El Dorado County Agriculture & Gardening Digest

South Lake Tahoe's 77-year-old trout farm was "well and truly dedicated" to be preserved by the Native Sons of the Golden West.

Placerville community projects will soon see an influx of nearly $100,000, courtesy of the coin contributed to the city’s coffers by cannabis companies. The Placerville City Council approved a list of projects selected to receive funds from the Cannabis Community Benefit Tax.

Gael Michael Barsotti and his family were honored in April with the Farm Family of the Year Award by the El Dorado County Chamber of Commerce. “We couldn’t live in a better place,” Barsotti said. “We’ve been here a long time.”

The Placerville City Council saw a significant turnout of farmers, merchants and locals looking to speak about the decision to move the Wednesday night farmers market away from the Bell Tower. Parking, safety, finances and communication were the main themes, with suggested solutions and counterpoints coming from both sides.

The Placerville City Council decided to hold an additional public meeting regarding the Main Street Farmers Market, a month after voting to relocate the event to the Mooney Lot.

South Lake Tahoe's City Council recently approved funding for the 2023 Community Benefit Grant Program in the amount of $400,000 from Cannabis Community Benefit Fees.

State Senate District 4 Sen. Marie Alvarado-Gil, who serves on the Select Committee on California’s Wine Industry, met with several El Dorado County women with connections to the wine industry to talk about the issues that impact them the most.

Approved unanimously by the Board of Supervisors, acting El Dorado County Agriculture Commissioner LeeAnne Mila will become the permanent commissioner and sealer of weights and measures effective March 11.

The El Dorado County Fair Association is chipping away at improvements, including the acquisition of property for additional parking.

California has given the federal government its own counterproposal for apportioning reductions of Colorado River water, saying a plan offered by six other states would disproportionately burden farms and cities in Southern California.

Sherwood Demonstration Garden in Placerville boasts a classic Japanese garden as one of the 16 individual gardens on display.

Stanford scientists have genetically re-programmed plants to grow roots that change how they gather nutrients or water.

In the fall, rice fields in the Sacramento Valley usually shine golden brown as they await harvesting. This year, however, many fields were left covered with bare dirt.

Drought, human-caused climate change, invasive species and a “legacy” of environmental issues are permanently altering California’s landscape and placing some communities and ecosystems at increasing risk.

The El Dorado American Viticulture Area in the Sierra foothills just finished bringing in wine grapes from the 2022 vintage. The AVA's vineyards are planted between 1,100 and 3,500 feet in elevation.

Linda and Stewart Resnick have donated $50 million to UC Davis for an agricultural research center—the largest donation in the campus’s history—but the couple’s Wonderful Company is the state’s single biggest water user.

Now that the El Dorado County Planning Commission approved unanimously to amend its county zoning ordinance to make way for an industrial hemp pilot program, the ordinance will go through a second reading for approval by the Board of Supervisors on Nov. 1.

UC Davis is set to build a center focused on agricultural innovation and research after Beverly Hills billionaires Lynda and Stewart Resnick gave the university $50 million, the largest donation it has received from individual donors.

For the first time, members at the California Farm Bureau Annual Meeting will be able to sell goods from their farms and ranches. Called the California Marketplace, this interactive event will be held Dec. 4—one of several new features of the meeting, taking place Dec. 2-7 in Monterey.

El Dorado County leaders are again attempting to incorporate legal cultivation of hemp through a pilot program. As discussed during the Board of Supervisors’ Sept. 13 meeting, the program would consist of at most five hemp producers for the 2023 and 2024 growing seasons.

It’s not always easy to know which wineries are practicing eco-conscious farming and operations. Edible Silicon Valley gathered various tips and things to look for when deciding which corks to pop.

El Dorado County grape growers are preparing for a smaller harvest than usual this season due to a late spring frost that led to loss of buds, decreasing yield and quality of the harvest.

This might not sound like good news, but El Dorado County will actually benefit from being one of 15 California counties designated as a disaster area after an agriculture freeze in April. Local farmers can now be considered for funding and governmental assistance.

Members of the Washoe Tribe spent the day restoring a garden that has been neglected over the past decade. The Washoe Tending and Gathering Garden was initially funded by a grant to preserve Washoe culture, and the area is coming back to life thanks to these volunteers.

In July 2022, Greg and Susan Boeger will celebrate 50 years at their winery’s original location on Carson Road in Placerville. Their story is filled with colorful characters, mishaps and rewards.

After months waiting to get his application recommended by the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office, Cybele Holdings CEO Lee Tannenbaum got a unanimous thumbs up from the Planning Commission for his cannabis cultivation business.

A project applicant is seeking a commercial cannabis use permit for the construction and operation of a cannabis cultivation facility on an approximately 178-acre parcel in Pilot Hill.

Winery owner and UC Santa Cruz chemistry professor Phil Crews teamed up with a group of researchers to conduct a study on how the taste of wine was affected by wildfire smoke.

For the first time in three years, the California State Fair will return. This Sacramento tradition of food and carnival rides is now four months away.

With her ag tech startup, FarmX, Maria Fernanda Reyes wants to empower growers. FarmX is a cloud-based e-commerce platform that lets farmers to sell their products directly to grocery chains, restaurants and other buyers.

In its spring issue, Edible Reno-Tahoe takes a look at how what we eat and drink affects, and is affected by, climate change. Farmers, ranchers, business owners, and community organizations in the Reno-Tahoe area are working hard on these issues, and their accomplishments are impressive.

El Dorado County Fair Association CEO Kathy Dunkak stepped into her new role after about five years as the fairgrounds’ deputy manager, and she’s looking forward to its return in June—the first time the event has been held since 2019.