Focus on Agriculture

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.

Three years ago, 18-year-old Cesar Mendoza walked into the El Pajaro CDC Kitchen Incubator with a group of his peers. They were there for a workshop to make vitamin water and to learn how the kitchen ran.

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.

CALIFORNIA—Assemblymember Robert Rivas (D-Hollister) has been named Chair of the Assembly Agriculture Committee by Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Lakewood). Raised in farmworker housing, Rivas represents the 30th Assembly District, which includes the agriculture-rich Salinas and Pajaro valleys on the Central Coast.  “My district is known as...

With most people staying close to home during the pandemic, looking for things to do and ways to stay safe, local nurseries have seen an uptick in customers. Stay-at-home orders have prompted many to find new hobbies—and gardening has been a popular choice. Sierra Azul...

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...

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...

As the Santa Cruz County Fair nears the folks at the Agricultural History Project have wheeled their featured showpiece into place.

The Santa Cruz County Farm Bureau in conjunction with the organization, Agri-Culture, will again host the National Agriculture Day Spring Luncheon.

On Wednesday, Sept. 13 the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds will open its gates once again for five days of family-friendly fun.