Farmworker Housing Study Oversight Committee convenes to review progress
CENTRAL COAST — Despite significant progress since the release of a landmark 2018 farmworker housing study quantifying critically overcrowded housing conditions for agricultural workers in the region, thousands more homes are needed to relieve severe overcrowding, unaffordable rents and ensure the stability of the...
Greenfield High receives Farm to School grant
GREENFIELD — South Monterey County Joint Union High School District (SMCJUHSD) will launch two farm-to-cafeteria educational programs between Greenfield High School and the district’s Food Services Department.
The first-of-its-kind collaboration was made possible by a new grant from the California Department of Food and Agriculture’s...
Monterey County agriculture pumps more than $11B into local economy, study finds
MONTEREY COUNTY — Monterey County agriculture pumped more than $11 billion into the local economy in 2023 and supported 81,315 jobs, according to a new economic report.
Assistant Agricultural Commissioner Rich Ordonez released the latest comprehensive analysis of the county’s largest industry on Nov. 18,...
Artichoke Festival closes its doors after 65 years
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...
Monterey County’s Covid-19 infection rates highest in agriculture
SALINAS VALLEY — Monterey County Health Department reports that 475 agriculture workers, or 36.79 percent of the county’s total confirmed cases, have been infected with Covid-19 as of June 22.
A large gap separates that figure and the 261 “unknown or under investigation” category, and...
Supreme Court rules against union recruiting on California farms
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...
2016 crop statistics released for SLO County
The San Luis Obispo County Department of Agriculture/Weights and Measures has announced the release of the 2016 production statistics for the local agricultural industry. The total gross crop value for 2016 was $914,724,000.
Local News
CDCR officials investigating Salinas Valley State Prison inmate’s Jan. 29 death as...
SOLEDAD — California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) officials are investigating the Jan. 29 death of an inmate at Salinas Valley State Prison (SVSP) in Soledad as a homicide.
At about...
