Monthly Archives: December 2018

By Andy Fell Plant biologists at the University of California, Davis, have discovered a way to make crop plants replicate through seeds as clones. The discovery, long sought by plant breeders and geneticists, could make it easier to propagate high-yielding, disease-resistant or climate-tolerant crops and make them available to the world’s farmers.  The researchers published their findings Dec. 12 in the …

From Morning Ag Clips The results are in for World Ag Expo’s® Top-10 New Products Competition. The winners will be showcased February 12-14, 2019, during the World Ag Expo® in Tulare, California. A large and impressive field of cutting-edge, cost-saving, and resource-managing products were submitted for the contest by exhibitors of the largest annual agricultural show of its kind. The …

By CDFA Secretary Karen Ross Wherever you will be this week and next, my wish for all of you is that you’ll be with family.  While my husband, Barry, and I won’t be with family in the Midwest, we will be with our “family of friends” here in Sacramento.  For many of us, this time of year brings back a …

As part of the 2018 State Employees Food Drive and the continued spirit of giving, a team from CDFA’s Division of Inspection Services volunteered at the Sacramento Food Bank and Family Services on December 20. The group helped with bagging fresh produce and sorting non-perishable food items. CDFA chairs the annual Food Drive, which is showing strong momentum as it …

California State Veterinarian Dr. Annette Jones has granted a 24-hour permit clearing all brand inspection and health requirements for nine reindeer scheduled to visit California on the evening of December 24 and in the early morning hours of December 25. The permit application was filed in person by a rotund, jolly man with a red suit, a white beard, and …

Corn is one of the world’s most important crops. We don’t just pop it and munch it on the cob; corn can be turned into flour and syrup, it is fed to livestock, it is transformed into ethanol and it can even be used to make plastic. Between 2016 and 2017, about a billion tons of corn were produced around the globe, and corn yields …

The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has a new web site to provide people with important information about which agricultural items are safe to enter the United States – and which ones are best left behind this holiday season. This helps protect the health of our country’s plants, animals and natural resources, ensuring many happy holidays to come. …

From Morning Ag Clips   If you’re cooking for friends and family this holiday season, it’s important to make sure you’re not spreading bacteria that can cause harmful foodborne illnesses. A recent study by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) and North Carolina State University found that Americans are practicing some disturbing food handling behaviors when …

A new video PSA from Visit California features Governor Brown, Governor-elect Newsom, and a number of celebrities expressing their concern for victims of the recent wildfires in northern and southern California and encouraging viewers to donate what they can to the Red Cross.