Planting Seeds - Food & Farming News from CDFA

Category Archives: AG Vision


Diesel Fuel Substitute Shows Promise – CDFA Partnering in Test Project

A new fuel will soon be powering some vehicles in a test project in California. Volvo’s heavy truck division is partnering with an innovative California start-up, Oberon Fuels, to develop Dimethyl Ether (DME) as a diesel engine fuel replacement, at … Continue reading

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Farmers’ Markets Credited in Fitness Survey – California Cities Place High

Four California communities have placed in the Top-15 fittest cities in the country, according to the 2013 American Fitness Index. The Bay Area, defined as San Francisco, Oakland and Fremont, placed fourth; the Sacramento area was seventh; the greater San … Continue reading

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Strategic Plan a Way to Maintain and Improve CDFA’s Service to Stakeholders

On behalf of CDFA, I am pleased to present the agency’s 2013-2018 Strategic Plan. While strategic planning is essential to any organization, it is often misunderstood, considered by many as merely an internal plan to reach goals and objectives. The … Continue reading

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Huell Howser and California’s Golden Fairs – San Diego County

Several years ago, the late public television personality Huell Howser produced a series of reports called California’s Golden Fairs. One of the segments featured the San Diego County Fair, at the Del Mar Fairgrounds, which begins its 24-day run tomorrow. … Continue reading

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Growing California video series – Farm Academy

The next segment in the Growing California video series, a partnership with California Grown, is “Farm Academy,” a story about a training program for new farmers at the Center for Land Based Learning in Winters.

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Shanghai – an Excellent Market for California Agriculture

Our trade mission through China with Governor Brown continues with a stop in the exciting city of Shanghai – home of more than 23 million people and one of the largest cities in the world. It is the commercial and … Continue reading

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California and China: Growing Together

As we leave Beijing for Shanghai on China’s high speed rail, traveling at approximately at 180mph through vibrant countryside, it’s exciting to envision California’s future. Governor Brown is embracing that future with an agreement with six local Chinese governments to … Continue reading

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China Welcomes California!

Pleasant weather and clear skies welcomed Governor Brown’s delegation to Beijing – the first stop on our three-city tour of this dynamic country. As part of the trade delegation, I am here to promote California as a place for business … Continue reading

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USDA proclaims April as Invasive Plant Pest and Disease Awareness Month

http://www.aphis.usda.gov/newsroom/2013/04/pest_awareness_month.shtml The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) today proclaimed April as “Invasive Plant Pest and Disease Awareness Month.” All month, APHIS will highlight how invasive species can enter the United States and spread, … Continue reading

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Governor Brown Visits CDFA

Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. stopped by this week at the monthly meeting of the California State Board of Agriculture, at CDFA headquarters. The board is comprised of gubernatorial appointees. The governor pointed out that he last attended a state board meeting during his first time … Continue reading

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