Monthly Archives: November 2018

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued updated draft guidance for industry with respect to “Standards for the Growing, Harvesting, Packing, and Holding of Produce for Human Consumption.”  The purpose of the guidance, or guidelines, is to help produce farms understand what they must do to comply with the requirements of the Produce Safety Rule under the Food …

CDFA has issued draft regulations for industrial hemp cultivation in California and is accepting public comments through December 24. After comments are considered CDFA will move to finalize the regulations and anticipates that county agricultural commissioners will begin accepting applications and issuing the first licenses for commercial production in 2019. Currently industrial hemp production is permitted in California only in …

By Todd Fichette For the second time in several years eradication of a vicious agricultural pest was achieved in the United States (and California) as the cotton industry hails elimination of the pink bollworm, a destructive pest that threatened to wipe out the U.S. cotton industry. This is particularly noteworthy for California as officials successfully eradicated the European grapevine moth …

CDFA and the USDA continue with their efforts to eradicate an outbreak of virulent Newcastle disease in Southern California – in Riverside, San Bernardino and Los Angeles counties. Here are some important reminders in English and Spanish.

By Todd Fichette California agricultural commissioners now have the regulatory “teeth” they sought to enforce bee registration each year – something they long complained was needed to protect the pollinators. Pest control advisors at the recent annual meeting of the California Association of Pest Control Advisors (CAPCA) were the first to publicly hear about the 18-month effort to force compliance …

The PBS program “Valley’s Gold” recently welcomed CDFA Secretary Karen Ross to discuss the agency’s many roles in facilitating farming and ranching, as well as its positive impacts on the daily lives of Californians. She is followed in the program by one of the leaders in agricultural advocacy in California, George Soares; California Farm Bureau Federation president Jamie Johansson; and …