Focus on Agriculture

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 — Hundreds of third-graders recently roamed the Salinas Valley Fairgrounds in King City to learn about agriculture during the annual South County Farm Day. Students from Gonzales, Soledad, Greenfield and King City schools attended the free educational enrichment program on Jan. 26,...

MONTEREY COUNTY — An excessive heat warning has been issued by the U.S. National Weather Service San Francisco Bay Area/Monterey California beginning Thursday through early next week for Monterey County. Areas under warning include: southern Salinas Valley, Arroyo Seco, Lake San Antonio, Santa Lucia Mountains...

Salinas Valley was initially spared the worst of the damage as storms battered California last month. But then the Salinas River overflowed its banks Jan. 10, breaching berms and levees. Over the ensuing hours and days, thousands of acres of some of the country’s most...

MONTEREY COUNTY — Warm atmospheric river storms wreaked havoc on California last week, causing widespread flooding from rain and snowmelt, which overfilled rivers and creeks, displaced residents, washed out roads and damaged agriculture. In Monterey County, there was significant flooding along the Salinas River and...

SALINAS — Hartnell College has been awarded a $9.5 million grant from the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture’s inaugural NEXTGEN program.  The official announcement was made during a presentation by the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack in Washington, D.C., on June 20. “This...

SALINAS VALLEY — Rancho Cielo’s annual Veggie Box and BBQ Fundraiser took place Aug. 8-11 on the Rancho Cielo Youth Campus in Salinas. The fundraiser was the biggest success to date, with more than 14,000 boxes sold, 300 volunteers packing boxes and over 2,000 barbecued...

SALINAS VALLEY — Monterey County has enacted a mandatory abatement program for select weeds as part of an effort to contain the impatiens necrotic spot virus, or INSV, which has severely impacted the region’s lettuce crop in recent years. Officials are urging residents who notice...

MONTEREY COUNTY — This year’s onslaught of winter storms have cumulatively impacted a total of 20,073 acres and created $600 million of damage to the Monterey County agricultural industry.  On Friday, the County of Monterey Agricultural Commissioner’s Office released the results of a second survey...

SALINAS VALLEY — October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, an annual campaign to raise awareness about the impact of breast cancer. In support of this yearly event, the Breast Cancer Assistance Group of Monterey County (BCAG) will be the recipient of funds raised through...