Planting Seeds - Food & Farming News from CDFA

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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California drought dries up honey supply – from KQED

By Alice Daniel Beekeeper Chris DePrada wears protective clothing to check the health of the bees for Bradshaw Honey Farm.(Alice Daniel/KQED) These are hard times for honeybees; colonies are collapsing for reasons ranging from pesticides to parasites. And with this … Continue reading

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Grazing on federal land under threat because of drought – from the Los Angeles Times

By Julie Cart There’s not much anyone can tell Barry Sorensen about Idaho’s Big Desert that he doesn’t know. Sorensen, 72, and his brother have been running cattle in this sere landscape all their lives, and they’ve weathered every calamity … Continue reading

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Funding Available for State Water Efficiency and Enhancement Program – News Release

The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) is now accepting applications for the State Water Efficiency and Enhancement Program (SWEEP), authorized by emergency drought legislation (Senate Bill 103).  An estimated $10 million in competitive grant funding will be awarded … Continue reading

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From Service to Harvest – Military Veteran Deploys Aquaponics on the Farm – from the Sacramento Bee

Note – The farmer profiled in this story, Vonita Murray, was featured last year in CDFA’s Growing California video series. The segment can be viewed at the end of this story. ———————————————-      By Blair Anthony Robertson Farming wasn’t … Continue reading

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