“Once again, DPR is sitting on bad news instead of telling the people breathing this air,” said Angel Garcia, co-director of the statewide coalition Californians for Pesticide Reform. “The Department loves a press release when a number goes down. When a number blows past their own safety trigger, they bury it in a spreadsheet and hope nobody notices. That’s not regulation — that’s public relations for the pesticide industry.”

DPR’s Air Monitoring Network tracks 1,3-D at six sites across the state. Four of the six monitored communities saw annual average levels rise in 2025 over the prior year:

• Parlier (Fresno County): 0.16 ppb → 0.35 ppb (59% → 131% of the action level)
• Delhi (Merced County): 0.11 ppb → 0.16 ppb (40% → 58% of the action level)
• Santa Maria (Santa Barbara County): 0.04 ppb → 0.07 ppb (15% → 25% of the action level)
• Watsonville (Santa Cruz County): 0.03 ppb → 0.07 ppb (10% → 28% of the action level)

1,3-D is classified by the state of California as a human carcinogen and Toxic Air Contaminant. DPR established the 0.27ppb annual action level specifically as an early-warning threshold — a level meant to trigger review and consideration of mitigation. Parlier residents, especially those near the monitoring site, were breathing air that exceeds that line, in a community already overburdened by agricultural chemical exposure.

Concerns are compounded by the fact that DPR’s trigger for review of 0.27 ppb is almost 7 times higher than the 1,3-D Cancer No Significant Risk Level (NSRL) set by OEHHA, which is equivalent to 0.04 ppb. Annual and longer-term air levels at some of these monitoring sites exceed the NSRL many times over.

Under its own regulatory framework, DPR is required to follow up when the action level is exceeded. As of this release, DPR has not issued any public statement or press release about the Parlier exceedance, nor disclosed what, if any, follow-up review or mitigation steps are underway. DPR has also failed to notify residents, schools, or local health officials in the affected community.

“DPR needs to take a hard look at why air levels rose at more than half of their air monitoring sites after new regulations were put in place,” said Anne Katten with California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation.

The Californians for Pesticide Reform coalition is calling on DPR to:

1. Disclose what mitigation measures, if any, are being considered or implemented
2. Immediately and publicly notify Parlier residents, the local school district, and county health officials of the exceedance
3. Commit to real-time, proactive public notification whenever any Air Monitoring Network site exceeds a DPR action level — not passive posting of raw data
4. Explain why four of six monitoring sites saw 1,3-D levels rise in 2025, and evaluate whether the current regulations and action level are adequate to protect public health.

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As California’s wolf population has grown to 12 packs throughout the state, livestock producers throughout California have experienced increasing losses from wolf depredation. In the first three months of 2026, there were already 26 confirmed livestock deaths attributed to wolves. That comes on heels of the 196 confirmed attacks in 2025 – a record for California.

For ranchers, the impact extends beyond the loss of an individual animal. Wolf depredation can disrupt herd reproduction, lower weight gain, and increase stress on the animal and the rancher who is fighting to protect their livestock. Due to the gray wolf’s protected status under state and federal law, management of the species is very restrictive.

“This grant wouldn’t be possible without the Department of Fish and Wildlife, California Cattlemen’s Association and others,” said Shannon Douglass, President of California Farm Bureau. “While not a solution to the conflict, the Wolf Livestock Compensation Program is one avenue that helps ranchers deal with loss. Until we have more options to deter wolves, we will keep seeing more attacks on livestock. I appreciate Director Hertel’s leadership and CDFW for providing more tools to ranchers.”

“CDFW deeply values its partners and looks forward to continued collaboration with these organizations to help reduce wolf-livestock conflicts, support California’s livestock producers, and manage the recovery of wolves in California.” said CDFW Meghan Hertel. “We have heard clearly from ranchers how hard the return of wolves has been on their livelihoods— not just financially, but in the day-to-day toll of managing this change.”

