Focus on Agriculture

Future Farmers of America members from King City to Watsonville gathered at Soledad High School for the annual interview contest on Jan. 31.

MONTEREY COUNTY — Monterey County’s crop production increased in value last year by more than $500 million despite decreases in both wine grapes and cannabis, according to the county’s 2022 Crop and Livestock Report. Overall gross crop and livestock production was over $4.6 billion in...

Wine grape harvest is just around the corner in the Paso Robles wine country.

WASHINGTON — Before dawn on an October morning in 2015, representatives of the United Farm Workers turned up at a strawberry plant nursery in Northern California to meet with workers and urge them to consider unionizing. They were able to enter the nursery’s property thanks...

CALIFORNIA — A nationwide onion recall was expanded by the Food and Drug Administration on Aug. 10 to include red, yellow, white and sweet yellow onions linked to California suppliers after more than 600 people in 43 states have been sickened with salmonella. The original...

KING CITY — Community Housing Improvement Systems and Planning Association Inc. (CHISPA) has received a $680,000 acquisition loan to purchase property in King City and create 40 affordable homes aimed toward farmworkers in the region. The funding is being made available through the Monterey Bay...

SALINAS VALLEY — More than 75 food leaders, farmers, advocates and policymakers from across California gathered in November for Growing the Future Together, the first in-person statewide convening of the California Food Policy Council (CAFPC) since the pandemic. Hosted in Salinas — the “Salad Bowl...

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...

SALINAS — California Rodeo Salinas has unveiled its 2026 commemorative poster, a striking tribute to patriotism and tradition. This year’s design features Retired Sgt. First Class James “Guido” Davis parachuting the American flag into the arena from 5,000 feet above — a moment that has...

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. Martha Montoya never imagined that her...