Focus on Agriculture

Agricultural Commissioner Henry Gonzales has announced that the economic value of Monterey County agriculture increased by 4 percent in 2017, as compared with 2016, with crop production values of $4.4 billion.

The Rancho Cielo Youth Campus was the site of a groundbreaking ceremony for the Ted Taylor Agricultural Center on April 8.

CASTROVILLE — The beloved Artichoke Festival, a cherished tradition in Monterey County for more than six decades, will not return this year. The festival’s board of directors announced its official closure after 65 years of celebrating the region’s rich agricultural heritage, artichoke royalty and community...

KING CITY — Salinas Valley Fair has announced that there are currently two open Fair Board positions available, and it is looking for enthusiastic, hands-on individuals to join. This is an opportunity for community members to get involved and help shape the Salinas Valley Fairgrounds...

CALIFORNIA — Grappling with higher costs and challenges related to water, labor, regulations and trade, some California farm leaders question whether the nation’s No. 1 agriculture state has reached a tipping point. California Farm Bureau President Shannon Douglass discussed the high cost of operating a...

More than three decades ago, Cesar Chavez, founder of the first successful union for farmworkers, predicted a future in which the cities of California would be run by people who looked like him. “History and inevitability are on our side,” he said in one of his best-known...

KING CITY — Once again the Salinas Valley Fair drew thousands of people to King City for a long weekend of family-friendly activities and entertainment, including its first-ever huge concert headlined by multiplatinum country singer Dylan Scott on Saturday night. The 79th annual celebration featured...

SALINAS VALLEY — A new exhibition at the National Steinbeck Center in Salinas highlights a diverse generation of women innovators and their contribution to agriculture by way of technology. “From Farms to Incubators: Women Innovators in California Agtech,” which premiered last month, uses multimedia to...

SALINAS VALLEY — Hartnell College Foundation will honor longtime Salinas Valley grower John Romans with its 2022 Leadership Award at the Party Near the Library this Saturday, May 21. Romans, a member of the foundation’s board of directors, was a longtime owner of King City-based...