Focus on Agriculture

A sweeping view of the Pajaro Valley and the Santa Cruz Mountains greeted guests to Farm Discovery’s benefit dinner Saturday evening at Live Earth Farm.

CALIFORNIA—Assemblymember Robert Rivas (D-Hollister) has been named Chair of the Assembly Agriculture Committee by Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Lakewood). Raised in farmworker housing, Rivas represents the 30th Assembly District, which includes the agriculture-rich Salinas and Pajaro valleys on the Central Coast.  “My district is known as...

The Santa Cruz County Farm Bureau (SCCFB) was honored with five County Activities of Excellence Awards, and was a finalist in the statewide Innovator Awards at the California Farm Bureau’s 104th meeting in early December. A local delegation of five attended the annual meeting in...

WATSONVILLE—The Watsonville Certified Farmers’ Market continues to offer an array of fresh fruits and vegetables, and gives back to the community every Friday in downtown Watsonville. While many shoppers stop by for a bag of kettle corn, fresh flowers, eggs, hot prepared foods or a...

The Supply Chain Risk Management Solution utilizes new technology to advance food safety in several ways.

WATSONVILLE—Starting on Oct. 1, anyone receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, known in California as CalFresh, will see a slight increase to the amount they receive each month. The changes to the federal Thrifty Food Plan comes thanks to the U.S. Department of Agriculture...

APTOS—Wells Fargo has announced a boost to diverse small businesses with $1.7 million in grants from its Diverse Community Capital program, which offers capital and technical assistance to minority-owned small businesses through Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs).  “Diverse small businesses face unique challenges to start...

In 2014 Elizabeth Hoover, associate professor in Environmental Science, Policy, and Management at UC Berkeley, set out on a road trip across the U.S. Hoover covered 20,000 miles over four months, visiting 29 different Indigenous communities and asking everyone she met one question: How do...

WATSONVILLE—On March 30, the Watsonville Municipal Airport (KWVI) announced it had renewed a two-year lease with Watsonville-based Urban Organics, aiming to bring fresh produce to the community as the sole organic farm within city limits. At the southernmost tip of airport property, just over the...