Agriculture for Tomorrow A College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences (CAFES) Program Preparing leaders in sustainability through education, research, outreach, and operations. To forget how to dig the earth and to tend the soil is to forget ourselves. -Mahatma Gandhi Upcoming Events We are looking forward to the fall 2022 quarter here at Cal Poly!

September 22-24, 2022 Ventura Beach Marriott We are so excited to be (finally) hosting an in-person conference in Ventura County! You won't want to miss this opportunity to collaborate with educators who share your passion for agriculture!

The Estrella Warbirds Museum Board of Directors reports today the Friday death of Sherman "Sherm" Smoot, as a result of a fatal aircraft accident. A member of the museum for many years, he was currently a director on the board and had served as president of the board from 2013 to 2015 and again from 2016 to 2017.

PUBLISHED ON SACRAMENTO - The California State Board of Food and Agriculture will host a 2023 Farm Bill Listening Session in Richmond to hear public comments that will help inform California's priorities and recommendations concerning federal agricultural and food policies. The meeting will be held on Wednesday, September 7, 2022 from 9:00 a.m.

After eight months, California's legislative session came to a close on Sept. 1 with a final flurry of frantic activity. Lawmakers rushed to pass hundreds of remaining bills before the clock struck midnight on Aug. 31.

At least two days of statewide Flex Alerts asking Californians to voluntarily conserve energy amid an extreme heat wave that could last more than a week, pushing temperatures 10 to 20 degrees above normal and endangering vulnerable communities. Gov.

In an unusual foray into California state politics, President Biden weighed in Sunday in support of a proposed law, now on Gov. Gavin Newsom's desk, that would make it easier for farmworkers to organize. "I strongly support California's Agricultural Labor Relations Voting Choice Act," Biden said in a statement Sunday afternoon.

The governor is privately seething over the Biden endorsement, said five people with knowledge of the governor's thinking who spoke on condition of anonymity to disclose internal discussions. Newsom's office declined to comment for this story. Biden headlines a growing list of top Democratic officials who have backed the measure, including Vice President Kamala Harris and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

An American Farm Bureau Federation leader highlighted environmentally-friendly innovation in agriculture during testimony to a senate committee Wednesday. Micheal Clements shares more. Clements: American Farm Bureau Federation Vice President Scott VanderWal testified to the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Wednesday. VanderWal gave testimony in support of the Livestock Regulatory Protection Act of 2021.

WASHINGTON - Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the availability of approximately $400 million to provide essential local and regional food systems coordination, technical assistance, and capacity building services through USDA's new Regional Food Business Centers.

USDA's Economic Research Service forecasts inflation-adjusted U.S. net cash farm income to increase by $13.5 billion or 8.7 percent from 2021. Net cash farm income is gross cash income minus cash expenses and will reach $168.5 billion in 2022, the highest level since 2012.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. and CHICAGO - The Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer farmer sentiment index rose 14 points in August to a reading of 117. The rise in the overall measure of agricultural producer sentiment was driven by increases in both the Index of Current Conditions, which rose 9 points to 118, and the Index of Future Expectations, which climbed 16 points to 116.

The Department of Agriculture this week reports food insecurity declined slightly overall in 2021. Micheal Clements shares more. Clements: USDA's Economic Research Service just released its annual report on food security, showing a slight improvement in 2021 from 2020. American Farm Bureau Federation Senior Economist Veronica Nigh explains the data.

The day after a sweltering heatwave nearly knocked out California's electrical grid, the chair of the California Energy Commission spoke in Pismo Beach about the energy challenges facing the state and the next steps for developing offshore wind farms near Morro Bay. click to enlarge Map Courtesy Of The U.s.

OPINION AND COMMENTARY Fresno is not just home to the fields of fruits and almonds I farm, it's my home, too. I was born and raised here and, like many other local farmers, I have a deep family connection to the land which, in my case, goes back four generations.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - A record heat wave put California in a fossil fuel conundrum: The state has had to rely more heavily on natural gas to produce electricity and avoid power outages while Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom's administration moves toward ending the use of oil and gas.

From the Ag Information Network, I'm Bob Larson with your Agribusiness Update. **Organic strawberries account for 13% of strawberry acreage along California's Central Coast, and yields range from 6-to-8,000 eight-pound trays per acre, with an estimated unit price of $15 per tray.

