Focus on Agriculture

AROMAS—The Land Trust of Santa Cruz County plans to protect nearly all of the 2,640-acre Rocks Ranch in Aromas from development, the organization announced Feb. 11. The ranch has been in the spotlight recently following the San Benito County Supervisors’ intent to rezone a portion...

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...

When Dick Peixoto decided in 1996 to convert his 55-acre farm in Watsonville to an organic production, he wasn’t sure if he’d made the right decision.  Peixoto had been farming conventionally for years, and back then, organic produce was a specialty—something only smaller farms tended...

A new program launched by the California Marine Sanctuary Foundation (CMSF), ReGen Monterey and Flipping Iron, Inc. is joining a growing effort to recycle more plastic from local farms and ranches. CMSF, an organization aiming to protect California’s coastal ecosystems and communities, conducted an assessment...

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.

WATSONVILLE—Guy George has been selected as the 2022 Farmer of the Year by the Santa Cruz County Farm Bureau. The annual award is presented to farmer(s) who have contributed “beyond their normal farming duties to help the community,” according to SCFB.  George has been farming in...

In the weeks leading up to Christmas, tree farms across the nation are thrust into the spotlight and sellers start their busiest time of year. This year, the industry is holding steady, despite a nationwide shortage that is pushing up prices. Heatwaves and fires that...

WATSONVILLE—After working a long shift picking strawberries and greens, dozens of farmworkers and their families received the royal treatment thanks to a new program from El Pájaro Community Development Corporation. Called the Farmworker’s Family Dinner, the initiative treated 38 families—roughly 230 people—to meals from El...

SANTA CRUZ—The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday tabled a motion to make changes to the county’s animal welfare rules after organizations that run animal-based events expressed concern about the rules’ effects. The new rules would, among other things, have prohibited using live...