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Category Archives: Agricultural Education

CDFA’s Ross urges FFA members to think of the future – from Capital Press

April 26, 2016   Office of Public Affairs

Tim Hearden, Capital Press FRESNO, Calif. — State Food and Agriculture Secretary Karen Ross told 5,000 FFA members here that California’s agriculture-related industries will need their energy and innovations in the challenging years to come. Ross cited water shortages, food safety concerns and global population growth as problems that today’s students in FFA could someday help solve. “Think about how …

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Ag statistics for 2014 show trends for farm sales, exports

January 27, 2016   Office of Public Affairs

In 2014, the most recent year for which a full crop-year report is available, California’s 76,400 farms and ranches received approximately $54 billion for their output. This represents an increase of 5.1 percent over 2013. California is the leading US state in cash farm receipts with combined commodities representing nearly 13 percent of the US total. California’s agricultural abundance includes …

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White House calls for initiative to advance ag research

January 19, 2016   Office of Public Affairs

From the White House blog post “Food and Agriculture for the 21st Century” Summary: The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy is calling for a new commitment to research and education in food and agriculture from all sectors. As the global population continues to grow, increasing to a projected nine billion people by 2050, demand for food and …

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Reindeer name games: Is it Donder or Donner? from the LA Times

December 24, 2015   Office of Public Affairs

By Geoffrey Mohan, The Los Angeles Times Farm agencies are not about to be outdone by U.S. air defense officials when it comes to altering policies to aid Santa and his reindeer. Both the state and federal bureaucracies that control cross-border movement of livestock issued their annual waivers Wednesday so that Santa can visit U.S. and California households without assistance from …

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Rose Parade gives Cal Poly students a head start in promoting California agriculture

December 23, 2015   Karen Ross, Secretary, California Department of Food and Agriculture

One of my favorite traditions as secretary is the Rose Parade on New Year’s Day. Each year I have an opportunity to join our colleagues from California Grown as they certify that a select number of floats are comprised of at least 85 percent flowers and plants grown in California. This year, for the fifth year in a row, we …

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Woodland’s California Ag Museum in an exciting time of transition

November 10, 2015   Jenny Lester Moffitt, CDFA Deputy Secretary

In unassuming warehouse space nestled along I-5 in Woodland, a stone’s throw from the region’s famed rice fields and nut trees, something’s up. Change is afoot. If you’re an aggie, it’s all kind of exciting… What began a few decades ago as a place to put Fred Heidrick Senior’s remarkable tractor collection has now grown into a full-fledged 501 c(3) …

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National Manufacturing Month – Recognizing where the harvest leads

October 14, 2015   Karen Ross, Secretary, California Department of Food and Agriculture

For a lot of our farmers here in California, this is about the time of year when we stand back with pride and a little relief that the harvest is done. There is always plenty more work to be done, but for anyone who has taken part in that annual ritual, it’s a great feeling. It’s an achievement, a milestone, …

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Food Safe Families with Oakland school children, the USDA and a ‘Big League Foodie’

September 23, 2015   Karen Ross, Secretary, California Department of Food and Agriculture

I spent an energizing afternoon at Parker Elementary School in Oakland this week, where students took full advantage of a presentation about how to handle, prepare and store food safely and help protect their families from food poisoning. USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service Administrator Al Almanza and I shared the stage with Oakland Athletics rookie Mark Canha, a self-described foodie who …

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California agriculture: it’s worth the water – Op-ed co-authored by Secretary Ross in the LA Times

June 2, 2015   Office of Public Affairs

By Karen Ross and Daniel Sumner Pundits here in drought-stricken California have become fond of proclaiming that farms consume 80% of the state’s water and generate only about 2% of its gross domestic product. “Why devote so much of our water to an industry that contributes so little fuel to our economic engine?” they ask. Both of those figures are …

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Posted in AG Vision, Agricultural Education, Drought, Environment, Trade, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Secretary Ross Delivers Commencement Address at UC Berkeley College of Natural Resources

May 22, 2015   Karen Ross, California Agriculture Secretary, and Linda

California Agriculture Secretary Karen Ross was honored to deliver the commencement address for the UC Berkeley College of Natural Resources on May 16, 2015. Her remarks: Dean, faculty members and staff, families, and—of course—students and graduates.  What a great night for a college graduation.  Congratulations to you for your achievement! You will leave here tonight holding a degree from one …

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