Focus on Agriculture

On May 18, the Salinas Valley Fair returns to King City for four days of family-friendly events, exhibits and activities.

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...

The Rancho Cielo Youth Campus was the site of a groundbreaking ceremony for the Ted Taylor Agricultural Center on April 8, with speakers including Bruce Taylor and John Phillips, founder of Rancho Cielo.

Focus on Ag Calendar, Sept. 2019

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—The Land Trust of Santa Cruz County recently announced that it secured a conservation easement for the 178-acre Tynan Ranch, located one-half mile from the current urban growth line of the City of Watsonville off of Lakeview Road. Tynan Ranch has been in production for...

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—The Watsonville Certified Farmers’ Market continues to offer an array of fresh fruits and vegetables, and gives back to the community every Friday in downtown Watsonville. While many shoppers stop by for a bag of kettle corn, fresh flowers, eggs, hot prepared foods or a...

WATSONVILLE—Juan Herrera has been keeping busy since he graduated from Watsonville High School (WHS) in 2021. After landing a job with K&D Landscaping while still in school, Herrera rose up through the ranks, starting in the maintenance crew and finally working on larger residential and...

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...