Arts & Culture

Western Growers is rolling out its Careers in Ag Job Center, a jobs platform exclusively for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) related careers within the agricultural industry.

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...

The 1882 Records Building—today called the Octagon Building—is shown in Santa Cruz in 1954. It is now part of the popular Abbott Square at Cooper and Front streets.v(Sam Vestal/Pajaronian file)

Focus on Agriculture will soon be two years old.

The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) and the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) have received a grant to help the state’s small businesses boost trade and exports abroad.

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.

The Agriculture and Land-Based Training Association (ALBA) aims to give opportunities to aspiring farmers through various training programs. In the classroom and on the field, students at ALBA are taught everything from crop planning to business management.

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...

WATSONVILLE—For more than 20 years, Watsonville-based organization Wild Farm Alliance (WFA) has aimed to find a sustainable balance between conservation and agriculture. Established by a like-minded group of wildland proponents and ecological farming advocates, WFA’s primary goal is to bring nature back into the industry. “As...

These folks gather for a groundbreaking ceremony on July 20, 1954, for the Westview Presbyterian Church in Watsonville.