Focus on Agriculture

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...

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...

Integrity Wines, located at the Watsonville Municipal Airport, has been in Watsonville for two years.

PAJARO VALLEY—Open Farm Tours returns this Saturday and Sunday to the greater Pajaro Valley, with eight local farms participating in two days of events.  Originally started in 2014 as the Corralitos Open Farm Tour, the event has continued to grow and add more farms from...

CENTRAL COAST—Executive director of the Ecological Farming Association (EcoFarm) Andy Fisher had only been in the position for six months before the pandemic hit California.  Fortunately, Fisher and his team had been able to hold their 40th annual conference in Pacific Grove that January. But...

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...

WATSONVILLE—When Santa Cruz-based natural foods store Staff of Life opened its second location in Watsonville in March, employees from Sambrailo were pleased to see their products featured front and center. Fresh, organic vegetables and fruit in the store’s produce aisle were nestled inside Sambrailo’s sustainable...

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

Education is key at Farm Discovery. Over the years, the Watsonville nonprofit organization, held at Live Earth Farm, has offered a number of programs, camps and events to inspire youth and their families to learn about agriculture.

WATSONVILLE—Three organic Pajaro Valley farms will be featured in the 2020 EcoFarm Conference bus tour Wednesday—and a handful of seats are still available. Participants will visit Lakeside Organic Gardens, JSM Organics and Coastal Sun Cannabis/Moon Berry Farm during the tour, which kicks off the...