The Employment Development Department is announcing that the department along with the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency are announcing up to $9 million is available under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. Those grants will be awarded to research, design, and implement projects that focus only on farmworker needs at a regional level. Essential…… MORE
Category Archives: Agriculture News
State Wants To Ground Valley Crop Duster
The California Department of Pesticide Regulation is asking a Kern County judge to stop a Bakersfield-area crop duster from carrying out any future applications. According to the DPR announcement, John A. Slykerman and his company, Agra Fly Inc. stand accused of several illegal drift incidents that harmed at least one person and damaged property. DPR…… MORE
National Farmers Day This Week
A special day to honor those who grow the food we eat. National Farmers Day is Thursday, October 12th. It’s a day that various farm organizations are reminding all of us that we should honor and pay tribute to farmers. After all farmers have dedicated their lives to feed our nation. Their contributions range from…… MORE
More Oriental Fruit Fly Detections in California
The California Department of Food and Agriculture is announcing that parts of Sacramento, San Bernardino, and Riverside counties are under quarantine. This follows the detection of multiple Oriental fruit flies in those areas. In Sacramento County, according to the CDFA announcement, detections in and around the city of Rancho Cordova have resulted in a quarantine…… MORE
More Crop Insurance Options for Organic & Specialty Crops
The USDA is improving crop insurance options for specialty crop and organic producers, including rolling out new and expanded options based on feedback from America’s producers. “We’re committed to working with specialty crop and organic producers to develop options that fit their needs,” says Risk Management Agency Administrator Marcia Bunger. “We listened to what they…… MORE
HLB Disease Infected Trees Detected in So Cal
The California Department of Food and Agriculture is reporting that the department has declared a quarantine in Ventura County. This follows the detection of the citrus disease Huanglongbing (HLB), or citrus greening, in two citrus trees on one residential property in the city of Santa Paula. These detections are the first HLB-positive trees in Ventura County. …… MORE
Tulare County Ag Production Value Increases
Tulare County is reporting that total gross agriculture production value for 2022 comes in at $8,612,450,000. This represents an increase of $522,828,700 or 6.5% above 2021’s value of $8,089,621,300. The county announcement highlights that milk continues to be the leading agricultural commodity in Tulare County; with a gross value of $2,671,291,000, an increase of $728,248,000 or 37%. Livestock…… MORE
Legislation Would Require Crop Insurance Transparency
Looking for less secrecy in the Crop Insurance Program, representatives Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Ralph Norman (R-SC) introduced the Crop Insurance Transparency Act. If passed, it would require USDA to publicly disclose the names of producers and insurers who receive federal crop insurance subsidies and the amount received. “At a time when federal crop insurance…… MORE
Fed EPA Versus eBay
The Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Justice filed a complaint against eBay. The complaint alleges eBay allows the unlawful selling of pesticides, violating the Clean Air Act, the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, commonly known as FIFRA and the Toxic Substances Control Act. FIFRA prohibits the unlawful distribution or sale of unregistered, misbranded,…… MORE
Organic Cal Strawberries Bring Higher Prices
New data from USDA’s Economic Research Service shows what California organic strawberry growers have known for years, their crop brings higher prices compared to conventional strawberries. In the United States, grower prices for fresh organic strawberries move in tandem with conventional strawberry prices throughout the year while also typically running 40 to 50% higher than…… MORE
