Blake Wilbur, whose family has farmed in Tulare County for four generations, grew up hearing stories of his grandfather’s artesian wells, the water bubbling to the surface without being pumped and irrigating the family’s cotton, wheat and barley. “It almost sounds mythical at this point,” said Wilbur, who runs a dairy and grows almonds, pistachios […]
Scores of farmworkers stayed home last week amid an immigration enforcement operation conducted in Kern County by U.S. Border Patrol. Immigration experts said it was the largest operation by an immigration enforcement agency in the Central Valley in years. The operation was carried out by Border Patrol’s El Centro sector, which is based in the […]
Despite economic challenges for those in the almond business, the Almond Board of California painted an optimistic outlook for the industry, emphasizing the organization’s ongoing efforts to build demand for the nut by easing trade barriers and making new strides in marketing, innovation and research. In a presentation about the state of the industry during […]
The results are in for World Ag Expo’s® 2025 Top-10 New Products Contest. The winners will be showcased February 11-13, 2025 during the World Ag Expo® in Tulare, California. The impressive field of new products was submitted by exhibitors, showcasing innovations ranging from simple solutions to advanced technologies. The competition was evaluated by a panel […]
Ten years into the state’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, or SGMA, local agencies are implementing plans and projects to achieve long-term sustainability in aquifers by limiting overdraft, land subsidence and impacts to drinking water. Navigating SGMA challenges, including the probation process under the California State Water Resources Control Board and how to fund and implement […]
Applications are now open for the “We Believe in Growing” scholarship, presented by E.M. Tharp and World Ag Expo®. The scholarship was created to support agriculture education and inspire students from the Central Valley to pursue careers in agriculture. The scholarship is available to high school seniors from Madera, Fresno, Tulare, Kings, and Kern counties. […]
The Annual World Ag Expo® is slated to make its return in February, naming Connie Conway as the 2025 Show Chairman. Her appointment marks an exciting new chapter, as she will lead efforts to shape the upcoming show. “I am both excited and honored to serve as the 2025 World Ag Expo® Chairman,” said Conway. […]
The Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) today announced a new rule that will provide notice to the public in advance of applications of certain hazardous and drift-prone agricultural pesticides. The move toward increased transparency regarding chemical use in agriculture was broadly welcomed in the farmworker communities of the San Joaquin Valley and Central Coast where […]
California water officials, local water agencies and farmers have spent the past decade preparing for the 2014 Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, or SGMA, a historic regulatory framework developed to bring overdrafted aquifers into balance by 2040. Under SGMA, local groundwater sustainability agencies must submit plans that show how the basins will achieve long-term sustainability by […]
The Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) released today a draft regulation of cancer-causing 1,3-dichloropropene (aka 1,3-D, brand name Telone) that addresses only “occupational bystanders” and relies on completely different assumptions of lifetime cancer risk exposure than the law regulating the same pesticide towards children and residents near agricultural fields. The draft has already been received […]