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...

SALINAS VALLEY — University of California Santa Cruz’s CITRIS Initiative for Drone Education and Research (CIDER) along with several partners has received a $1 million, 15-month planning grant to support regional drone education and workforce development from the James Irvine Foundation. The funds will be...

Mann Packing of Salinas is voluntarily recalling minimally processed vegetable products because they may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

SALINAS VALLEY — Monterey Mushrooms, a mushroom grower based in Morgan Hill, has announced the release of its Certified Organic Spent Mushroom Compost (COSMC) to row crop and leafy green farmers throughout the Salinas Valley. A finely balanced mixture of straw, peat moss, cottonseed meal,...

SALINAS VALLEY — California Rodeo Salinas has recognized seven students as recipients of its 2026 scholarship program, honoring their academic achievement, leadership and community involvement. The scholarship program was established with Hartnell College in 1986 and recently transitioned to the Community Foundation for Monterey County....

The 2016 Monterey County Crop Report reflects a decrease of 9.5 percent from the previous year, with the crop production valued at $4.25 billion for 2016.