Focus on Agriculture

Ranked 11th by last year’s U.S. food and wine festival calendar critics, the 2017 Paso Robles Wine Festival is scheduled for May 18-21.

SALINAS VALLEY — The results of a survey intended to better understand how Covid-19 has impacted Monterey County agriculture was released May 4 by Agricultural Commissioner Henry Gonzales. Survey results showed a total of 2,093 acres lost or not planted. “The survey is a preliminary look...

SALINAS VALLEY — Agriculture and Land-Based Training Association (ALBA) is spotlighting its transformative Programa Educativo para Agricultores (PEPA), a comprehensive training program empowering farmworkers to transition into successful organic farmers. This program is reshaping agriculture in the Salinas Valley, offering Latino farmworkers the tools and...

Editor’s Note: The following profile is an excerpt from Amy Wu’s upcoming book, “From Farms to Incubators: Women Innovators Revolutionizing How Our Food is Grown,” which tells the stories of women entrepreneurs who are transforming agriculture through high technology. Jackie Vazquez spends the majority of...

GREENFIELD — South Monterey County Joint Union High School District (SMCJUHSD) will launch two farm-to-cafeteria educational programs between Greenfield High School and the district’s Food Services Department. The first-of-its-kind collaboration was made possible by a new grant from the California Department of Food and Agriculture’s...

KING CITY — Hundreds of third graders from South Monterey County schools attended the 2025 South County Farm Day last month to learn all about agriculture. The annual enrichment program, sponsored by Monterey County Agricultural Education, gives an opportunity for youth to become familiar with...

SALINAS VALLEY — Salinas Valley Basin Groundwater Sustainability Agency (SVBGSA) Board of Directors on Aug. 12 approved Groundwater Sustainability Plans (GSPs) drafts to be released for public comment for the following subbasins: Eastside, Forebay, Langley and Upper Valley.  This comes after the 180/400 Foot Aquifer...

KING CITY — In a gathering that underscored the enduring spirit of innovation and generosity in California’s “Salad Bowl of the World,” David and Susan Gill of King City received the prestigious E.E. “Gene” Harden Lifetime Achievement Award from the Grower-Shipper Association of Central...

SALINAS VALLEY — A documentary short film set in the Salinas Valley has been officially selected for the prestigious 2025 Sundance Film Festival, and will have its world premiere during the festival’s celebrated Short Film Program. “The Long Valley” is a 13-minute documentary showcasing the...

SALINAS — Multiple agencies from across Monterey County responded to a four-alarm fire that severely damaged Taylor Farms’ food production facility in Salinas last Wednesday. The 225,000-square-foot building, located in the 1200 block of Abbott Street, had been closed for the winter but was in...