Focus on Agriculture

WATSONVILLE—While some will be celebrating the birthday of activist and labor leader Cesar Chavez on March 31, a major raspberry grower in Watsonville will close its doors, and hundreds of employees will be laid off. A representative at Premiere Raspberries, LLC confirmed the closure Thursday...

WATSONVILLE—March is National Agriculture Month, a time meant to honor the role of the agricultural industry in the United States. National Ag Day 2022, organized by the Agriculture Council of America, will land on March 23, with activities and contests held nationwide. For the first...

NOTE: This article was contributed by the King City Rustler SALINAS—The Salinas Valley Ag Tech Summit returns to Hartnell College on March 17-18, promising another deep dive into the latest tactics, equipment and thinking to maximize profit and consumer satisfaction in the fresh produce industry. The...

WATSONVILLE—After working a long shift picking strawberries and greens, dozens of farmworkers and their families received the royal treatment thanks to a new program from El Pájaro Community Development Corporation. Called the Farmworker’s Family Dinner, the initiative treated 38 families—roughly 230 people—to meals from El...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced March 17 a collaboration with the Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty, McLane Global, PepsiCo and others to deliver nearly a million meals per week to students in a limited number of rural schools closed due...

The California Certified Organic Farmers Foundation is poised to help organic farmers recover from the unprecedented wildfires burning across the West Coast, including CCOF’s hometown of Santa Cruz.  The Bricmont Hardship Assistance Fund gives grants to organic business owners affected by hardships of all kinds,...

SACRAMENTO—A bill that would increase protections for California’s farmworkers during hazardous smoky conditions created by seasonal wildfires is making its way through the state legislature. Assembly Bill 73, also known as the Farmworker Wildfire Smoke Protections Act, recently passed the Assembly Committee on Labor and...

On June 22, the Santa Cruz County Farm Bureau will call to order at its annual meeting for the 100th time.

On Wednesday, Sept. 13 the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds will open its gates once again for five days of family-friendly fun.