Monterey County Agriculture, Food & Gardening Digest

The Elmore Desert Ranch gets 22.5 billion gallons of water from the Colorado River, almost as much as is cleared for Scottsdale, Ariz. And that’s just a fraction of the 386.5 billion gallons from the river going to 19 other families in Imperial Valley.

Richard Yarnold of the Fishwife Restaurant in Pacific Grove won the “Papa Vince Award” at the Monterey County Hospitality Association’s 34th annual Hospitality Recognition Luncheon.

The vodka—shaped like a water pipe and inspired in part by the movie “Up in Smoke”—is being made in partnership with Scotts Valley spirits house UBlendIt.

In a study published in Nature Sustainability, scientists assessed the potential for wide-scale synthetic production of dietary fats. The raw materials are the same as those used by plants: hydrogen in water and carbon dioxide in the air.

A new cutting-edge agriculture research facility named for a long-serving Central Coast politician was ceremoniously opened with a ribbon-cutting on Nov. 3.

The acquisition includes the Daou brand, Daou Mountain Estate, four luxury wineries, and around 400 acres of vineyards in Adelaida District of Paso Robles in San Luis Obispo County.

Janice and Joseph Gali of Gali Vineyards in Watsonville still have fruit hanging. There’s good news and bad news, as with anyone trying to ripen coastal syrah this season.

A new type of fishing gear in California is bringing high-quality swordfish to markets and restaurants in the Monterey Bay Area, with the added bonus of decreasing unintended catch.

After 17 years with Driscoll’s and the last six as president, Soren Bjorn has been elected by the Board of Directors as the organic berry company’s new CEO.

Pizza “with everything,” please. Pizza with live music on stage, pizza with a full-blooded tiki bar, and pizza optional with special events in a venue customized for private parties.

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.

Chef Butter started when Jane Shaffer, maker of the fresh artichoke hearts line called ArtiHearts, got a bit bored during the pandemic. The longtime chef turned entrepreneur had been toying with the idea of compound butters.

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.

DeRose Vineyards in Hollister is well known to wine lovers for its casual atmosphere that somehow accentuates the serious intent of winegrowers Pat and Alphonse DeRose.

This qualifies as more than pretty good news. Pretty Good Advice in Soquel is welcoming a sister into the world.

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.

This summer’s Michelin star recognition for Chez Noir in Carmel, granted within 10 months of its opening, might seem sudden. It’s not.

Daniel Laggner, founder of Santa Cruz-based Wildstag Provisions, is on a mission to protect American wildlife by selling free range game meat.

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.

Office parks, corporate campuses, strip malls would have to remove grass, or face fines of up to $500 a day.

This year we celebrate the founding of the Arroyo Seco AVA—granted status on April 15, 1983—making it one of the earliest to be established of California’s over 100 such designations.

Rep. Jimmy Panetta, D-Carmel Valley, has led a coalition to reduce barriers that producers face in accessing agricultural conservation programs that would help farmers deal with the impacts of climate change.

The complex, located east of Marina, consists of 66 affordable apartments. It is named after the CEO of the Community Housing Improvement Systems and Planning Association, who died unexpectedly in 2021.

When winemaker Bobby Graviano left Bargetto, he had signed on as winemaker with Nicholson Vineyards in Corralitos. However, his subsequent involvement in a new project made that impossible, so he tapped his winemaking colleague Ellie Loustalot to take the reins at Nicholson.

This artichoke revolution that has uprooted thousands of acres of artichokes across Castroville—the “Artichoke Center of the World”—and replaced them with new hybrids is pitting technology over tradition and playing out at farm stands and on dinner tables across the country.

Coauthored with Rep. Alma Adams, the Opportunities in Organic Act seeks to help organic producers expand access to new markets and resources, and provide support and training for farmers.

With budget hearings for the county beginning in a week, the Monterey County Board of Supervisors signaled that they will support a 30% cut in the county’s Cannabis Program.

The Pacific Grove City Council will hold a concept review of draft regulations for bringing cannabis retail to town.

How divided California is about the sale and growing of cannabis might surprise you.

The bill would authorize the California governor to work with the federal government to establish a pilot program allowing undocumented farmworkers to start a process toward legal status.

An estimated 170,000 Indigenous Mexican farmworkers live in California, contributing to its booming economy. Researchers say 6 in 10 farmworkers in the state are Indigenous. State and local officials have yet to fully include this growing population into their planning, often relying on nonprofits to communicate basic information.