Focus on Agriculture

MONTEREY COUNTY — Raley’s and Washington-based FirstFruits Farms donated 30,000 pounds of fresh apples on April 1 to the Food Bank for Monterey County. The contribution was made possible by Raley’s customers who purchased select apples during January and February as part of a give-back...

GREENFIELD — For the second time, thousands of freshly prepared meals were distributed to farmworker families suffering during the Covid-19 crisis on May 26 at Patriot Park in Greenfield. The food distribution is the latest effort by the United Farm Workers and World Central Kitchen...

SALINAS VALLEY — As the country celebrates National Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Month this June, the Agriculture and Land-Based Training Association (ALBA) is spotlighting the farmers behind the produce — and the power of farming to change lives. Located in the heart of the Salinas...

KING CITY — King City Rural 4-H recently collaborated with King City High School FFA to offer an industrial arts project for its members for the first time. This rare collaboration included help from KCHS ag teacher Blaise Chaney, who opened up the school’s state-of-the-art...

SALINAS VALLEY — The 2023 Monterey County wine grape harvest has begun with Scheid Family Wines’ Isabelle’s Vineyard located in the Salinas Valley along River Road, west of Chualar, on the Monterey Wine Trail, announced Monterey County Vintners and Growers Association last week. Cool weather delayed the...

SALINAS — Hartnell College has been awarded a $9.5 million grant from the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture’s inaugural NEXTGEN program.  The official announcement was made during a presentation by the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack in Washington, D.C., on June 20. “This...

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...

GREENFIELD — Scheid Vineyards hosted an Earth Day tour of its Greenfield location in late April, sharing some of its growing practices in an attempt to make its wine production more environmentally friendly. Founded in 1972, Scheid Vineyards has 3,200 acres with 40 different varieties...

Editor’s Note: The following profile is an excerpt from Amy Wu’s 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. Ellie Symes could easily pass for the...

Editor’s Note: The following profile is an excerpt from Amy Wu’s 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. Fatma Kaplan’s advice to her younger self...