PUBLISHED ON RIVERSIDE, Calif. - UC Riverside scientists are on the hunt for a chemical that disrupts "evil" weevils' mating and prevents them from destroying California's supply of avocados. Avocado weevils, small beetles with long snouts, drill through fruit to lay eggs.

By Ching Lee With its striking crimson flesh, a new transgenic lime developed by scientists at the U.S. Department of Agriculture is meant to be a head-turner: Imagine slices of the Instagram-ready fruit adorning cocktail glasses and its juice making purple margaritas.

The United Farm Workers (UFW) and its supporters aren't backing down from asking for better workplace protections.Under scorching temperatures and only protected by some pop-up tents, the UFW and supporters of the movement are on day seven of their 24-hour vigil at the State Capitol."We're just asking for the bare minimum.

Gov. Gavin Newsom will soon write a new chapter in California's decades-long conflict over the unionization of workers in the state's huge agricultural industry - and what he does could affect his obvious quest to become a national political figure.

An unrelenting heat wave has swept across the Central Coast, shattering heat records and creating difficult working conditions for farm workers. "Farm workers are literally at the front line of the heat wave," said CAUSE policy advocate Erica Diaz-Cervantes, whose organization works with immigrant farm workers toinform workers about their rights and ensure that employers respect their rights.

MICHIGAN BLUFF, Calif. (AP) - California's latest major wildfire destroyed structures and cars as it burned out of control in the Sierra Nevada, while fires also forced people to flee their homes in the southern part of the state.

Describing California's wildfires means running out of modifiers, adjectives and apocalyptic images. There are no more words. The state's fires have become so unpredictable and extreme that new words were invented: firenado, gigafire, fire siege - even fire pandemic. The landscape is getting hotter, and sooner, in more places.

The grass fire burning east of Cambria is about 75% contained, according to Cal Fire public information officer Adan Orozco in a text message to The Tribune. Firefighters on scene continue to mop up the fire in the steep terrain. It was last reported to be about 16 acres, Orozco wrote.

WASHINGTON - Six months into my tenure as the President of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA), I have had the opportunity to travel and visit with fellow cattle producers from coast to coast. A couple of months ago at the Florida Cattlemen's Convention, I had the opportunity to meet fellow cattle producer Kevin Escobar.

Annual U.S. retail prices for beef and veal are projected to rise 6 to 7 percent in 2022 relative to 2021. In May 2022, the farmer's share of the retail value of beef also increased year over year, but rising input costs, especially for cattle feed, may limit farmers' ability to benefit from higher cattle prices.

In Paso's current triple-digit heat, my column couldn't be more timely, spotlighting albariño, a cool and refreshing white wine fast gaining favor with Paso winemakers. And this interest could largely be credited to local winemaker Damian Grindley and his passion for this Spanish wine, with its pronounced citrus, floral and stone fruit notes and a bracing minerality.

At this point, California winemakers have come to expect a heat spike around Labor Day weekend every year. Like clockwork, it seems, scorching temperatures descend on the state just as the wine harvest is getting underway, threatening to sear the grapes.

PUBLISHED ON IRVINE, Calif. - Western Growers is debuting five documentary short videos online today that give first-hand accounts of how the unrelenting historic drought is hurting Caifornia farmers. Produced in association with the California Farm Water Coalition, the videos show the drought's impact on consumers via stories from Booth Ranches in Orange Cove, Calif., Del Bosque Farms in Firebaugh, Calif.; HMC Farms in Kingsburg, Calif.

The new water strategy from Governor Gavin Newsom to address the impact of drought may have come at an opportune time. California Department of Food and Agriculture Secretary Karen Ross said an "all-of-the-above strategy" will be necessary to address California's water needs over the next 20 years.

Residents of six San Luis Obispo County cities may notice a "musty" taste or smell in their tap water - but there's no cause for alarm. The odor is caused by a "harmless," naturally occurring compound called MIB, and the water is still safe to drink, according to a news release from the Department of Public Works.

County officials saw the $12 billion state budget surplus as a "once-in-a-lifetime" opportunity to secure financing for long-deferred and increasingly urgent water infrastructure projects. Sacramento has largely ignored the county's water problems, since it's outside of the State Water Project.

For a century, California's San Joaquin Valley has been known as "the food basket of the world." The 27,500-square mile region currently produces over $34 billion worth of food each year, a productivity made possible only by its large-scale irrigation projects and unrestrained groundwater pumping.