El Dorado County Agriculture, Food & Gardening Digest

Hundreds of wells in Tulare Lake aquifer are at risk of going dry. Today's recommendation is the first time that state officials have moved to crack down on local plans that fail to stop excessive groundwater pumping.

Water providers say rebates for residential areas are costly and residents may refuse to remove their lawns. The rules aim to save enough water for more than a million households a year.

The European Union has banned certain additives that are used in American candies and baked goods. California is on the cusp of prohibiting their sale by 2027.

Mark Geartooth Alewerks on your maps, beer enthusiasts and southern comfort food fans.

Given the critically important role agriculture continues to play in the region, many local museums offer special exhibits, experiences and activations that highlight ever-enduring farm-to-fork connections.

Commercial cannabis cultivation growers got together in the later part of 2021 to file a lawsuit against El Dorado County, citing unfair application practices during the county’s background check process.

The venue is set to welcome more than 125 ticketed events annually, starting with the Lake Tahoe Comic Con on Sept. 23-24.

Using intricate infrared images captured by airplane over California's Central Valley, researchers were able to distinguish Cabernet Sauvignon grape vines that were infected but not showing symptoms.

Many farmworkers in Coachella Valley lack legal status as citizens and don't qualify for most federal and state disaster aid. Even a new $95 million storm assistance program for immigrants that Governor Gavin Newsom recently touted is out of reach because it pertains to the winter and spring storms and floods.

Following legal pressure from Center for Food Safety and courts, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has withdrawn its interim approval of difenoconazole, a potent fungicide sprayed on a wide range of fruits and vegetables.

The forest and partners will now begin implementing the 275,000-acre vegetation and fuels management project in the North Yuba watershed over the next 15 to 20 years.

The festival is set for 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. June 10 & 11 at Once in a Blue Moon Berries, 1820 Arroyo Vista Way in El Dorado Hills. The farm is open periodically during blueberry season. The festival, however, is expected to draw 1,000 people each day.

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.