Monthly Archives: February 2014

By Heather Hacking “We need to reconnect farmers with consumers and create an ag-literate populace,” said Karen Ross, secretary of California Department of Food and Agriculture, who spoke to students at the Chico State University Farm Tuesday. “If people don’t understand agriculture, we lose policy that keeps our food secure.” A fortunate outcome of the drought is that people have …

                        MILWAUKEE (AP) — The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Tuesday it will spend millions of dollars to help farmers and ranchers improve pastures in five Midwestern states to provide food for the nation’s struggling honeybees. Commercial honeybees pollinate an estimated $15 billion worth of produce each year. Many …

By Todd Woody FIREBAUGH, Calif. — The giant solar receiver installed on a wheat field here in California’s agricultural heartland slowly rotates to track the sun and capture its energy. The 377-foot array, however, does not generate electricity but instead creates heat used to desalinate water. It is part of a project developed by a San Francisco area start-up called …

Alan Thompson of G&F Agri Service LLC looks at a tree as he manages a crew of heavy equipment operators that removed an almond orchard at Baker Farming Company in Firebaugh, Calif., on Monday, Feb. 3, 2014. The state’s drought has forced farmers to remove some almond orchards earlier than they normally would because they don’t expect to have enough …

Watch video of a grease theft By Sharon Bernstein California is trying to find new ways to catch thieves who steal used cooking grease from restaurants in hopes of making money by selling it to companies that turn it into alternative biofuels. Citing a rise in such thefts, state Assemblyman Chris Holden has introduced a bill in the state legislature to allow …