Focus on Agriculture

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. Claudia Pizarro-Villalobos was born and raised...

SALINAS — As the decennial redistricting process wrapped up last month, the concern from The World’s Salad Bowl started to mount. Local politicians, regional business giants and other community leaders asked how a plan to pair the international agricultural hub with the Silicon Valley...

SALINAS VALLEY — Pacific Valley Bank has announced that Taylor Fresh Foods, parent company of the Taylor Farms operating companies, has acquired a 16.3% ownership stake in the bank. The investment represents a significant minority position by a locally based, family-owned company with long-standing operations...

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...

SALINAS VALLEY — Ever since a young child, Rose Escobar dreamed of becoming a Rodeo Queen — a best-in-class combination of horsemanship and athletic abilities paired with personal skills of public speaking and knowledge of the heritage of agriculture. That dream came true this year...

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 — 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,...

CALIFORNIA — A new article appearing in the current issue of the peer-reviewed Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry explores the concept of “superfoods” and makes a case that fresh grapes have earned what should be a prominent position in the superfood family. The author,...

SALINAS VALLEY — In honor of both National Diabetes Month and Diabetes Education Week, Taylor Farms donated 500 bags of salad and packages of assorted vegetables to the families visiting Mee Memorial Healthcare System clinics in King City and Greenfield on Nov. 15. There were...

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...