Monthly Archives: May 2014

I recently was invited to Lodi to join that region’s Winegrape Commission in celebrating the 10th annual “Zinfest.” It’s a great example of food and wine events that create local economic activity and foster direct communication between consumers and farmers. Zinfest is very well done – a testament to the visionary leaders who created the Lodi Winegrape Commission, and to the …

Wearing his new prosthetic legs Hero gets a taste of shrubbery Wednesday, May 21, 2014, in Houston. The abandoned calf rescued from a Virginia farm a year ago and brought to Texas after it nearly died is getting permanent prosthetics to replace back hooves that had to be amputated because of frostbite. PAT SULLIVAN — AP Photo By Michael Graczyk HOUSTON — Hot and tired …

The latest video in the Growing California video series, a partnership with California Grown, is Heritage Harvests, a profile of the Rominger family farm in Yolo County.

California’s drought will deal a severe blow to Central Valley irrigated agriculture and farm communities this year and could cost the industry $1.7 billion and cause more than 14,500 workers to lose their jobs, according to preliminary results of a new study by the UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences. Researchers estimated that Central Valley irrigators would receive only two-thirds …

Earlier this month, CDFA Secretary Karen Ross joined students at Sacramento’s Pacific Elementary School for a visit from the Mobile Dairy Classroom, where an instructor shared fun facts like: cows have built-in fly swatters, and milk is warm when it comes out of the udder. As the original farm to school program in California, Mobile Dairy Classroom has brought a …

Atwater FFA’s Julie Dailey, Katelyn Baptista, Goldi Vang, Emmanual Avila, and Hans van Warmerdam compete in the Milk Quality and Dairy Products competition during the MJC FFA Field Day competition in March. By Doane Yawger For the first time in school history, Atwater High School’s chapter of the National FFA Organization earned three state championships and will represent the state …

By Debbie Arrington Wrinkles can be cool – if you’re a prune. Many of us have had a long love affair with our crinkly, locally grown prunes, even if they weren’t considered the coolest fruit in the bunch. But that’s changing. Interest in nutrition and healthier eating has made these funny-looking chewy nuggets into another form of California gold. Prunes …