Winter storms that bolstered the Sierra Nevada snowpack and added to California reservoirs prompted federal and state water managers to announce increases in anticipated water allocations for the 2023 growing season. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation last week announced an initial allocation of 35% of contracted water supplies for agricultural customers south of the Sacramento-San […]
Farmers love to talk about the weather, and those attending the World Ag Expo in Tulare last week were no different. A Canadian cold front forced growers, exhibitors and students alike to bundle up against windy conditions, but it didn’t freeze their enthusiasm for the largest agriculture equipment show in the world. Framed by a […]
California Bountiful TV, the California Farm Bureau’s weekly program that connects people with the food they eat and the farmers and ranchers who grow and raise it, will debut its new season Feb. 25 with new host and executive producer Aubrey Aquino. A California native raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, Aquino is a […]
World Ag Expo® and E.M. Tharp, Inc. have teamed up again for the 16th annual “We Believe in Growing” scholarship, supporting area high school students who will be attending four-year universities to major in an agricultural field. This year’s winners, Sophia Gomes of Tulare, CA and Caleb Callison of Hanford, CA, will each receive $2,500 […]
California farmers are encouraged by the series of atmospheric river storms that brought near-record rain and snow, filling depleted reservoirs and bolstering the snowpack. Frost Pauli, vineyard manager for Pauli Ranch in Potter Valley in Mendocino County, said he feels optimistic after three intense years of drought. He said the winter storms “have been excellent […]
Tulare County Farm Bureau will award the signature blue corduroy FFA jacket to local students through the Blue Jacket Bonanza program. Launched in 2012, Blue Jacket Bonanza was developed to provide area students involved in FFA, who may not have the financial means, a chance to earn their own uniform jacket. Today many chapters in […]
Walnut farmers are tearing out older trees and less desirable varieties as the price for the nut has plummeted well below the cost of production, causing some growers to rethink walnuts and look for alternative crops. “I’ve seen several younger orchards that have come out already in Fresno, Merced and Madera counties,” said Kings County […]
Thanks to a series of winter storms that quenched the state in December and early January, the California Department of Water Resources last week announced that the State Water Project may deliver 30% of requested supplies. The allocation is up from the initial 5% announced in December. It means that some 1.27 million acre-feet of […]
Even with eggs in short supply nationwide and prices climbing to new heights, it has not been enough to keep a 100-year-old egg farm from going out of business. John Lewis Jr., president of Farmer John Egg Farm in Bakersfield, confirmed that the family operation will close its doors by the end of the month. […]
Historic storms have hammered California for more than two weeks, causing widespread flooding, road closures, power outages and evacuations in numerous counties. As the state received roughly five times its average rainfall, the deluge offered water relief for drought-stricken farmlands. But the storms also inflicted a harsh toll on agriculture. Since Dec. 31, showers, mudslides […]