The impact of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) is being felt locally as stakeholders, water storage and irrigation districts, county leadership and other water experts in the region meet to discuss the new state law’s directives. Plans are being assembled for each sub-basin in the Tulare Lake Basin hydrologic region. As one can imagine, […]
Paul Buxman, Tulare County’s premier agricultural landscape artist-in-residence, has launched a rescue effort for Fresno County farmer Will Scott, Jr. Scott is a small-scale, organic Black farmer who has organized other Black farmers for mutual support, aided young people in getting back to the land, and produced healthy food once common in rural Black diets […]
It’s a vital California resource, but groundwater isn’t easily understood—and during the state’s four-year drought, as groundwater pumping has increased in response to reduced surface supplies, it has been the subject of sometimes-alarming, but not necessarily accurate, public statements about the health of the resource. The drought has focused attention on groundwater and newly adopted […]
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) is now surveying produce packers and other post-harvest businesses to help fruit and vegetables operations as they prepare to implement new federal food safety requirements. The 2015 Produce Post-Harvest Microbial Food Safety Practices Survey marks the first time since 1998 that such a survey has […]
When I first moved to Porterville 30-something years ago, I remember driving around looking at different neighborhoods for a home. I was so impressed with one home’s landscaping and appeal that I kept going back to that area hoping to find a house. What made it look so welcoming were the colorful blossoms spilling out […]
What once was a thriving agricultural commodity in California has dwindled down to a few hold-outs in the olive industry. There used to be 18,000 acres planted with olives in Tulare County, said Adin Hester, president and CEO of the Olive Growers Council, which is based in Visalia. Now there are just 10,000 and that […]
When the agriculture commissioner, Marilyn Kinoshita, announced Tulare County’s production numbers a few weeks ago it was assumed that Tulare County would be the number one agriculture producer in the nation. That assumption was confirmed last week when Fresno County released its 2014 production numbers. Fresno County’s agriculture production for 2014 was $7.03 billion, which […]
Agricultural producers rented and farmed 353.8 million acres of farmland, according to the results of the 2014 Tenure, Ownership, and Transition of Agricultural Land (TOTAL) survey results released today by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). Of these acres, 80 percent are owned by non-farming landlords. According to the survey results, […]
More than 125 community members attended CSET’s Drought Resource Center resource fair on August 27. Families received information on drought-related services and programs, and other family resources. Community partner booths included: CalFresh, Family Health Care Network, Covered California, the Employment Development Department, the Tulare County Employment Connection (a proud partner of America’s Job Center of […]
With talk of a strong El Niño brewing and with it, the potential for above-average precipitation this fall and winter, California livestock ranchers say they are hopeful about getting some relief from the drought. But they remain cautious about their plans for rebuilding their herds. Poor pasture conditions and high feed costs have pummeled California […]