Focus on Agriculture

MONTEREY COUNTY — Monterey County residents can now put food scraps, including cooked meat and bones, among other kinds, in the green curbside cart, to be composted with their yard trimmings. With the greater convenience comes a big reduction in harm to the climate. When food...

SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed Assembly Bill 73, Assemblymember Robert Rivas’ Farmworker Wildfire Smoke Protections Act, into law on Sept. 27. California’s wildfire season, combined with heat waves and the Covid-19 pandemic, has helped shine a light on the necessary safety protocols agricultural...

KING CITY — Salinas Valley Fair has announced that this year’s Fair theme is “Barnyard May-Ham,” suggested by James Hinkle of King City. Hinkle is a sophomore at Palma High School and president of King City Rural 4-H Club. The 16-year-old said he submitted the idea...

KING CITY — Jordan Davis, a 16-year-old junior at King City High School, has been named the 2025 Miss Salinas Valley Fair. The competition, held March 13-14 at the Salinas Valley Fairgrounds, saw Davis compete against fellow King City teen Aaliyah Sarina in categories including...

CENTRAL COAST — Broccoli and other brassica growers along California’s Central Coast are bracing for another devastating season of infestations of the diamondback moth, but state regulators appear in no hurry to approve a new federally registered insecticide that could alleviate the damage. The moth’s...

KING CITY — Next month, 18,000 children’s books will be distributed to low-income health clinics in Monterey and Solano counties as part of a revolutionary new reading program targeting farmworker families. Joshua Deutsch, a family physician at Mee Memorial Hospital in King City and Greenfield,...

LOCKWOOD — Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, Lockwood 4-H Club has managed to stay active with several events. On Feb. 13, the club hosted the first of three County Record Book Workshops. Of the 14 4-H clubs in Monterey County, eight of those clubs had members...

MONTEREY COUNTY — Scheid Family Wines Vice President of Winemaking Dave Nagengast has announced his retirement after 20 years with the Monterey County-based wine company. Nagengast was the creative and organizational mastermind behind the company’s portfolio of wines, an early adopter of sustainable farming and...

BRADLEY — Bradley Elementary School is building its first-ever community garden, utilizing donations from community partners like Chevron and mentorship from staff and students at California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly). The garden will be used for educational learning, with students having the opportunity to...