Focus on Agriculture

WATSONVILLE—Three organic Pajaro Valley farms will be featured in the 2020 EcoFarm Conference bus tour Wednesday—and a handful of seats are still available. Participants will visit Lakeside Organic Gardens, JSM Organics and Coastal Sun Cannabis/Moon Berry Farm during the tour, which kicks off the...

WATSONVILLE—A group of 21 community leaders have been selected for Class 31 of the Focus Agriculture program.   The “first-in-the-nation” program, created by Watsonville’ Agri-Culture organization, is designed to teach community leaders about agriculture in Santa Cruz County and the Pajaro Valley.  After receiving a number...

The worst wildfires in California’s history have burned more than 3 million acres, about 3 percent of the state’s total acreage, and included Santa Cruz County vineyards, orchards and tree farms. The fires scorched fields, destroyed barns, melted irrigation lines and disrupted power, water...

When an animal is spotted by humans in the wild, it is often an exciting and awe-inspiring moment. Many of us are intrigued by wild animals — from grazing deer to stealthy mountain lions. If taught right, we know how to interact with them, keeping our distance and respecting their behavior.

There is now a new way to assemble your own bouquet of roses, thanks to a pick-your-own rose venue at Birdsong Orchards in Watsonville. Owner Nadine Schaeffer said she is growing dozens of varieties of roses on her 8-acre parcel where she also tends to...

In a barn tucked away in a corner of the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds, volunteers from the Agricultural History Project are hard at work restoring a piece of the past.

Cabrillo College has announced the launch of a new Associate of Science degree in Sustainable Agriculture Technology.

Every Friday locals pick up their allocated farm share boxes outside a small brown barn up Climbing Tree Lane. Rows and rows of laid back, suntanning sunflowers line the fence at the CCOF certified organic, sustainable Templeton Valley Farms, and it’s quiet – other than some purple berry-stained-faced children coming back from the new U-pick berry tents, and neighbors chatting with Angela, who mans the farm stand, who will describe with her Berlin accent, how to cook any vegetable the healthy way.

Doron Comerchero, founder and executive director of Food What?!, will be the featured speaker at the 2019 National Agriculture Day Spring Luncheon on March 13.

King City High School agriculture teacher Lauren Peterson has been named this year’s Region 1 winner of the National Association of Agricultural Educators’ Outstanding Young Member Award, which recognizes agriculture teachers nationwide for their exceptional civic and professional leadership.