Monthly Archives: December 2016

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is issuing updated information on food product labeling, including new guidance aimed at reducing food waste through encouraging food manufacturers and retailers that apply product dating to use a “Best if Used By” date label. Research shows that this phrase is easily understood by consumers as an indicator …

Note – FREP funds and facilitates research to advance the environmentally safe and agronomically sound use and handling of fertilizing materials.  CDFA issued a news release today about the latest FREP grant cycle. A FREP request for proposals (RFP) is released each year, and invites researchers and educators to propose nutrient management research and education projects. The proposals undergo a …

California state government as well as academia and non-profit agencies have been allocated a total of $11,938,300 in the USDA spending plan to prevent the introduction or spread of plant pests and diseases that threaten U.S. agriculture and the environment, as well as ensure the availability of a healthy supply of clean plant stock. The appropriations are part of a total …

December is Farm to Food Bank Month Over the years California’s farmers and ranchers have donated more than 200 million pounds to the California Association of Food Banks’ Farm to Family Program. Here is a glimpse of the generosity that has occurs every year. Fowler Packing Company donates each year to the program. To date, they have donated 19,204,399 mandarins …

Agriculture in America remains overwhelmingly populated by family farms. A new report by the USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) shows not only just how dependent America is on family farms, but also how many are independent of government. While farms are often depicted as benefiting from “corporate welfare” as they pursue “factory farming” practices, USDA’s “America’s Diverse Family Farms: 2016 …

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) today announced the availability of up to $3.8 million in funding to support research, education and extension to support organic farmers and ranchers as well as those adopting organic practices for the first time. The grants are funded through the Organic Transitions Program (ORG), administered by NIFA and …

By Debbie Arrington Mushrooms can grow on you. For mushroom farmers and nutritionists, that’s a good thing. According to experts, demand for the tasty fungi keeps, well, mushrooming as consumers discover more varieties to try in different ways. “Mushroom demand keeps growing year after year,” said Bob Murphy, vice president of Premier Mushrooms in Colusa. “It’s challenging to fill orders; …

We live in the age of data. From soil sensors to livestock identification, numbers and the patterns and trends they reveal are central to the way we work, both on the farm and here at the California Department of Food and Agriculture. A lot of the work we do at CDFA happens behind the scenes: food safety inspections, setting traps …

By CDFA Secretary Karen Ross & Bryce Lundberg, Lundberg Family Farms and member of the CA State Board of Food and Agriculture. Over the years more than 200 California farmers and ranchers have contributed more than one-billion pounds of food to the California Association of Food Banks’ Farm to Family Program. This is just a small accounting of the many generous …