Eligibility will continue to be determined by CDFW in accordance with the Wolf Livestock Compensation Program (WLCP). The majority of the $1.1 million grant consists of funding to provide direct loss compensation to ranchers consistent with prong 1, and opportunities for county support for implementation of the WLCP.

Beyond financial assistance, California Farm Bureau will continue to provide education, outreach and equipment to help farmers and ranchers respond to the return of wolves and build long-term resilience in their operations. Sierra Valley Resource Conservation District, Honey Lake Resource Conservation District, and Working Circle also received grants to provide technical assistance, outreach, and training to affected ranchers.

California Farm Bureau works to protect family farms and ranches as part of a nationwide network representing more than 5 million Farm Bureau members. Learn more at www.cfbf.com or follow @cafarmbureau on Instagram, LinkedIn, X or Facebook.

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Industry analysis shows meat sales hit $112 billion in 2025, with more than 98% of American households purchasing meat for daily meals. USDA is forecasting consumption of beef, pork and chicken to rise in 2026.

“Beef remains the centerpiece of many cookouts, but record-high prices and historically tight cattle inventories continue to challenge both consumers and producers,” the Market Intel states. “Pork offers relative value and stability, supported by efficient production and strong export markets, even as producers navigate ongoing disease risks. Meanwhile, chicken stands out as the most accessible option, with steady production growth and modest prices helping it maintain its place as America’s most-consumed protein.”

USDA reports the average retail price for beef set a record in April at $9.64 per pound, up about 13% from the previous year. Beef prices remain elevated by strong demand and the smallest U.S. cattle herd in 75 years. This is a result of years of drought, reduced income following the pandemic and elevated operating costs that have led farmers to liquidate their herds.

The average price of pork increased 2.3% from April 2025 to April 2026. Pork chops are the most popular cut. The average retail price for pork chops in U.S. cities was $4.33 per pound in April 2026, up 9 cents per pound from the same time last year. Prices reflect a balanced supply of hogs and growing consumer demand.

For chicken, USDA estimates about 42.2 billion pounds of chicken will be purchased in 2026, up 46 million pounds from 2025. The overall price of chicken fell in April by 0.7% compared to April 2025. Boneless chicken breasts in U.S. cities cost an average of $4.17 per pound in April, down a penny from the same time last year. Poultry flocks continue to recover from avian influenza, which has helped to control price increases.

American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall said, “Home-grown meat continues to be a staple for America’s families. Despite higher prices at the grocery store, families trust America’s farmers and ranchers to grow the food that is put on the grill and on dinner tables across the country. We urge the administration and Congress to prioritize ranchers as they rebuild herds so they can continue to meet the needs of the nation’s families.”

For shoppers looking to save money, retailers and grocery stores generally increase promotional sales and specials as holidays draw closer.

While this is a snapshot of current meat prices, the American Farm Bureau Federation conducts annual surveys of the average cost of a full Thanksgiving dinner and a 4^th of July cookout. The 4^th of July marketbasket survey will be released on June 26, 2026.

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In response, Allison Febbo, General Manager of Westlands Water District, issued the following statement:

“This allocation update is disappointing. While we appreciate the Bureau’s ongoing effort to update allocations as conditions evolve, and recognize the significant operational constraints involved in balancing reservoir management, temperature requirements for fish, and the many competing demands placed on the Central Valley Project (CVP), this allocation update falls short of our growers’ water needs.

This year’s conditions underscore the continued strain on our water system. Early precipitation and full reservoirs met a record hot March, leading to an extraordinarily low snowpack. This kind of weather whiplash between wet and dry conditions has become all too familiar but demonstrates the urgent need to reprioritize our water management policies to fix an outdated and broken system.

The CVP was designed to support water supply both north and south of the Delta through reservoir operations and, particularly for south of Delta agricultural allocations, through the diversion of excess flows in the winter and spring. Instead, lack of flexibility at our reservoirs combined with constraints on capturing surplus water during high-flow conditions has produced a system that is not fully delivering on its intended purpose.

