California
Fifth-generation farmer Justin Wylie is testing algae to rebuild soil health in orchards. By boosting soil microbes through irrigation, he hopes to improve water infiltration, reduce inputs and build resilience in high-cost Central Valley agriculture.
In this week’s Fresh Produce Fridays, we explore Save Mart’s partnership with Fantozzi Farms that’s bringing the farm-to-table story to life — complete with twists and turns.
In the heart of California’s Central Valley, generations of farm families are facing a new kind of crisis: what farmers argue is a man-made drought. It’s mounting water regulations that could determine whether the most fertile farmland in the nation survives.
The state adds the San Clemente area of Orange and San Diego Counties to its existing quarantine for huanglongbing.
Labor costs continue to rise for California farmers, but skilled labor isn’t something growers are able to find with the current H-2A program. Labor experts, economists and farmers agree the current immigration system is “broken,” but a solution could be on the horizon.
The biofertilizer company is consolidating its research and development to St. Louis and opening headquarters in a yet to be announced Midwest location.
The plan would change the way the state deals with property acquisition and water rights permitting protests relative to water infrastructure projects.
Growers are grappling with a second consecutive year of waning demand and no home for their grapes. The issue is complex with non-tariff trade barriers hitting the wine industry especially hard and a flood of imports that are creating cheap wine with which U.S. grape growers can’t compete.
Clay Houchin, who is second generation leadership for the 2024 Retailer of the Year Buttonwillow Warehouse Company, shares the business has evolved greatly in the past 60 years to meet the needs of farmers.
Here’s a roundup of recent headlines in the ag retail industry you won’t want to miss!
California Governor Gavin Newsom has declared a State of Emergency to address bird flu in California dairy cattle, ramping up monitoring, quarantine efforts, and resource deployment.
“I’m honored to accept this award on behalf of the entire team at Buttonwillow Warehouse Company,” says BWC Chief Operating Officer Clay Houchin.
The January event features educational tracks for crop consultants, contract researchers and QA professionals.
Debra Stroschein is the 2024 NAICC president. She has worked as a contract researcher in California for 30 years while operating her family’s third-generation farm.
“If California were to win this Supreme Court case, there’s nothing stopping the state from saying, for example, you can only sell corn in California if it’s harvested with an electric combine,” Dillard says.
California farmers are facing another round of flooding, with fields still bearing scars from January’s floods. An area known for production of fresh berries and lettuce is expected to now have a larger losses.
The sudden switch from drought to too much precipitation in parts of California now begs the question: Is the weather changing, and will California start to dig out from three consecutive years of drought?
From flooding to mudslides, an atmospheric river produced rain that wreaked havoc on agriculture and infrastructure in the state. One of the hardest-hit areas is the Salinas Valley, a large lettuce production area.
Federal regulators have ordered Union Pacific railroad to honor specific service commitments to Foster Poultry Farms in Livingston, California.
More than 16% of new cars sold in California in 2022 were zero-emissions vehicles, the state said, up from 12.41% in 2021 and 7.78% in 2020.
Truckers protesting California’s new “gig worker” law blockaded the state’s third-busiest seaport for a second day on Thursday, stalling agricultural exports and threatening to worsen U.S. supply chain backups.
PBS is in its third season of airing American Grown: My Job Depends on Ag, an Emmy Award-winning docuseries that could be headed to your region in coming months.
“This is about guiding the grower in the right direction,” says Worker Safety Lead, Lilly Reyes with GAR Bennett, LLC. “We want to reassure the grower and the employees that we will get through this together.”
Wilbur-Ellis helps growers with almost two dozen crops in the Coachella Valley and already has a retail location in Coachella, Ca. offering crop scouting, crop protection products and custom application.
Today the Agriculture Division of DowDuPont announced its opening of the Bay Area Innovation Center in California.