Planting Seeds - Food & Farming News from CDFA

Monthly Archives: December 2017

An interview with CDFA secretary Karen Ross on organic agriculture – from the Organic Produce Network

OPN (the Organic Produce Network) had the chance to ask the Secretary of the California Department of Food Agriculture, Karen Ross what CDFA is doing to assist California organic growers and farmers and the growth of organic agriculture throughout the … Continue reading

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Cowboy rides to the rescue during Ventura County fires – from the San Francisco Chronicle

  By Lizzie Johnson When the mandatory evacuation orders came and the fire rigs blared into their neighborhoods, they stayed. They stayed when the flames licked along fence lines, and they stayed when the sparks from the wildfires singed the … Continue reading

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A farmer’s perspective from the fire zone – from the UC Food Observer

By Chris Sayer   This week is California Soils Week.  I have been chewing on an appropriate commentary, but hadn’t found quite the right angle on it. What was there I could say that was new? And then the fire … Continue reading

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California Soils Week: GrowGood community garden tour

CDFA Secretary Karen Ross joined Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, Strategic Growth Council Executive Director Randall Winston and other guests in the Southern California city of Bell today to tour an innovative community garden, GrowGood, that works to provide food security to the … Continue reading

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CDFA’s Office of Farm to Fork Looks Ahead to Fertile Future

As 2018 draws near, CDFA’s Office of Farm to Fork can look back on all that happened in 2017 and know that there will be an even-stronger commitment to improving all Californians’ access to California-grown foods by working to reduce … Continue reading

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Compost drop for California Soils Week

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CDFA Honors Craig McNamara’s tenure and leadership on the California State Board of Food and Agriculture

After more than 16 years on the California State Board of Food and Agriculture, with the last 7 years as Board President, Craig McNamara is stepping down from his position on the Board to participate as a 2018 Fellow in … Continue reading

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Climate Smart Agriculture – Chile trip concludes

We ended our Climate Smart Agriculture delegation visit last week by visiting the La Serena region of Chile. This region, North of Santiago, is a cool season agricultural region very similar to Ventura and Salinas, California. This region received little rain during … Continue reading

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Video – Kicking off California Soils Week!

CDFA Secretary Karen Ross joined the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and other partners today to kick-off the first-ever California Soils Week, which is being celebrated from December 4 to December 7. Secretary Ross led a ribbon-cutting in front … Continue reading

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Soil Power! From the New York Times

This is California Soils Week (December 4 to December 7). World Soils Day is on December 5.  By Jacques Leslie The last great hope of avoiding catastrophic climate change may lie in a substance so commonplace that we typically ignore it … Continue reading

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