Monthly Archives: September 2016

#Farm2Fan video series – Porterville’s hand-harvested olives

September 30, 2016   Office of Public Affairs

California Grown and Visit California are teaming up to produce the #Farm2Fan video series, profiling farms throughout California and fans of those farms who stop by for a visit.  

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Secretary Ross at kick-off event for 2016 California State Employees Food Drive

September 29, 2016   Office of Public Affairs

CDFA Secretary Karen Ross appeared today at the kickoff event for the annual California State Employees Food Drive, a fresh fruit and vegetable donation opportunity at the Capitol Mall Farmers’ Market in Sacramento. Secretary Ross serves as chair of the food drive.  

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California to receive $11.7 million in grant funding for FSMA produce safety rule

September 29, 2016   Natalie Krout CDFA Director of Inspection Services

CDFA was recently awarded $11.7 million for state-level implementation of the Produce Safety Rule under the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). This follows the recent Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) announcement to invest $21.8 million in 42 states. In order to secure the five-year funding opportunity, states were asked to submit implementation proposals tailored to their jurisdiction’s needs. CDFA’s proposal …

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An overlooked water resource – from the Christian Science Monitor

September 28, 2016   Office of Public Affairs

By Diana Donlon In bone-dry California we are counting the days until October when the rainy season should begin. When wells run dry in the Central Valley, fires rage in Big Sur and pine forests in the Sierra Nevada die off, you can’t help but wonder where all the water has gone. But what if we asked a slightly different …

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Why industrial farms are good for the environment – op-ed in the New York Times

September 27, 2016   Office of Public Affairs

By Jayson Lusk, professor of agricultural economics, Oklahoma State University There is much to like about small, local farms and their influence on what we eat. But if we are to sustainably deal with problems presented by population growth and climate change, we need to look to the farmers who grow a majority of the country’s food and fiber. Large …

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USDA awards nearly $300K to regional organizations for programs serving new and underserved farmers

September 26, 2016   Office of Public Affairs

The U.S. Department Agriculture (USDA) has announced that nearly $300,000 will be awarded to regional organizations in California to train and educate new and underserved farmers and ranchers on Farm Service Agency (FSA) programs and services. The University of California-Davis will receive $75,000 to provide financial literacy training to small-scale, new and specialty crop and livestock producers in the Northern …

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Elementary school students learn about critters at CDFA lab

September 23, 2016   Office of Public Affairs
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Apple Hill – the season is upon us

September 23, 2016   Office of Public Affairs

With the first day of Fall arriving this week, Californians are again starting to turn their attention to El Dorado County’s Apple Hill, which is now in the midst of its 2016 production season. From CDFA’s award-winning Growing California video series, here’s an encore presentation on Apple Hill’s draw as a tourism destination.  

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CDFA participates in American Heart Association Heart Walk

September 22, 2016   Office of Public Affairs
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CDFA joins partnership to study nitrate leaching from irrigated agriculture in Central Valley – from the Fresno Bee

September 22, 2016   Office of Public Affairs

By Robert Rodriguez The Kings River Water Quality Coalition along with several other South Valley water quality coalitions received a $2 million grant from the federal government to address nitrate leaching from irrigated agriculture. The U.S. Department of Agriculture grant will be used to launch a program to quantify and minimize the nitrate leaching from farming operations in the southern …

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