Focus on Agriculture

MONTEREY COUNTY — Community Foundation for Monterey County (CFMC) Board of Directors presented the Distinguished Trustee Award to Tonya Antle during the annual Celebration of Philanthropy on Oct. 1 at The Club at Pasadera. Antle was recognized for the passion and commitment she brings to everything...

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...

At the heart of California’s $59 billion agricultural industry are the hardworking migrant farmworkers who harvest the food that feeds our nation. Their labor sustains our economy, but their children, who face extraordinary educational barriers due to the migratory nature of their parents’ work,...

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...

CALIFORNIA — Before state officials announced that 40% of California's new vaccine doses would go to low-income communities, leaders were struggling to make good on promises to prioritize vulnerable Californians in the vaccine rollout. As my colleague Miriam Jordan recently wrote, farmworkers were among those...

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

SALINAS VALLEY — The results of a survey intended to better understand how Covid-19 has impacted Monterey County agriculture was released May 4 by Agricultural Commissioner Henry Gonzales. Survey results showed a total of 2,093 acres lost or not planted. “The survey is a preliminary look...

MONTEREY COUNTY — California Gov. Gavin Newsom expanded his prior drought emergency proclamation to an additional nine counties on July 7, including Monterey County. Assemblymember Robert Rivas (D-Salinas), who oversees Monterey County in his district along with Santa Cruz and Santa Clara counties, urged residents...

Agricultural Commissioner Henry Gonzales has announced that the economic value of Monterey County agriculture increased by 4 percent in 2017, as compared with 2016, with crop production values of $4.4 billion.