Planting Seeds - Food & Farming News from CDFA

Monthly Archives: June 2014

State Water Efficiency and Enhancement Program (SWEEP) built on collaborative partnerships

CDFA continues to accept applications for the State Water Efficiency and Enhancement Program, or SWEEP. The deadline to apply is July 15, 2014. The program is designed to provide financial assistance to agricultural operations for the implementation of water conservation … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

California leads nation in floriculture production – From the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service

California’s floriculture crop leads the nation with a value of $1.13 billion in sales, according to a new report from the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). In 2013, California producers increased their sales from $1.10 billion to $1.13 billion, … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Save Our Water web site launches “Don’t Waste Summer” campaign

As a drought-stricken California moves further into a hot summer, Save Our Water – a partnership between the Association of California Water Agencies(ACWA) and the California Department of Water Resources(DWR) – is launching Don’t Waste Summer, a campaign devoted to providing daily tips and … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Growing California video series: encore presenation – Farmers’ Markets

A encore presentation from the Growing California video series – “Farmers’ Markets.” This video content is no longer available.

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Secretary Ross to participate in Clinton Global Initiative

CDFA Secretary Karen Ross is scheduled to participate tomorrow in Denver at the annual meeting of Clinton Global Initiative America, which was founded by former president Bill Clinton to pursue solutions that promote economic recovery in the United States. Secretary Ross … Continue reading

Posted in AG Vision, Drought, Environment, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Olive cultivation on the rise in drought-parched Central Valley – from the Sacramento Bee

By Edward Ortiz GLENN COUNTY — Olive farmer Dan Kennedy scores a pellet-size olive with his fingernail. The scoring offers a burst of clear liquid. It’s a telling mix of oil and water. For Kennedy, the oozing oil portends the olive’s … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Governor Brown signs 2014-2015 State Budget

SAN DIEGO – Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today signed a balanced, on-time state budget that pays down debt, shores up the teachers’ retirement system, builds a solid Rainy Day Fund and directs additional funding for local schools and health … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Governor Brown commemorates California Pollinator Week

Note – National Pollinator Week for 2014 is now underway.    OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR June 16-23, 2014                                             … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Dig it! The secrets of soil – Op-ed by Secretary Ross in the Davis Enterprise

A walk through any of California’s 700 certified farmers markets is all it takes to make the point: This state’s farms are something special. Our farmers are innovators —as creative as they are productive, to the tune of $42.6 billion … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Dry farming in California – from Slate.com

By Eric Holthaus In a year with (practically) no water, here’s something that was inevitable: farming without any water at all. Small farms around the Bay Area are reviving an ancient technique that is just what it sounds like. Add “dry farming” … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment