California is experiencing an unusually high population of exotic fruit flies this season. The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) has issued local quarantine and eradication measures to prevent statewide spread of the Tau Fly and the Oriental Fruit Fly. From the CDFA website, “Exotic fruit flies are of concern to the agriculture industry in California. The larval…
For anyone who desires such an impossible task, irrigated agriculture will readily bestow the challenge of farming in an increasingly hotter, drier landscape, with the stipulation of decreasing water and crop inputs for the foreseeable future. Despite this impossibility, our growers continue to build healthy soils and pioneer innovative solutions, while providing safe, affordable and nutritious…
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently proposed its Vulnerable Species Pilot Project (VSPP) and Western Growers, through its association with the Minor Crop Farmer Alliance (MCFA) and the Pesticide Policy Coalition, has made comments to the EPA to address issues related to the Pilot Project. The Pilot Project identifies 27 species throughout the U.S. that the EPA has identified as…
This past week, Western Growers hosted a webinar highlighting two USDA Climate Smart Farming Grant awardees and invited CDFA to talk about California Climate-Smart Framing initiatives and other grower resources. USDA’s Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities, or Climate Smart Farming Grants, provide funding for partners to implement large-scale pilot projects that create market…
