Focus on Agriculture

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 — Monterey County Cannabis Program is in the process of assessing how communities have been impacted by cannabis prohibition and the War on Drugs and exploring how to more equitably develop this new industry.  Tier 1 funding from the California Office of Business...

MONTEREY COUNTY — Monterey County Supervisors Luis Alejo and Chris Lopez will be conducting a special honoring of living Bracero workers who reside in Monterey County at the Sept. 12 Board of Supervisors meeting in Salinas as part of the first-ever “Bracero History Recognition...

SALINAS VALLEY — Salinas Valley Basin Groundwater Sustainability Agency (SVBGSA) Board of Directors on Aug. 12 approved Groundwater Sustainability Plans (GSPs) drafts to be released for public comment for the following subbasins: Eastside, Forebay, Langley and Upper Valley.  This comes after the 180/400 Foot Aquifer...

In recent weeks, dangerous heat has killed hundreds of people in Oregon and Washington, endangered workers across the region and strained California’s power grid. It has also exacerbated the slow-moving natural disaster already punishing the West: the drought. Late last week, Gov. Gavin Newsom formally urged...

SALINAS VALLEY — More than 1,100 backpacks filled with school supplies were delivered to students in King City and Salinas this year as part of Taylor Farms’ 13th annual Backpack Giving Program. After starting the program in Monterey County in 2010, Taylor Farms has since...

A new irrigation enhancement project has seen positive results for farmers in the San Joaquin Valley.

SALINAS — Salinas produce company D’Arrigo California is partnering with Candice Walker, foodie influencer of Proportional Plate, to host a virtual and interactive cooking class Wednesday featuring Andy Boy produce. “D’Arrigo California is thrilled to get into the kitchen with Candice Walker of Proportional Plate...

SOLEDAD — Braga Fresh, the Soledad-based grower-shipper known for its fresh vegetables and packaged salads, plans to close its Salinas processing plant, resulting in the loss of about 260 jobs, according to a state WARN Act filing. The closure was disclosed in documents submitted Nov....

GONZALES — City of Gonzales has become the first city in Monterey County — and one of the first in the state of California — to create an Enhanced Infrastructure Financing District (EIFD) to help fund economic development projects.  In collaboration with the county, Gonzales...