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By Valley Ag Voice Staff
The California Farm Bureau boasted a series of recognitions to local agricultural industry leaders spanning Kern County to Stanislaus. Every year, the CFB highlights members from each county who continuously show their commitment to agriculture and the betterment of their local industry.
The 2023 awards were exchanged at the 105th California Farm Bureau Annual Meeting...
By Natalie Willis, Reporter, Valley Ag Voice
As the new year approaches, several finalized actions determined by Governor Gavin Newsom will go into effect in Jan. 2024 or later relating to water, pesticides, labor, and climate change.
WATER
By Jan. 1, Assembly Bill 779 will go into effect, making procedural changes to the groundwater adjudication process. The bill introduced by Democratic...
By Natalie Willis, Reporter, Valley Ag Voice
With huanglongbing disease carried by Asian citrus psyllids becoming increasingly prominent throughout Southern California, the state’s citrus industry faces another potential threat from the Queensland fruit fly.
Two Queensland fruit flies were detected near Thousand Oaks, leading to a first-of-its-kind quarantine in the United States, covering 90 square miles. According to Hamutahl Cohen, the...
By Natalie Willis, Reporter, Valley Ag Voice
“This is an exciting day,” was echoed by various Bakersfield College faculty, staff, and students at the groundbreaking ceremony of the college’s new Agricultural Sciences Building.
The ceremony was held on BC’s main campus on Nov. 30, and according to the Associate Vice President of Instruction and Dean of Agriculture at BC, Jessica Wojtysiak,...
By Natalie Willis, Reporter, Valley Ag Voice
The California Department of Pesticide Regulation proposed a regulation to notify the public prior to applications of restricted material pesticides a month after requesting that a Bakersfield pilot be barred from application.
In Sept., DPR responded to complaints of various illegal drift incidents which “harmed at least one person and damaged property.” DPR went...
By Valley Ag Voice Staff
Bakersfield College is hosting a groundbreaking ceremony for the new Agriculture Sciences Building on Thursday, Nov. 30, at 8:30 a.m. on its main campus. The groundbreaking takes place days after BC Delano celebrated the grand opening of its Regenerative Agriculture Education Center on Nov. 14, ushering in a series of opportunities for agriculture students.
The...
By Natalie Willis, Reporter, Valley Ag Voice
As labor costs continue to increase, agriculture is moving toward a technical future. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service, labor expenses are expected to increase more than 4% in 2023.
For every $100 spent on production, almost $10 goes toward labor, including contract and hired labor payments, the report...
By Scott Hamilton, President, Hamilton Resource Economics
Farmers’ water rights have been under attack for decades now. The list of acronyms is daunting: CVPIA, SJRRP, Bay-Delta Accord, D-1641, 2008 BiOps, ITP, VAMP, and the list goes on. Each one of these acronyms represents a major regulatory decision that costs farmers in the San Joaquin Valley hundreds of thousands of acre-feet...
By Audrey Hill, Feature Contributor, Valley Ag Voice
Agriculture is changing for California and the Central Valley. All scientific evidence points to rising temperatures and more extreme weather patterns with worsening effects as the years progress. But rather than see a doomed future, some have found great opportunity and are being rewarded for it.
Agave has grown as a commercial good...
By Jenny Holtermann, President, Kern County Farm Bureau
We are in the season of giving and holiday cheer. However, the farming industry isn’t quite full of hopes and blessings this year, as we are experiencing some of the lowest commodity prices in decades. With inputs higher than our return, it doesn’t seem like the time to celebrate, and as the...
By Rachel Nettleton, Executive Director, Kern County Farm Bureau
With the new year approaching, it’s remarkable to reflect on how fast the first five months have passed since assuming the position of Executive Director at the Kern County Farm Bureau. Since July, KCFB has successfully organized two events — “Save Water, Drink Beer” and the “Bounty of Kern County.”...
By Timothy Collins, Chair, Kern County Young Farmers and Ranchers
I have been honored to chair the Kern County Young Farmers & Ranchers over the past two years, and I am both sad and excited for this time to come to an end. Sad because I have thoroughly enjoyed this time and it feels like it has gone by so...
By Austin Snedden, Ranching Contributor, Valley Ag Voice
I was recently at a meeting where a panel of genetic lab vendors were touting the value of gene editing to achieve traits that could be accomplished through traditional breeding. Those of us who were skeptical about this technology were labeled as antiquated if we did not embrace advancement. As more and...
