Planting Seeds - Food & Farming News from CDFA

Monthly Archives: February 2015

Almond growers plant wildflowers to help bees – from the Modesto Bee

Story by John Holland The rented bees arrived to find quite a feast in Mike Silveira’s almond orchard north of Oakdale. He had sown mustard seeds between the tree rows in the fall, and by mid-January, they had burst out … Continue reading

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USDA opens public comment period for Ag Conservation Easement Program

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture is accepting public comments on its interim final rule for the new Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP), designed to help producers protect working agricultural lands and wetlands. … Continue reading

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Celebrating Fairness and Accuracy in the Marketplace: March 1-7 is National Weights and Measures Week

A taxi fare, an ounce of gold, a pound of butter, a milligram of medication, a ton of rice, an acre of land, a gallon of gas … What do they have in common? We get what we pay for … Continue reading

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Secretary Ross views Ag water solutions – from the Santa Cruz Sentinel

Secretary Karen Ross hearing about water usage and conservation at a Santa Cruz County farm this week. By Donna Jones The first step toward finding solutions to long-standing groundwater overdraft in the Pajaro Valley was to acknowledge the problem and … Continue reading

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Export Training Course Comes to CDFA

This April, CDFA will be jointly hosting CALAGX 2015 – the only comprehensive export training program available to California’s specialty crop growers.  The program provides intensive training to help companies move their products into foreign markets, led by instructors who … Continue reading

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A new network for women in agriculture – from the USDA

By Krysta Harden, Deputy Secretary, USDA To be a woman in agriculture is to face a unique set of challenges. And because I know all too well the trials that women can face as they look to take on leadership … Continue reading

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Pooch sniffs out forbidden fruit and bad bugs – from the Riverside Press-Enterprise

By Jan Sears The work day starts early for Bishop, a gangly yellow lab, and his handler, Kristina Cummings. By 4:30 a.m. the two San Bernardino County agriculture department workers are on the job, checking out boxes that are being … Continue reading

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Bird Health Awareness Week – USDA sponsors webinar on bird health

Bird Health Awareness Week is from Feb. 24 through March 2. The USDA’s Animal Plant Health and Inspection Service (APHIS) is bringing poultry experts together for a webinar called, “Growing Chicks Into Healthy Chickens: Getting Ready for Spring,” to be … Continue reading

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Final results announced for 2014-15 California State Employees Food Drive

…and the results are in! Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services (SFBFS) and the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) announced today the final results of the 2014-15 California State Employees Food Drive. The Food Drive raised more than … Continue reading

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USDA announces $9 million to support Community Food Projects program

WASHINGTON, Feb. 19, 2015 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) today announced the availability of $9 million in funding to assist low-income individuals and communities in developing local and independent food systems. … Continue reading

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