Focus on Agriculture

KING CITY — Monterey County Judge Rafael Vasquez has sentenced King City residents and farm labor contractors Elias Perez Jr., 43, and Alejandra Perez, 40, to three years in prison for insurance fraud committed between 2013 and 2017. Vasquez also suspended those prison sentences, placing...

KING CITY — To celebrate National Ag Day, the King City High School FFA chapter participated in the 2021 5K for FFA Virtual Fun Run last month, hosted by the National FFA Organization. About 45 club members, faculty and extended family participated and came together...

Hundreds gathered at the AgTechx Expo last Thursday at the Salinas Valley Fairgrounds in King City to learn about the latest advances in how to better keep the public food supply safe from dangerous pathogens.

SALINAS VALLEY — A flood damage survey on Monterey County agriculture shows $336 million in estimated losses from January’s storms, with the costliest impacts in South Monterey County. Monterey County Agricultural Commissioner’s Office has released the initial results of the online survey, which launched Jan....

KING CITY — Salinas Valley Fair Heritage Foundation has announced Valeria Beltran, a junior at Gonzales High School, as the recipient of the 2025 Heritage Foundation Scholarship. As this year’s winner, Beltran will raise the official Heritage Animal, a hog she has named “Zero,” and...

KING CITY — Dozens of vehicles lined up to receive supplies during a PPE distribution event on Feb. 3, hosted by the Monterey County Agricultural Commissioner’s Office in King City. More than 60 agricultural companies, including growers, pest control businesses and farm labor contractors,...

MONTEREY COUNTY — Wild pigs in the Monterey County area were exposed to pesticide bait containing the anticoagulant rodenticide diphacinone, according to findings by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s (CDFW) Wildlife Health Lab (WHL) and the California Animal Health and Food Safety...

KING CITY — King City FFA is enhancing their journey; it’s a brand-new school year and they have new goals, new officers and new ideas. Some of the objectives they hope to reach include being more involved in the community as well as having more...

CALIFORNIA — A nationwide onion recall was expanded by the Food and Drug Administration on Aug. 10 to include red, yellow, white and sweet yellow onions linked to California suppliers after more than 600 people in 43 states have been sickened with salmonella. The original...

SALINAS VALLEY — Nearly 400 people with a professional stake in the safety of fresh fruits and vegetables consumed worldwide gathered at Hartnell College on May 4-5 for the 17th Annual Western Food Safety Conference. The conference, held on Hartnell’s Main Campus in Salinas as...