This situation is exactly why we urge the Trump Administration to continue progress implementing Executive Order 14181 and move forward on Initiative 6. We need increased investment in storage and conveyance infrastructure, along with meaningful regulatory flexibility that prioritizes the needs of Californians, including our Central Valley communities. Without it, our water system will continue to fall short for the people and the purpose it was built to serve.”

Westlands continues to work closely with the Bureau of Reclamation, federal leadership, and policymakers to develop new methods and tools that will secure increased allocations and improve operational flexibility in the future.

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“It was like a pioneer thing, because nobody was doing it,” Sparks said.

She took up the mantle after her father died 14 years ago. A lot has changed: In addition to Winters Joint Unified, she also provides oranges to the Davis Joint Unified and Fairfield-Suisun Unified school districts, shipping around 50,000 pounds of her citrus from January to March.

Now a bigger change—one that extends beyond her own farm—has begun to bear fruit as well.

“Many of my peers here are selling their food to school districts, where 10 years ago that wasn’t happening,” Sparks said.California Bountiful

During the past few years, efforts such as California’s Universal Meals Program have offered funding to improve access and quality of food served to students. And last year, state legislators passed a law requiring schools to phase out certain ultraprocessed foods from school meals. That includes foods with high levels of sugar, sodium and saturated fats, as well as additives such as thickeners and non-nutritive sweeteners.

Some school districts started the transition before the law was passed. Among them is Western Placer Unified, where the district’s food service director, Christina Lawson, said they started making changes with the help of the nonprofit Eat Real in 2023. She said working with local farmers has been a big part of the transition, especially in helping change the “mystery meat” narrative sometimes associated with school cafeteria food.

“This isn’t some random thing that came out of a box that somehow is ending up on your kid’s tray,” Lawson said. “We really want our community to know how much effort and work that we’re putting into sourcing the food for our students.”

Mattea Kelly, director of marketing for Eat Real, said a transition away from processed foods can often encourage partnerships with local farmers.

“Sometimes the best pathway isn’t just going through and trying to remove the ingredients, but it’s just bringing in whole foods, right?” Kelly said. “Helping these districts to source from more local farmers can sometimes be one of the lightest pathways to be able to do that, because you don’t have to remove an ingredient if it never had it.”

Some school districts begin those partnerships by working with food hubs that distribute regional produce from farmers in their network.

San Diego County grower Andrew Dickinson runs Dickinson Family Farms, which also operates as a hub that packs and ships produce to customers. At his own farm, he grows mostly tree crops such as avocados and passion fruit.

He said he started working with school districts in 2023. Now, about half the produce distributed by his hub goes to schools.

As he’s provided more fresh produce to schools, he’s seen the impact. Dickinson said one school district serving frozen blueberries to students began offering fresh blueberries after partnering with the hub. Since then, he said the district’s blueberry order has increased as students demand more of the fruit.

“That’s when I really feel like we’ve won a great victory in terms of having the kids anticipate it before it even gets there,” he said.

In another district, Dickinson said he got a request to send carrots with the tops still attached so that students could better understand where the food was coming from.

“It might look a little different than what you see on the grocery store shelf, but that doesn’t mean that it’s bad food,” Dickinson said. “A carrot with the top on it looks different, but it tastes incredible because it came right out of the ground.”

There’s also a benefit for the farmers supplying school districts. Dickson said schools have a dedicated population that needs food daily, making them reliable customers that add some consistency to his schedule.

Eric Walker, co-owner of Farmboy Organics in Solano and Yolo counties, said this consistency encouraged his farm’s budding relationship with the Vacaville Unified School District. He said they’re still nailing down the details, but his farm will likely begin supplying the district with produce starting this fall.

While about 75% of Farmboy Organics’ sales come from farmers markets, Walker said he’s working to scale up his farm to grow more produce. But that requires reliable customers to take what’s grown. He said a school district, especially one prioritizing local food, is a good candidate because they’ll buy large quantities.

