Monthly Archives: June 2013

Farmers’ Markets Credited in Fitness Survey – California Cities Place High

June 17, 2013   Office of Public Affairs

Four California communities have placed in the Top-15 fittest cities in the country, according to the 2013 American Fitness Index. The Bay Area, defined as San Francisco, Oakland and Fremont, placed fourth; the Sacramento area was seventh; the greater San Jose area placed 10th; and San Diego finished 14th. The index considers a number of factors in determining fitness, including …

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California State Board of Food and Agriculture Continues its Work to Cultivate New Farmers and Ranchers

June 12, 2013   Office of Public Affairs

Farm demographics continue to change in California. The average age of a farmer is 58 years old, relatively few heirs are willing to take over farms, and fewer people are interested in becoming farmers because of a variety of challenges. This dynamic is made more troublesome by the fact that food demand is expected to double worldwide by the year 2050. As a …

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Growing California video series – “Blossom Buddies,” part two

June 11, 2013   Office of Public Affairs

The next segment in the Growing California video series, a partnership with California Grown, is part two of “Blossom Buddies,” a story about honey bees in California and the challenges to their health in recent years.

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Turning Cow Dung into Electricity – From the Los Angeles Times

June 11, 2013   Office of Public Affairs

    http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-dairy-digester-20130609,0,878419.story By Ricardo Lopez, Los Angeles Times Dairy farmer Ron Koetsier’s 1,200 cows produce roughly 90 tons of manure daily, and for the last three decades, he has tried unsuccessfully to turn the stinky dung into energy to power his 450-acre farm in Visalia. He installed a nearly $1-million renewable energy system in 1985 that used the methane …

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Strategic Plan a Way to Maintain and Improve CDFA’s Service to Stakeholders

June 10, 2013   Karen Ross, California Agriculture Secretary, and Linda

On behalf of CDFA, I am pleased to present the agency’s 2013-2018 Strategic Plan. While strategic planning is essential to any organization, it is often misunderstood, considered by many as merely an internal plan to reach goals and objectives. The truth is quite different, especially at a government agency. Our stakeholders—including anybody who eats—are vital to the success of our …

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Huell Howser and California’s Golden Fairs – San Diego County

June 7, 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 San Diego County Fair, at the Del Mar Fairgrounds, which begins its 24-day run tomorrow.  

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California Wines on the World Stage – Seminar on July 23rd

June 6, 2013   Office of Public Affairs

Once a year the California Wine Institute assembles in San Francisco for a seminar to review promotional programs and discuss new export opportunities for California vintners.  It’s called California Wines on the World Stage, and it is intended for new-to-exporting wineries as well as established exporters. This year’s event will be held on July 23rd. The Wine Institute is assembling an export superstar vintner …

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USDA and EPA Launch U.S. Food Waste Challenge

June 6, 2013   Office of Public Affairs

http://content.govdelivery.com/bulletins/gd/USDAOC-7dd9fd The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), in collaboration with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has launched the U.S. Food Waste Challenge, calling on others across the food chain—including producer groups, processors, manufacturers, retailers, communities, and other government agencies − to join the effort to reduce, recover, and recycle food waste. Food waste in the United States is estimated …

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Nibbling Encouraged Along the Sonoma-Marin Cheese Trail – from the Los Angeles Times

June 5, 2013   Office of Public Affairs

As you drive north of San Francisco into Marin and Sonoma counties, the countryside begins to unfold before you. Green pastures, oak and chaparral-covered hillsides and small canyons of redwood trees reveal themselves. Red-tailed hawks and osprey fly overhead, deer graze in the hills and at sunset, bobcats survey the terrain. A setting so lovely that you can’t help but …

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Growing California video series – “Blossom Buddies,” part one

June 4, 2013   Office of Public Affairs

The latest segment in the Growing California video series, a partnership with California Grown, is “Blossom Buddies” – part one of a two-part story on honey bees.  

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