Focus on Agriculture

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...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—The annual Open Farm Tours will return this weekend—albeit in a different capacity. Pre-registration is now required for small, socially-distanced outdoor tours at the following farms: Thomas Farm and Luz Del Valle Farm in Aptos, and GroundSwell Farm in Santa Cruz. Additional participating...

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.

Bontadelli Farms hard at work after successful growing season.

Business at California Pajarosa Floral, one of Watsonville’s last remaining large flower growers, has altered drastically since the outbreak of Covid-19 last year. Already dealing with an evolving industry before the pandemic due to growth in offshore production, things came to a sudden halt at...

CENTRAL COAST—The California cut flower industry has changed drastically in the last 30 years. Once controlling more than half of cut flower sales in the U.S., it has gradually been overtaken by competition from overseas growers. The Pajaro Valley, once a mecca of rose growing,...

WATSONVILLE—For years the Santa Cruz County Farm Bureau (SCCFB) and the Agri-Culture organization have hosted the National Agriculture Day Spring Luncheon. However, due to the current COVID- 19 pandemic, the March 18 event was postponed, and its future remains uncertain. Despite this, the two groups...

CENTRAL COAST—Pandemic-related losses to California farms, ranches and agricultural businesses will range between $5.9 billion and $8.6 billion this year, according to an economic study released June 23. The analysis says the state’s $50 billion agricultural sector has already suffered $2 billion in losses so...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—The 2020 Crop Report for the County of Santa Cruz has been released, detailing the region’s agricultural commodities during one of the most challenging years on record. The Crop Report is presented each year by Agricultural Commissioner Juan Hidalgo through the Department of...

  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...