“It allows us to expand the farm and build it sustainably without having to run 10 different directions to find outlets taking small amounts,” Walker said.

However, school district staff said transforming student meals can be tricky. Michael Jochner, student nutrition director at Morgan Hill Unified, said they often must balance improving food quality with staying on budget.

That means making strategic choices. For example, he said rather than selling a less expensive but more processed burger throughout the month, he might decide to offer a more healthful burger loaded with local ingredients less frequently.

“Then we pair that burger, or we pair that more expensive item, with a vegetarian dish or something that doesn’t necessarily cost as much as the burger patty,” he said.

When working with farmers, Jochner said fresh produce is not the only benefit. He said he tries to bring farmers to the district’s elementary schools monthly to talk to students about the produce they’re supplying that month.

Dickinson said he makes similar efforts with districts he works with—planning classroom visits and disseminating flyers that help students better understand their food and where it comes from. On a flyer about kumquats, for example, he describes the fruit as “sour candy” and tells students how to eat it.

“We feel like this farm-to-school project with the schools is a great way to train students to be aware and to support a local agricultural community by knowing their seasons,” Dickinson said.

Sparks said it’s the relationship with students that’s fueled her passion for working with schools. After years of delivering oranges to schools, she said students in Winters sometimes recognize her as “the orange lady.”

“They’re all happy to see me,” she said. “They know it’s coming fresh from my orchard to their plate, and they love it.”

Manola Secaira is a staff writer for Ag Alert. She can be reached at msecaira@cfbf.com.

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“We always look forward to welcoming the community to the California Antique Farm Equipment Show,” said Wally Roeben, International Agri-Center Show Operations Manager. “With so much to see and do, it’s a great opportunity for families to come out and enjoy.”

The show kicks off Friday, April 17 at the International Agri-Center® showgrounds in Tulare, CA. The event features a wide variety of attractions, including antique tractors, trucks, and equipment displays, barrel races, tractor pulls, a swap meet, food vendors, and more. The Local Loop Vendor Market, by It’s a Neighborhood Thing, will feature a variety of local vendors inside Building C.

Family-friendly activities will take place throughout the weekend, including tractor rides, a petting zoo, a pedal pull competition, and the always-popular tractor parade. The parade will roll down Median Street at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday.

Saturday evening will feature a steak dinner accompanied by live music from the Josh Day Band. Social hour begins at 5:00 p.m., followed by dinner at 6:00 p.m. in the Farm Credit Dairy and Livestock Center. Tickets are $35 per person and can be purchased by calling (559) 688-1030.

For a full schedule of events and attractions, please visit antiquefarmshow.org.

Show hours are Friday, April 17th, 12:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m., and Saturday, April 18th, 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Tickets will be available at the gate each day for $10, or $20 for a weekend pass. Children 12 and under are free.

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Jim Morehead is a lifelong member of the San Joaquin Valley agricultural community and a second‑generation California farmer whose roots run deep in Pixley, California. His family came to California shortly after World War II, relocating from the Texas Panhandle to begin farming in the fertile San Joaquin Valley.

Raised in Pixley, Jim has spent more than 72 years in the community alongside his wife, Betty, where they raised their family, having two boys, Jason and Justin, and established multigenerational ties to the region.

Jim graduated from Fresno State University in 1976 with a bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Business, a foundation that helped guide his lifelong career in farming and community leadership. He farmed cotton, corn, wheat, milo and alfalfa with his father, Vaughn, and brother David through the late 1980s. Jim continued the family business on his own beginning in 1990 and began transitioning out of field crops and into almond production in the late 1990s. Today, he continues that legacy, farming alongside his son, Jason, as part of a proud multi generational family farming operation.

Beyond agriculture, Jim has devoted decades to serving and giving back to his community. He served 20 years on the Board of the Pixley Unified School District, helping guide educational priorities and community development. For 25 years, he has been active with The Pixley Foundation—supporting efforts such as the local library, food pantry, and internet connectivity to strengthen community resources. Jim also served 45 years on the board of the Pixley United Brethren Church and as President of Pixley-Tipton Youth Baseball while his boys were growing up.

