
…Mexico, and El Paso Valley, Texas. The program is a cotton industry effort to validate sustainability practices and provide confidence. The goal is to ensure demand for U.S. cotton remains…
Mandarins Showing Promise in First Objective Survey
USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service conducted the Mandarin Objective Measurement Survey for the first time this year, getting a baseline for California production. Because it is a new survey, a…
H-2A Labor Rates Stay the Same Through 2022
A legal compromise stabilizes H-2A labor rates for two more years. In an effort to reduce production costs, the U.S. Department of Agriculture tried to discontinue the use of its Farm…
Dairy Methane Reduction Projects Receive $25.4 Million from CDFA
…farms. “The dairy digester awards allow California’s dairy families to secure a revenue stream through production of clean renewable energy while also helping California meet its ambitious goals for a…
New Tea Tree Oil Fungicide Becomes Available for California Growers
…a natural product and it was formulated with other components that are organically complimentary it has OMRI registration. So, it actually can be used for organic production as well as…