Focus on Agriculture

Ellie Dyt knows a lot more about the California Dairy Industry than most seventeen-year-old high schoolers. Dyt was raised on a dairy farm her whole life in the small town of Crows Landing, home to thousands of dairy cows, gaining first-hand experience by working there...

PAJARO VALLEY—As the intense series of atmospheric river storms wane, many farmers and agriculture workers across the state of California are left reeling from flood impacts. Many streams, creeks and major rivers in Northern and Central California overflowed their banks during the deluge, sending water...

Hosted by Congressman Jimmy Panetta and joined by Congressman Doug LaMalfa, the trio fielded questions from farmers, farmworkers and other agriculture industry personnel from across the Central Coast to discuss policies and federal programs in hopes of improving and investing in agriculture innovation.

  In 1983, a group of local farmers looking for ways to manage the Pajaro Valley’s groundwater basin formed the Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency (PVWMA). A year later, the agency was officially recognized by the state legislature, who tasked them to stop groundwater overdraft...

One year after announcing a new research and development partnership to grow strawberries indoors, Watsonville-based Driscoll’s and Plenty Unlimited Inc. are building a new indoor vertical strawberry farm.  Together, the companies aim to accelerate the growth of Driscoll’s top crop by using Plenty’s growing platform. According...

In a roomful of elected officials and non-profit agencies from all corners of Santa Cruz County, Second Harvest Food Bank revealed San Juan Bautista-based True Leaf Farms as its choice for 2019 Food Industry Donor of the Year. The ceremony served as the lunch event...

WATSONVILLE—About 200 people disembarked three large charter buses on Green Valley Road in Watsonville early Wednesday morning as part of the EcoFarm Bus Tour, a kickoff to the EcoFarm Conference in Pacific Grove this week.  The tour was visiting Strong Agronomy, a management company that...

By Tony Tomeo Citrus seem like such summery fruits. Chilled lemonade and lemon meringue pie are best during warm weather. There are certainly plenty of lemons that ripen randomly throughout the year, and plenty that last for months on their trees. Most limes, some grapefruits...

Four Winds Growers, a fourth-generation, family-run business in Watsonville specializing in citrus trees, has seen major growth in sales since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.  Aaron Dillon, who runs the business with his siblings, says that the surge is likely due to people who...

Farms across the Pajaro Valley will open to the public for two days of family-friendly activities Oct. 12-13.