Within the agricultural sector, Jim has held numerous board, leadership, and volunteer roles that reflect his expertise and commitment to advancing farming in California and Tulare County. His service includes:

• World Ag Expo Orange Jacket Volunteer – Finance Committee
• Tri City Growers Cotton Cooperative – Board Member
• California Cotton Alliance – Board Member
• Central Valley Almond Association – Current Board Member
• Pixley Irrigation District – Groundwater Sustainability Agency – Current Committee Member

Jim takes great pride in living in the community where he works and providing jobs to those in the area. Jim and Betty’s two sons, their wives, and eleven grandchildren all reside in the San Joaquin Valley.

The post Kiwanis Club of Tulare Announces 2026 Farmer of the Year appeared first on Valley Voice.

This year we’re beginning with a 15% water allocation, which is pretty low, driven by weather complicating operations. We hope the allocation will continue to climb, but there’s no assurance. So, we have to kind of blindly plan out how our spring will completely look when we’re finished.

The uncertainty of water supply causes some concern because we’re starting low. Even though these recent rains are helpful, they haven’t changed the modeling or produced a more robust allocation.

That puts in jeopardy going forward how much we can farm. It’s not just surface water delivery that’s lighter. We also have groundwater management. Those two together can cap our supplies without any sense that the number will go higher.

Cannery tomatoes are somewhat in surplus, so marketing and pricing may be challenging. We’re hoping it’s on the higher side. We also grow garbanzos, but we’re not growing any this year because that market is in surplus. We grow some pima cotton; that is also in surplus. When I say surplus, it may be more lack of demand. Pima has been dramatically lower than it has been in the past. I think turmoil has a lot to do with that. We hope trade deals get done so markets can find firm footing.

January was a dry period going into the first part of February, and then it got wet. The challenge is that a lighter hydrological year also caused delays in getting our ground prepped. We’re now finally able to get ground worked out. But again, we’re not sure where our allocation goes, so we’re not pushing too fast yet until we know more.

The post From the Fields: Dan Errotabere, Fresno County farmer appeared first on Valley Voice.

The report details another year of high agricultural production, where farmers produced more than 50 high-quality crops using some of the most advanced water-efficient practices in the world. From almonds, pistachios, and tomatoes to lettuce, garlic, onions, and melons, District farms supply grocery stores, food processors, and restaurants year-round.

Facing an unreliable water supply year over year, Westlands growers continue to lead in conservation and efficiency. Advanced irrigation systems, soil moisture monitoring, and precision agriculture technologies allow farmers to maximize every acre-foot of water delivered.

Some interesting trends include:

• Agave nearly doubled from 2024 to 2025 as farmers explore the highly versatile and drought resistant crop that produces syrup and spirits like tequila and mezcal.
• Basil, broccoli, cherries, grapefruit, and hemp increased while wine grapes, tangerines, pistachios, and peaches all saw slight declines
• Over 242,000 acres of land was fallowed in 2025 as a result of our unreliable water supply

“Water reliability directly translates to food reliability,” said Allison Febbo, General Manager of Westlands Water District. “When Westlands growers have access to essential water supplies delivered through the CVP that power agriculture, they produce the fruits, vegetables, and nuts Americans depend on every day. Agriculture in our District supports thousands of families, small businesses, and essential public services, while also providing the nutritious food that helps keep communities healthy.”

A recent report found the District’s supported agriculture generated $3.6 billion in total economic activity and supported nearly 28,000 jobs from data in 2022, reinforcing agriculture’s position as a cornerstone of the San Joaquin Valley economy. Westlands growers produce 3.3% of the nation’s fruit and nut crops and 2.8% of the nation’s vegetables and melons.

Beyond the fields, Westlands agriculture supports a broad economic ecosystem that includes food processing, transportation, equipment manufacturing, and agricultural services.

Our new 2025 Crop Report fact sheet is available here.

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