Author Archives: Office of Public Affairs

By Karen Ross, SecretaryCalifornia Department of Food and Agriculture One thing I’ve learned in more than a decade as California Agriculture Secretary is that the work we do at CDFA is personal. So many tasks in the modern workplace focus on computer screens and mobile devices – but at CDFA, the core of our work is still person-to-person and often …

California State Veterinarian Dr. Annette Jones has granted a 24-hour permit for nine reindeer scheduled to visit California on the evening of December 24 and in the early morning hours of December 25. The application was filed with Animal Health Branch staff by a rotund, jolly man with a red suit, white beard, and a pocketful of candy canes. The …

As the holiday season continues, CDFA is asking for help from Californians in fruit fly quarantine zones — rather than moving homegrown fruits and vegetables from their property, please enjoy the produce with friends and family at home. There are presently fruit fly quarantines in seven California counties: Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura, Contra Costa, Santa Clara and Sacramento. …

Taken from a USDA news release The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is using emergency funding to respond to threats associated with growing outbreaks of exotic fruit flies in California. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack approved the transfer of $213.3 million from the Commodity Credit Corporation to APHIS to directly support emergency response efforts domestically and …

By CDFA Secretary Karen Ross I am grateful to have had the opportunity to attend COP28 –the UN’s annual conference on climate change — last week in Dubai. It was my third COP, and I noticed that the conversations with our partners on collaboration seemed deeper and more meaningful this time around, like we are building on previous steps. We …

Today is National Poinsettia Day! As shown in the accompanying graphic, California leads the nation in poinsettia production. There’s a grower in the Central Valley that supplies tens of thousands of poinsettias each year. CDFA visited Duarte Nursery in Hughson, Stanislaus County to learn more about the operation.

From the Food Tank web site During a recent session at the U.N. Climate Change Conference (COP28 in Dubai), CDFA secretary Karen Ross discussed the ways the climate crisis is affecting the state’s farmers and opportunities to overcome these challenges. The conversation was organized by Food Tank in partnership with the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), Producers Trust, …

Culminating Healthy Soils Week 2023, a hearing on soil biodiversity was held today at the State Capitol in association with the Assembly Committee on Agriculture and the Senate Natural Resources Committee. The hearing focused on CDFA’s recently released report: Soil Biodiversity in California Agriculture: Framework and Indicators for Soil Health Assessment. CDFA Deputy Secretary for Legislative Affairs Rachael O’Brien moderated …

By CDFA Secretary Karen Ross I am pleased to be part of the California delegation in Dubai this week at COP28, the United Nations conference on climate change. CDFA Deputy Secretary for Climate and Working Lands Virginia Jameson is traveling with me. The nations of the world are working together to both adapt and try to keep the average global temperature within 1.5 …

CDFA Secretary Karen Ross and Doug McKalip, Chief Agricultural Negotiator in the Office of the United States Trade Representative, had an opportunity to meet with participants at this year’s annual Almond Conference, taking place in Sacramento at the SAFE Credit Union Convention Center. The three-day event is significant for California’s almond growers, researchers, and industry professionals as they look to …