Focus on Agriculture

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...

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...

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...

MONTEREY COUNTY — Crop values fell in 2020 by a total of $499 million from 2019, with 2020’s total at $3.9 billion, according to the Monterey County Crop Report issued by Monterey County Agricultural Commissioner Henry Gonzales on July 20. The 11.3% decrease in production...

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 VALLEY — A panel of experts discussed current challenges in agriculture, such as the future of the workforce and the role of education, during the eighth annual Salinas Valley Ag Tech Summit. The two-day session spanned more than eight and a half hours of...

SALINAS VALLEY — Rancho Cielo’s annual Veggie Box and BBQ Fundraiser took place Aug. 8-11 on the Rancho Cielo Youth Campus in Salinas. The fundraiser was the biggest success to date, with more than 14,000 boxes sold, 300 volunteers packing boxes and over 2,000 barbecued...

KING CITY — Salinas Valley Fair has launched a search for a new chief executive officer following the resignation of CEO Lauren Hamilton, who had led the organization for the past five years. According to Interim CEO Joe Brengle, Hamilton resigned to “pursue other interests.”...

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...

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that a California regulation allowing union organizers to recruit agricultural workers at their workplaces violated the constitutional rights of their employers. The vote was 6-3, with the court’s three liberal members in dissent. Chief Justice John Roberts, writing...