Press release provided by AgWest Farm Credit
Tulare, California – Arvin High School, located in the heart of California’s Central Valley, serves a community and students deeply rooted in agriculture and other related industries. Arvin High School’s thriving FFA chapter is an important program offered to students and provides many opportunities to learn more about agriculture and employment opportunities in...
Planting the Seeds of Success
By Nutrien Ag Solutions
SEEDS OF INNOVATION
Are you a farmer in the Southwest, particularly in California and Arizona, looking for top-quality silage options? Look no further than Nutrien Ag Solutions. We offer a range of corn hybrid options from leading seed brands designed to meet your specific needs and optimize your agricultural productivity.
Our proprietary Dyna-Gro® Seed...
Press release provided by the California Fresh Fruit Association
(Fresno, CA) – Today, Wayde Kirschenman, the Chairman of the California Fresh Fruit Association (CFFA) Board of Directors announced that Daniel Hartwig has been selected to serve as the Association’s new president. Hartwig will succeed Ian LeMay, who has held the position since 2019 and will depart CFFA to assume the...
Press release provided by the Water Association of Kern County
BAKERSFIELD, CA – The Water Association of Kern County proudly presented its Water Leader of the Year and Water Legacy Awards last Wednesday, November 8th, at its 2023 WAKC Annual Meeting held at Stockdale Country Club.
Board members and guests gathered for the 67th Annual Meeting and were excited to come...
By Natalie Willis, Reporter, Valley Ag Voice
In partnership, the Kearney Agriculture Research and Extension Center and the Community Alliance with Family Farmers hosted a Small Farm Tech Demo day in Fresno. Hundreds of growers and industry researchers in the Central Valley attended the event to view demonstrations of the latest agriculture technologies with a specialized focus on small-scale farms.
According...
By Christine Souza, Assistant Editor, Ag Alert
Reprinted with permission from the California Farm Bureau Federation
The historically wet winter early this year motivated greater adoption of a water management strategy known as flood-managed aquifer recharge, or flood-MAR, in which excess flood flows are diverted onto farmland to boost depleted groundwater aquifers.
“We knew from the previous year, even in intense drought...
Press release provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture
Agriculture Deputy Secretary Torres Small today announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is initiating a new effort to further support the U.S. specialty crops sector and increase the competitiveness of its products as part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to build new, more and better markets that catalyze opportunity...
By Caleb Hampton, Assistant Editor, Ag Alert
Reprinted with permission from the California Farm Bureau Federation
After decades of discussions and delays, a major new reservoir in Northern California is close to becoming reality.
Last week, Gov. Gavin Newsom certified the Sites Reservoir project to be fast-tracked for construction, exercising for the first time his power under a new state law to...
By Zippy Duvall, President, American Farm Bureau Federation
Reprinted with permission from the California Farm Bureau Federation
There is a quiet battle being waged to ensure the high-quality food and fuel produced by U.S. farmers and ranchers reach eager consumers around the world. From nonscientific trade barriers to market prices and even constant changing trade agreements, it seems new challenges are...
By Natalie Willis, Reporter, Valley Ag Voice
In 2021, Grimmway and Bolthouse Farms jointly filed a groundwater adjudication in the Cuyama Basin, sparking backlash from local landowners and resulting in a carrot boycott. Both entities dropped from the adjudication, leaving four separate entities as the plaintiffs — Bolthouse Land Company, Diamond Farming Company, Lapis Land Company, and Ruby Land Company.
In...
By Natalie Willis, Reporter, Valley Ag Voice
With dairy at the forefront of the Central Valley’s top commodities, the regulations dairy producers and processors face are underscored by California’s growing efforts to combat climate change. One effort, pushed by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, sponsored a billboard in Tulare County — the nation’s top dairy-producing county.
“Ditch Dairy to Fight...
Natalie Willis, Reporter, Valley Ag Voice
POM Wonderful’s liquid pomegranate extract, POMxL, received an Upcycled Certification through the world’s first third-party certification program for upcycled food ingredients and products.
According to Jason Horvath, sales manager for POM Wonderful Specialty Ingredients, upcycled foods use ingredients that would not have originally gone to human consumption, effectively reducing waste.
“As an agriculture company, sustainability is...
Article provided by FormForce
Maintaining HR and safety compliance is non-negotiable in today's fast-paced business environment. Regulations change, audits loom, and the safety of employees remains paramount. One often underestimated but essential aspect of compliance is document version control. Keeping track of previous versions of critical documents is a regulatory requirement and a practice that can save companies from legal...
