After a record year in 2014, ag prices in Kings County took a beating last year, decreasing in value by more than 18%. “A lot of that has to do with commodity prices,” explained Kings County Ag Commissioner Tim Niswander, who presented the 2015 Agricultural Crop Report to the county board of supervisors at its […]
The small Asian Citrus Psyllid (ACP) remains of big concern to local citrus growers, as well as the California citrus industry. First detected in California in the fall of 2008, the first psyllid was found in Southern California, believed to have hitchhiked its way up from Mexico. Areas south of the San Joaquin Valley have […]
The Tulare County Board of Supervisors is seeking a Tulare County resident to serve on the Delta Vector Control District Board of Trustees as an at-large member. The Delta Vector Control District is the authority for vector control and vector-borne disease prevention in the northern portion of Tulare County. The board consists of seven members, […]
After consulting with the Tulare County Citrus Bloom Advisory Committee, Tulare County Agricultural Commissioner, Marilyn Kinoshita, announced that she is officially declaring the end of the citrus bloom period for citrus grown in District 2 beginning at 1am, Friday April 22. Even though applications of pesticides toxic to bees may be made to citrus 48 […]
This year, the 48th World Ag Expo looks larger and even better than ever before with more than 1,500 exhibitors from around the world, all vying for the farmers’ attention. Likewise, spectators come from around the world to find the latest in technology for preparing for, planting and harvesting their crops. As usual, WAE takes […]
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 […]