Focus on Agriculture

SOLEDAD — Colby Pereira, chief operating officer of Braga Fresh in Soledad, has received the Grower-Shipper Foundation’s 2024 Agricultural Woman of the Year award. The award honors unique leadership qualities held by women working within the agricultural industry in Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito...

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...

SALINAS VALLEY — One year after a devastating fire destroyed Taylor Farms’ food processing plant in Salinas, the agriculture company will reopen the facility later this month in time for the start of the Salinas Valley planting season. Following months of construction, the foodservice location...

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...

MONTEREY COUNTY — Monterey County Board of Supervisors narrowly voted Jan. 9 to make changes to its outdoor cannabis cultivation pilot program, allowing growers to double their canopy size and eliminate a requirement that made permit applicants prove cannabis was cultivated on the property...

SOLEDAD — Soledad Historical Society’s farmers market returned with a new season that began on April 1. Signs posted at the entryway of the closed lanes at 135 Soledad St. asked guests to observe Covid-19 health guidelines, such as wearing masks and keeping spaced apart. The...

On May 18, the Salinas Valley Fair returns to King City for four days of family-friendly events, exhibits and activities.

CALIFORNIA — Arcadia Publishing has announced the publication of “California Agriculture,” a new history of the state’s agriculture industry by author Patti DesMarais. The 128-page paperback is part of Arcadia’s “Images of America” book series, featuring historical information and photographs. Beginning with the Spanish padres in...

SALINAS VALLEY — Nearly 40,000 people attended the 80th Annual Salinas Valley Fair over the course of its four-day celebration in South Monterey County last week. Under the theme, “Golden Hills & Fair Time Thrills,” the 2024 Fair once again provided family-friendly activities and entertainment...

MONTEREY COUNTY — The 2022 Monterey County Fair Junior Livestock Auction is being dedicated to Taylor Farms, the Salinas-based grower and packager of fresh produce that has supported the Fair’s 4-H and FFA exhibitors for more than 20 years by purchasing animals at the...