King City ag teacher earns national recognition
King City High School agriculture teacher Lauren Peterson has been named this year’s Region 1 winner of the National Association of Agricultural Educators’ Outstanding Young Member Award, which recognizes agriculture teachers nationwide for their exceptional civic and professional leadership.
Fundraiser benefits Open Farm Tours
Tickets are now on sale for "Hot Cuban Nights!", a fundraiser dinner dance to benefit Open Farm Tours in Corralitos.
Agri-Culture now accepting applications for Jimmie Cox Memorial Scholarship
$4,000 award is for a student entering or currently attending college and majoring in agriculture.
Local grower on cutting edge of organic farming
WATSONVILLE—About 200 people disembarked three large charter buses on Green Valley Road in Watsonville early Wednesday morning as part of the EcoFarm Bus Tour, a kickoff to the EcoFarm Conference in Pacific Grove this week.
The tour was visiting Strong Agronomy, a management company that...
Guy George selected as Farmer of the Year
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...
A celebration of achievement
Members and staff of the Land Trust of Santa Cruz County came together at Watsonville Slough Farm on Aug. 5 to commemorate the work they've accomplished.
USDA Secretary visits Watsonville
Hosted by Congressman Jimmy Panetta and joined by Congressman Doug LaMalfa, the trio fielded questions from farmers, farmworkers and other agriculture industry personnel from across the Central Coast to discuss policies and federal programs in hopes of improving and investing in agriculture innovation.
Ag Commissioner releases annual Crop Report
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—The 2020 Crop Report for the County of Santa Cruz has been released, detailing the region’s agricultural commodities during one of the most challenging years on record.
The Crop Report is presented each year by Agricultural Commissioner Juan Hidalgo through the Department of...
Templeton Valley Farms’ organic bounty
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.
USDA announces increase to CalFresh benefits
WATSONVILLE—Starting on Oct. 1, anyone receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, known in California as CalFresh, will see a slight increase to the amount they receive each month.
The changes to the federal Thrifty Food Plan comes thanks to the U.S. Department of Agriculture...
How Farmworkers Outlawed ‘El Cortito’ 50 Years Ago
For decades in the Salinas Valley, the short-handle hoe, known as “El Cortito,” was used for weeding and thinning rows of crops that kept...