With the November election less than two weeks away, voters are already casting their ballots and local election officials say turnout is expected to be higher this time around compared to the June primary. Many voters statewide say they're choosing to turn in their ballots early.

Local agricultural groups continue to speak out against a new proposed county ordinance regulating water use from the Paso Robles Groundwater Basin, which will go before the SLO County Planning Commission on Oct. 28.

Gov. Gavin Newsom and his Republican challenger, state Sen. Brian Dahle, sparred Sunday over inflation, climate change, education, abortion and other issues in their only scheduled debate ahead of the Nov. 8 election. The hour-long debate, aired on KQED radio and later broadcast on TV, did not feature strict time limits, creating a feisty back-and-forth.

By Christine Souza With the federal farm bill set to expire in 2023, the California Farm Bureau and others are providing input to members of Congress about programs and provisions that farmers and ranchers would like to see in the next round of farm legislation that affects the nation's farms, consumers and the environment.

The 2020 census provided a trove of information about our nation's growing population. Seven states lost one congressional seat, including, for the first time, California.

These seats went to six states, with Texas gaining two congressional districts. This map shows how the seats shifted between the states.

In 2016, Heather and Bryon Hadwick attended the Agritourism Intensive training, a signature course of the UC ANR Agritourism Program. Heather had been wanting to start a pumpkin patch, Bryon wasn't so sure. When they learned that an Agritourism Intensive was coming to Redding, they saw an opportunity to learn more about what it would take to start an agritourism enterprise and hear from experienced agritourism operators.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced it is establishing cooperative agreements in six regions across the United States for the Organic Transition Initiative, Transition to Organic Partnership Program (TOPP). Organizations participatin...

The amount of methane in the atmosphere is racing ahead at an accelerating pace, according to a study by the World Meteorological Organization, threatening to undermine efforts to slow climate change. The WMO's Greenhouse Gas Bulletin said that "global emissions have rebounded since the COVID-related lockdowns" and that the increases in methane levels in 2020 and 2021 were the largest since systematic record keeping began in 1983.

Sign up for our free fire and safety newsletter to receive the latest news about wildfires and public safety updates from our region. The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in California announced Fiscal Year 2023 (October 1, 2022 through September 30, 2023) Farm Bill assistance opportunities for agricultural producers, including the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), and the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP).

IRVINE, CALIF. (Oct. 24, 2022) - Western Growers is welcoming the seventh class of Future Volunteer Leaders, a group who will be embedded in specialized networking and agricultural leadership development events with the organization for the next two years.

IRVINE, CALIF. (Oct. 21, 2022) - Western Growers and S2G Ventures have announced the three finalists that will compete in the 2022 AgSharks Competition, a unique event where startup companies pitch their innovations in front of a live audience of the world's largest specialty crop producers to win a $250,000 minimum investment.

A new California bill could impact the wages of more than half a million fast food workers. On Labor Day 2022, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced he had signed the FAST Recovery Act (AB 257) into effect, ...

Use of the H-2A program, where agricultural employers hire foreign workers seasonally when they cannot find enough local labor, has skyrocketed since the turn of the millennium. Yakima County had 8,000 such workers October 2021 and June 2022.

After killing millions of birds nationwide, the most dangerous bird flu in a dozen years -the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) - has arrived in San Luis Obispo County. A sick Canada goose was found near Laguna Lake in San Luis Obispo.

Current Issues in Winemaking Our November Seminar will focus on what it takes to get grapes from the vineyard, through the winery and into consumers' glasses. Our speakers will discuss winery-grower interactions and challenges in today's economic climate. This seminar will be beneficial for both growers and winemakers.

Winery given award out of 374 wineries entered - Hearst Ranch Winery in Paso Robles recently won numerous awards at the San Antonio Stock Show [...]

On a recent morning, winemaker and owner Julie Johnson shows off the scruffy edges of her vineyard and the hedgerows lining the driveway at Napa's Tres Sabores . "I have 15 varieties of pomegranate," she says. "They bring hummingbirds, and hummingbirds eat insects. Some kind of sage is always blooming and bringing in beneficial predators.

Guest commentary by Michael DeLapa, executive director of LandWatch Monterey County, and Chelsea Tu, executive director of Monterey Waterkeeper In 2014 California finally joined other western states by enacting groundwater management legislation. The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) requires local governments...

California's water year begins every Oct. 1, and as this month started, the state put a distressing cap on the driest three-year period in its history. Alarming signs of drought are everywhere, from the early loss of snowpack in the Sierra Nevada mountains to fields of crops lying fallow to mandates imposed...

The State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) has moved forward with a proposal to further increase water fees for several programs. President and CEO of the Western Agricultural Processors Association (WAPA), Roger Isom described the action as "reprehensible."