Focus on Agriculture

SALINAS VALLEY — Hartnell College hosted a special version of the annual Ag Tech Summit — a half-day, in-person program called AgTechX Ed — last month on the Main Campus in Salinas. The Western Growers Center for Innovation and Technology has joined with the California...

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...

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...

SALINAS VALLEY — Monterey County Agricultural Commissioner Henry Gonzales has released the county’s 2019 Crop Report, which included an evaluation of cannabis production for the first time. “This report reflects a production value of $4,409,992,000, which is an increase of 3.5 percent from 2018,” Gonzales...

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...

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...

KING CITY — Cristina Balestreri, who grew up in the Salinas Valley, has been named the 2023 Miss King City Stampede. Balestreri, daughter of Monterey County natives Mario and Josephine Balestreri, received the title, sash and crown during the third annual King City Stampede, a...

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.

UPDATE — Nov. 7, 2025: Full November SNAP/CalFresh benefits have begun posting to the EBT cards of Monterey County residents, according to the County of Monterey Department of Social Services on Friday. “The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) is telling us that California has initiated...

SALINAS VALLEY — Several dozen community members gathered for a news conference at the County Government Center in Salinas last Tuesday to release a new study that found that pregnant women in Monterey County are more likely to be exposed to far higher levels...