Planting Seeds - Food & Farming News from CDFA

Monthly Archives: May 2023

Mental Health Awareness Month — CDFA offers resources page for farmers, ranchers and farmworkers

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and CDFA recognizes that stressors felt by farmworkers, farmers and ranchers are real and may require outside assistance. The agency maintains a webpage with mental health resources for those in need. Suicide rates among farmers and … Continue reading

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Secretary Ross welcomes Western Cape delegation to California

CDFA Secretary Karen Ross (center in photo) today welcomed a delegation from the Western Cape of South Africa as it begins a week-long visit to California. The meeting included a discussion of a memorandum of understanding between the Western Cape … Continue reading

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Marking the seasons with flowers — urban grower helps supply florists and markets

CDFA recently visited Sweet Mabel’s Farm in West Sacramento, owned by Elle Huftill, an urban flower farmer. She takes us through her journey in farming and her passion for sustainable agriculture, as well as her commitment to community with fresh, … Continue reading

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CDFA looks ahead following US Supreme Court decision upholding Proposition 12 animal confinement initiative

The US Supreme Court has upheld California’s Proposition 12, an animal confinement initiative approved by voters in 2018 and subsequently challenged.  Californians voted to adopt Proposition 12 by an overwhelming margin (63%-37%), which established minimum confinement standards for the sale … Continue reading

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Looking out for grape-loving consumers — CDFA Standardization Program makes sure imported grapes meet California standards

Did you know that inspections of imported table grapes are conducted annually by California county and state personnel to ensure they meet the same high standards of California-grown fruit? Inspections ensure that table grapes look good, taste good, are nutritious; … Continue reading

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California dairy sector moves toward advanced manure recycling through innovation, partnerships, worms and algae — from Dairy Cares

The California dairy sector is on a mission to innovate how manure is recycled—boosting water quality outcomes and soil health. An initial roadmap has been drawn. Several projects are already under way. Millions of additional public and private investments will … Continue reading

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School Lunch Hero Day — Meet Monterey County school nutrition director Denisse Peña

In honor of today being School Lunch Hero Day, CDFA would like to recognize Denisse Peña, director of Nutrition Services at the South Monterey County Joint Union High School District (SMCJUHSD), due to her work with student-produced agriculture to create … Continue reading

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Secretary Ross praises USDA investments in Regional Food Business Systems and supply chain infrastructure

The USDA today announced investments in 12 Regional Food Business Centers–including one in California–that will provide coordination, technical assistance, and capacity building to help farmers, ranchers, and other food businesses access new markets and navigate federal, state, and local resources. … Continue reading

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State Scientist Day at the Capitol: CDFA experts show students just how exciting a career in science can be

Scientists from CDFA’s Plant Pest Diagnostics Center and Division of Measurement Standards joined colleagues in state service to give students a day of science on the steps of the capitol. CDFA’s experts showed students live insect pests and pollinators, experiments … Continue reading

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CDFA and Secretary Ross welcome attendees to conference about meeting climate goals for animal agriculture

CDFA Secretary Karen Ross (at lectern) and CDFA Deputy Secretary for Climate and Working Lands Virginia Jameson (inset) welcome attendees to the State of the Science Summit: Feed Strategies to Reduce Enteric Emissions, at UC Davis this morning. This was … Continue reading

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