Focus on Agriculture

Santa Cruz County Supervisor Zach Friend tonight will host a tele-town hall from 6-7pm with guest Tom AmRhein to talk about the Santa Cruz County Farm Bureau’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic. AmRhein, the former president of the Farm Bureau and the current chair of...

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...

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...

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...

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...

CALIFORNIA—U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue recently announced the approval of a California and Arizona request to provide online purchasing of food to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) households.  This approval will allow these states to expedite the implementation of online purchasing with currently authorized...

WATSONVILLE—While some will be celebrating the birthday of activist and labor leader Cesar Chavez on March 31, a major raspberry grower in Watsonville will close its doors, and hundreds of employees will be laid off. A representative at Premiere Raspberries, LLC confirmed the closure Thursday...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced March 17 a collaboration with the Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty, McLane Global, PepsiCo and others to deliver nearly a million meals per week to students in a limited number of rural schools closed due...

WATSONVILLE—A new exhibit at the Agricultural History Project (AHP) has been set up to give visitors a glimpse into the dairy industry in Santa Cruz, Monterey and San Benito counties. Dozens of early-day milk bottles make up the bulk of the display, but numerous butter...

NOTE: This article was contributed by the King City Rustler SALINAS—The Salinas Valley Ag Tech Summit returns to Hartnell College on March 17-18, promising another deep dive into the latest tactics, equipment and thinking to maximize profit and consumer satisfaction in the fresh produce industry. The...