Planting Seeds - Food & Farming News from CDFA
  1. CDFA Home
  2. Planting Seeds Blog
  3. Category Archives: Specialty Crops

Category Archives: Specialty Crops

Farm-to-Food Bank Month a time for sharing and caring

November 16, 2015   Karen Ross, Secretary, California Department of Food and Agriculture

More than four-million people in California are food-insecure and need a little help. It just doesn’t seem right to have that many people lacking nourishment in a state that produces such a bounty of healthy food. In recognition of that need, five years ago, the State Board of Food and Agriculture launched an annual program with the California Association of Food …

Read More
Posted in Community-based Food System, Food Access, Nutrition, Specialty Crops, State Board of Food and Agriculture | Tagged , | Leave a comment

From the Growing California video series – Drought Landscaping

August 26, 2015   Office of Public Affairs

The latest segment in the Growing California video series, a partnership with California Grown, is “Drought Landscaping.”

Posted in Climate Change, Drought, Specialty Crops | 1 Comment

Export Training Course Comes to CDFA

February 25, 2015   Office of Public Affairs

This April, CDFA will be jointly hosting CALAGX 2015 – the only comprehensive export training program available to California’s specialty crop growers.  The program provides intensive training to help companies move their products into foreign markets, led by instructors who are experts in the fields of banking/finance, shipping/logistics and sales & marketing. “The CalAgX Training Program assisted our company by …

Read More
Posted in Agricultural Marketing, Specialty Crops, Trade | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

USDA Reopens Chinese Market Access for California Citrus

August 22, 2014   Office of Public Affairs

USDA News Release Washington, D.C. – Aug. 22, 2014 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that California citrus farmers will be able to resume exports to China this season. California citrus exports are valued at $30 million annually. “Resuming trade before the start of the 2014 citrus shipping season is the result of a lot of effort by a …

Read More
Posted in Agricultural Marketing, Specialty Crops, Trade | Tagged | Leave a comment

Want to be happier? Eat your vegetables! – from the Silver Lining Psychology blog

May 27, 2014   Office of Public Affairs

By Patricia Thompson When you were a kid, did your mother urge you to eat your vegetables?  If your home-life was anything like mine, you were presented with a constant array of veggies at dinner time.   Some, like corn and carrots, I wolfed down enthusiastically, while others were consumed under duress (beets, turnips, and brussel sprouts come to mind). …

Read More
Posted in Farmers' Markets, Nutrition, Specialty Crops | Tagged , | 1 Comment

CDFA Press Release – Leading the Way on Specialty Crops: California Garners More Than $19 Million from Federal Block Grant Program

April 17, 2014   Office of Public Affairs

SACRAMENTO, April 17, 2014 – The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced today that California has been allocated $19.76 million in funding for the 2014 Specialty Crop Block Grant Program (SCBGP). The agency awarded approximately $66 million nationwide for projects that help support growers of specialty crops through research, market development, environmental stewardship and more.  The Specialty Crop Block …

Read More
Posted in Agricultural Education, Agricultural Marketing, Environment, Food Safety, Specialty Crops, Trade | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

An American Grown State Dinner – Featuring America’s Cut Flower Industry

February 19, 2014   Office of Public Affairs

From the USDA Blog – Last week, President and Mrs. Obama hosted France’s President, Francois Hollande for a State Dinner on the South Lawn of the White House. State Dinners are a way to celebrate U.S. relations with international friends and allies. Past dinners at the White House during the Obama Administration have hosted visiting heads of state from nations …

Read More
Posted in Agricultural Marketing, Specialty Crops | Tagged , | 1 Comment

State Fair Farm a valued partner in ag education, food bank support

July 17, 2013   Karen Ross, California Agriculture Secretary, and Linda

I was pleased this week to make a return visit to the California State Fair, which is now 160 years old and still going strong as a vibrant destination and showplace for the best that California has to offer. From the very beginning, farming was a major part of the fair, and I am proud to say that this tradition is as robust as ever. …

Read More
Posted in Agricultural Education, Community-based Food System, Food Access, Specialty Crops | Tagged | Leave a comment

Robots to Revolutionize Farming, Ease Labor Woes – From the Associated Press via SF Gate

July 15, 2013   Office of Public Affairs

  http://www.sfgate.com/business/technology/article/Robots-to-revolutionize-farming-ease-labor-woes-4665421.php#photo-4914491 By GOSIA WOZNIACKA and TERENCE CHEA, Associated Press SALINAS, Calif. (AP) — On a windy morning in California’s Salinas Valley, a tractor pulled a wheeled, metal contraption over rows of budding iceberg lettuce plants. Engineers from Silicon Valley tinkered with the software on a laptop to ensure the machine was eliminating the right leafy buds. The engineers were …

Read More
Posted in AG Vision, Agricultural Education, Farm Labor, Specialty Crops, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Growing California video series – “Fun, Food, Festivals”

July 2, 2013   Office of Public Affairs

The next segment in the Growing California video series, a partnership with California Grown, is “Fun, Food, Festivals,” a celebration of California agriculture.

Posted in AG Vision, Agricultural Education, Agricultural Marketing, Growing California, Specialty Crops | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment