Monthly Archives: January 2012

http://www.capradio.org/articles/2012/01/23/vilsack-2012-farm-bill-will-be-smaller,-but-still-boost-california Monday, January 23, 2012 Every five years, Congress passes a Farm Bill.  It funds just about everything related to agriculture – including international trade, rural development, and crop payments to some farmers.  U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says California’s … Continue reading →

http://www.sacbee.com/2012/01/23/v-print/4209096/federal-bill-introduced-to-improve.html WASHINGTON, Jan. 23, 2012 — WASHINGTON, Jan. 23, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — The Humane Society of the United States and the United Egg Producers announced that they will make passage of H.R. 3798, the Egg Products Inspection Act Amendments of … Continue reading →

http://www.recorderonline.com/news/long-51469-organic-hippies.html By ALEX  K.W. SCHULTZ THE PORTERVILLE RECORDER Organic produce is no longer just for Birkenstock-donning, flannel shirt-wearing, long-haired hippies from San Francisco. That stereotype is long gone. What isn’t gone — and doesn’t appear to be going away any … Continue reading →

http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2012/01/test-results-show-organic-pastures- by Mary Rothschild | Jan 20, 2012 In a letter to Organic Pastures owner Mark McAfee, the California Department of Public Health said 10 samples collected from the raw milk dairy’s calf area were positive for E. coli O157:H7, … Continue reading →

Nine cases of equine herpes virus have been detected this month at a property in Orange County. When the article below was written, the number of confirmed cases was fewer. http://theequestriannews.com/2012/01/17/show-goes-on-despite-ehv-1/ By Paula Parisi January 17, 2012 The five cases of … Continue reading →

http://www.mercedsunstar.com/2012/01/18/v-print/2195210/low-till-agriculture-gets-its.html By JOSHUA EMERSON SMITH jsmith@mercedsunstar.com Central Valley farmers are slowly getting hip to the idea that tilling land before planting seeds may not always be necessary. Conservation tillage has long been in vogue in places such as the Midwest … Continue reading →

http://www.thepacker.com/fruit-vegetable-news/Sunnyside-Packing-preps-small-growers-on-food-safety-137523543.html?ref=543 An in-house food safety training program at Selma, Calif.-based Sunnyside Packing Co. prepares even its smallest growers for third-party audits. The Sunnyside Agricultural Food Safety Education and Enhancement program — SAFE — launched in late 2010 with an eye … Continue reading →

http://www.sacbee.com/2012/01/18/v-print/4195352/california-farmers-eagerly-await.html mglover@sacbee.com Published Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012 Rain can’t come soon enough for California farmers and ranchers, who are counting the hours in anticipation of Thursday’s forecast arrival of meaningful showers. A nearly bone-dry fall/early winter season has been accompanied … Continue reading →