Monthly Archives: June 2013

News Release – Joint Statement on the US Senate’s passage of immigration reform from CDFA, the United Farm Workers, the California Farm Bureau and Western Growers Association

June 27, 2013   Office of Public Affairs

http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/egov/Press_Releases/Press_Release.asp?PRnum=13-017 The following statement is from CDFA Secretary Karen Ross, UFW President Arturo Rodriguez, California Farm Bureau President Dave Wenger, and Western Growers Association President/CEO Tom Nassif: “The Senate’s passage of Immigration Reform is a significant and compassionate step forward for this nation. Those working in the agricultural sector acknowledge that the majority of farm workers in California and across …

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State Fair Wine Competition a welcome sign of fair season

June 27, 2013   Karen Ross, California Agriculture Secretary, and Linda

  As we look forward to the start of another State Fair season in California (July 12-28), an annual hallmark of preparation has already passed – the State Fair Wine Competition. Each year, wine experts from around the state gather to taste and rate many hundreds of California wines. The judges are wine educators, wine makers, wine journalists, retailers, wholesalers, …

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Supporting bees with pollinator hedgerows – a video from the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service

June 26, 2013   Office of Public Affairs

“Pollinator Hedgerows” is one of a series of videos on conservation from the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service. The series is called, “There’s a Plan for That.” This segment discusses the benefits of foraging plants for honeybees and other pollinators and is a topical follow-up to the two-part series on honeybees that ran on Planting Seeds earlier this month. Also, …

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Growing California video series – “Blooming Business”

June 25, 2013   Office of Public Affairs

The next segment in the Growing California video series, a partnership with California Grown, is “Blooming Business,” a profile of California’s cut flower industry.

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Letter to dairy stakeholders from CDFA Secretary Karen Ross

June 24, 2013   Office of Public Affairs

What follows is a letter from CDFA Secretary Karen Ross to the dairy industry that was sent as CDFA announced a determination that market conditions warrant a temporary adjustment to the minimum milk prices. After a late December hearing, CDFA announced a previous temporary adjustment that went into effect on February 1st but expired on May 31st. As that adjustment …

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Snails – an ancient invasive species? From the Los Angeles Times

June 21, 2013   Office of Public Affairs

Scientists study modern snails, shed light on ancient humans? By Eryn Brown Genetic analysis of certain snails in Ireland suggests that the creeping mollusks may have arrived on the Emerald Isle when humans carried them there some 8,000 years ago — all the way from the Pyrenees Mountains between France and Spain. In a study published Wednesday in the journal …

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Diesel Fuel Substitute Shows Promise – CDFA Partnering in Test Project

June 20, 2013   Kristin Macey, Director, CDFA Division of Measurement Standards

A new fuel will soon be powering some vehicles in a test project in California. Volvo’s heavy truck division is partnering with an innovative California start-up, Oberon Fuels, to develop Dimethyl Ether (DME) as a diesel engine fuel replacement, at a price comparable to regular diesel fuel. DME, already in use as a propellant in many consumer products, is a non-toxic, …

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Editorial from the Porterville Recorder – Psyllid scare has been handled very well

June 19, 2013   Office of Public Affairs

http://www.recorderonline.com/articles/restrictions-57416-psyllid-handled.html Local, state and national ag officials, growers and even residents are to be commended on not only how they handled the Asian citrus psyllid finds, but for working together to keep the restrictions to the shortage time possible. The restrictions, basically a quarantine, that had been in place since early this year were lifted Monday, much sooner than most …

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Huell Howser and California’s Golden Fairs – Alameda County

June 19, 2013   Office of Public Affairs

Several years ago, the late public television personality Huell Howser produced a series of reports called California’s Golden Fairs. One of the segments featured the Alameda County Fair in Pleasanton, which begins its 17-day run today. California’s Golden Fairs #109 – ALAMEDA COUNTY FAIR from Huell Howser on Vimeo.

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Growing California video series – For the Love of Olives

June 18, 2013   Office of Public Affairs

The next segment in the Growing California video series, a partnership with California Grown, is “For the Love of Olives.”

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