Hundreds of local agriculture students from Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties helped kick off the 130th Annual Santa Barbara County Fair with the start of the Junior Livestock Show on Monday morning.

What is Leadership North County?

Influential leaders are better prepared to lead and serve the community when they understand its needs and how it works. The Leadership North County program participants explore various topical community issues through a series of eight workshops. The program introduces you to the community infrastructure and the industries that support the region. 

Participants graduate from the program with life-long friendships and a deeper understanding of the issues and needs within the north county area and how their leadership can positively impact it.

In its final week before summer recess, the California Legislature will decide if bills stay alive by getting through policy panels.

For the first time in a generation, the California State Assembly is led by a lawmaker from a rural district who grew up in an unincorporated farm community and whose family has a background in agriculture.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: Governor Newsom signed the infrastructure streamlining package accelerating construction timelines on the projects necessary to achieving the state's ambitious climate and clean...

With summer in full swing, lawmakers in Washington, D.C., are scrambling to get the 2023 Farm Bill done by this fall. Intended to be updated every five years, this legislation remains critical for the nation’s agricultural sector.

The money authorized in the bill helps fund a significant portion of U.S. Department of Agriculture programs. Although it is known as the “farm bill,” it is important to note that much of the legislation’s funding ...

August Recess is just around the corner here in Washington, starting on July 31 for both the House and Senate. While the halls of Congress will be quiet as members clear out until September, this is a busy time for them to be visiting their home districts, meeting with the men and women they represent. It’s also a prime time for Farm Bureau grassroots members to engage on top issues for agriculture as our senators and representatives will be right in our hometowns and neighborhoods. The formal practice of August Recess goes back more than 50 years. It was established by ...

Large family farms were more likely to have stronger financial performance than other farms, according to USDA, Economic Research Service (ERS) researchers reporting data from the 2021 Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS). ERS researchers measured financial performance using operating profit margin (OPM), the ratio of operating profit to gross farm income.

Expediting reviews of softer chemicals and biologicals are some of the priority actions outlined in the Accelerating Sustainable Pest...

Vilsack pointed out that the outpouring of interest in pilot projects to test climate-smart practices from farmers and the development of markets for the products in the industry could make agriculture one of the first industries to meet net-zero emissions goals.

It starts out as unnoticeable, lying dormant for two or even four years. It's undetectable. But slowly, the signs come out. Individual branches on a tree point to signs of a nutrient deficiency or perhaps overwatering. Branches will start to yellow and weaken, turning shriveled.

The July 12 crop production report showed reductions in 2022-23 estimates for oranges, grapefruit and lemons but an increase for tangerines.

The avocado has increased in popularity in recent years, yet, it's still a mystery to many consumers. Is it a fruit or a vegetable? How long does it take to grow? How long does it take to ripen? How can you pick the best avocado in the grocery story?

After decades of tree breeding since the 1950s, the University of California, Riverside, has released the Luna UCR avocado variety, which features ripening cues and smaller tree size for efficient cultivation.

SACRAMENTO -- Researchers have found that the plastic mulch used to support the growth of Californian strawberries sheds large quantities of plastic mulch fragments. These...

The California strawberry industry is getting some federal funding support to help advance automation efforts...

WASHINGTON -- Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and Representative Rául M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.-07) reintroduced the Fairness for Farm Workers Act, legislation to update the nation's labor laws to ensure...

As nights warm and droughts persist, fires have become unpredictable. So California is working with analysts and tapping into new technology.

The Quick Reaction Force from the Los Angeles, Ventura and Orange county fire departments will be available 24 hours a day all year long.

The insurer is the latest to cut back in states where premiums have soared amid storm and wildfire risks.

The wildfire risk in California is forecast to heighten in coming days, with a heat dome expected to bring scorching temperatures across the state.

Courtesy of Peter Hecht California Bountiful Foundation, the 501(c)(3) research organization of California Farm Bureau, has awarded a $520,000 grant to support cattle grazing research being conducted by California Polytechnic State University, Humboldt. The study, led by Dr. Justin Luong, a Humboldt professor of rangeland resource science, aims to determine if wetlands benefit from grazing activities.

Chances are, when you think of the West, images of cattle and horses and the ranchers that manage them are top of mind. For centuries, grazing livestock have been at the heart of rural economies across what is now the ...

Sheila Varian's Arroyo Grande horse ranch has been bought by a Cal Poly alumnus and former Olympic athlete, who will preserve the ranch's legacy.

Three West Coast senators introduced two pieces of legislation that aim to understand one nascent problem: the impact of wildfire smoke on wine grapes.On June 22, Sen. Alex Padilla (D-California) brought forward the Smoke Exposure Research Act, co-led ...

Managing water use in California vineyards has been a top priority for vintners during recent years of drought conditions. By Jeff Siegel

If you've perused a selection of California wines recently, you might have noticed something strange. There are 2019 vintages available and 2021 vintages, but there's a big hole in the market where 2020 wines should be, especially Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa and Sonoma counties. For that, blame wildfires.

Almost a century ago, two academics in a brand-new wine science department at UC Davis embarked on a project that would prove crucial in catapulting California’s wine industry out of the Prohibition era. In 1935, professors Albert Winkler and Maynard Amerine set out on a matchmaking quest to discover which ...

Draft siting and streamlining criteria developed as part of state's multipronged Water Supply Strategy From the State Water Resources Control Board: As part of California's all-of-the-above strategy to address an anticipated 10% reduction in its water supply by 2040 due to hotter and drier conditions, the State Water Resources Control Board, in coordination with multiple...

Paso Robles Press is the daily online news source and weekly print newspaper for the Paso Robles area, serving the community since 1889.

The Cambria Community Services District is in the hot seat with the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board, which is threatening to revoke the...

California has not passed a flood bond since 2006. Scientists, flood planners and Mother Nature are all telling us that it's time for another.