Focus on Agriculture

SALINAS VALLEY — Ever since a young child, Rose Escobar dreamed of becoming a Rodeo Queen — a best-in-class combination of horsemanship and athletic abilities paired with personal skills of public speaking and knowledge of the heritage of agriculture. That dream came true this year...

SALINAS VALLEY — Nearly 400 people with a professional stake in the safety of fresh fruits and vegetables consumed worldwide gathered at Hartnell College on May 4-5 for the 17th Annual Western Food Safety Conference. The conference, held on Hartnell’s Main Campus in Salinas as...

SALINAS VALLEY — In honor of both National Diabetes Month and Diabetes Education Week, Taylor Farms donated 500 bags of salad and packages of assorted vegetables to the families visiting Mee Memorial Healthcare System clinics in King City and Greenfield on Nov. 15. There were...

SALINAS — As the decennial redistricting process wrapped up last month, the concern from The World’s Salad Bowl started to mount. Local politicians, regional business giants and other community leaders asked how a plan to pair the international agricultural hub with the Silicon Valley...

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...

SALINAS VALLEY — Things were challenging enough for lettuce growers in Monterey County’s Salinas Valley before Mother Nature dealt a one-two punch in this year’s storms. Farmers in 2022 had suffered an estimated $150 million in crop losses as impatiens necrotic spot virus — a...

SALINAS VALLEY — California Strategic Growth Council has approved more than $8.3 million in grants to the Ag Land Trust (ALT), a nonprofit dedicated to farmland preservation along the state’s Central Coast. The funding will enable the organization to purchase conservation easements on three key...

SOLEDAD — Braga Fresh is promoting Colby Pereira to chief operating officer, making her the first person to hold that title as the company enters its 95th year in business. “Colby’s family farming background and reasoned, no-nonsense approach to problem-solving are an asset for this new...

For decades in the Salinas Valley, the short-handle hoe, known as “El Cortito,” was used for weeding and thinning rows of crops that kept farmworkers stooped over for long hours each day. Workers were only able to stand and stretch when they reached the...