Focus on Agriculture

By Jazmine Juarez, Special to the Pajaronian WATSONVILLE—Assemblymember Robert Rivas (D-Hollister) is calling on Gov. Gavin Newsom to take urgent steps to protect farmworkers and the food supply chain in the wake of COVID-19.  Following reports of 41 agricultural workers being diagnosed with COVID-19 in...

Since 2017, Esperanza Community Farms in Watsonville has provided affordable organic produce to hundreds of local families, while aiming to promote healthy eating, sustainability and economic justice.  And now, thanks to a $50,000 grant from the No Kid Hungry Centering Equity Fund, Esperanza has linked...

WATSONVILLE—About two dozen farmworkers settled in on picnic tables at a Lakeside Organic Gardens field Wednesday for a fresh, healthy lunch featuring the very crops they harvest.  The meal was prepared by Charlie Hong Kong, a Santa Cruz Asian fusion restaurant that was Lakeside’s first...

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...

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.

About 3,000 people with lavender shopping bags in-hand converged on the Paso Robles Downtown City Park to enjoy the Ninth Annual Paso Robles Lavender Festival, July 8, hosted by the Central Coast Lavender Growers Association and the Paso Robles Main Stree

Turning onto Bonny Doon Road from Highway 1 north of Santa Cruz, one can expect a number of different sights and smells. Wildflowers flank the paved road at first, pushing out onto the pavement persistently. Then there are damp, cool redwood groves. After

Focus on Agriculture will soon be two years old.

WATSONVILLE—Fall brings graduation to the Watsonville-based, national award-winning Focus Agriculture program, created by the Agri-Culture organization.  A ceremony and reception was held at the Pajaro Valley Historical Association’s Bockius-Orr house on Beach Street in Watsonville for Class 30 of the Focus Agriculture program in early...

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.