Focus on Agriculture

KING CITY — Aspire Health, in close collaboration with Blue Zones Project Monterey County, has announced the expansion of the Double Up Food Bucks (DUFB) program to South Monterey County. Launched in November 2023 at the La Princesa Markets on Williams Road and East Alisal...

SALINAS VALLEY — A dangerous herbicide banned immediately by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has been sprayed on crops in many California counties and has contaminated groundwater in low concentrations in the Salinas Valley and Santa Barbara County. The weed-killing chemical, known as DCPA or...

KING CITY — King City planning commissioners have delayed a final decision on the Meyers Farmworker Housing Facility until their Oct. 7 meeting. The 4-0 vote came during the Planning Commission’s Aug. 19 meeting, where numerous community members, business owners and farmworkers spoke out on...

KING CITY — Salinas Valley Fair Heritage Foundation has announced Valeria Beltran, a junior at Gonzales High School, as the recipient of the 2025 Heritage Foundation Scholarship. As this year’s winner, Beltran will raise the official Heritage Animal, a hog she has named “Zero,” and...

MONTEREY COUNTY — Warm atmospheric river storms wreaked havoc on California last week, causing widespread flooding from rain and snowmelt, which overfilled rivers and creeks, displaced residents, washed out roads and damaged agriculture. In Monterey County, there was significant flooding along the Salinas River and...

KING CITY — A new mural is in the works on the side of Pete’s Towing, with artwork that pays tribute to Salinas Valley ranching and the Salinas Valley Fair. The project is being spearheaded by King City in Bloom, with art direction by Jennifer...

SALINAS VALLEY — Monterey County Board of Supervisors will host a special ceremony on Tuesday, June 10, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of a landmark legal case that arose out of the Salinas Valley and outlawed the use of “El Cortito,” or the short-handled...

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...

KING CITY — King City High School Agriculture Department has been honored with the prestigious California Agricultural Teachers’ Association (CATA) Outstanding 4-6 Person Department Award, a recognition aimed at promoting exemplary middle and secondary programs in agricultural education. The award celebrates the department’s commitment to...