Sacramento County Agriculture, Food & Gardening Digest

It's been difficult to be an almond farmer these past few years. But it’s also been difficult to stop being an almond farmer, as orchard owners who try to sell their land have a hard time finding willing buyers.

The Sacramento Business Journal’s Corporate Citizenship Awards honor the individuals and organizations that go above and beyond to give back to the Sacramento-area community.

A new Local Kitchens "takeout-first micro food hall" is opening at 2610 Arena Boulevard in North Natomas and will feature cuisine from six local restaurateurs.

Dao Distillery plans to open to the public this summer at 11460 Sunrise Gold Circle, Suite C, in Rancho Cordova. Currently, only one company produces Vietnamese rice liquor, known as rượu đế, in the United States: SuTi Craft Distillery, based in Kennedale, Texas.

Alchemist Community Development Corporation is planning an incubator for food entrepreneurs in the River District at 341 North 10th Street to open to the public by early 2026.

The United Farm Workers is facing allegations of fraudulent conduct from one of the largest agricultural companies in the world, days after the historic union successfully organized a small part of the multibillion-dollar business.

A Q&A with Jessica Sanders, who helps the leafy citizens of the "City of Trees" thrive.

Making way for the construction of a new hotel, the Florin Farmers Market has moved to a new location at the Florin Light Rail Station at 6117 Florin Road and is open every Thursday from 8AM to noon.

The University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources advisors has published a new website with information resources for small acreage landowners raising livestock.

Commercial beekeeper Andrew Strehlow estimates he’s had 1,000 hives stolen over the years. The latest theft, of 96 hives from a Fresno County orchard, was his last straw.

Buu “Billy” Ngo, a co-owner at the widely adored Kru Contemporary Japanese Cuisine, has been named as a semifinalist for Best California Chef from the James Beard Awards.

Beehives, tractors and more are getting stolen from farmers.

State lawmakers grill Cal/OSHA officials, with allegations that employers get tipped off to inspections. The chairperson of the Assembly Labor Committee is seeking an audit.

State Sen. Scott Wiener wants to allow California cities and counties to designate “entertainment zones” where bars and restaurants could serve alcoholic drinks that people can consume on public streets and sidewalks.

In a sign of the ongoing threats to its precious groundwater stores, half a dozen regions in California rank among the world’s most rapidly declining aquifers.

Groundwater depletion is worsening in many of the world’s farming regions. But a global study also found that some efforts are helping to boost aquifers.

For months, the California Department of Food and Agriculture has been waging war on the oriental fruit fly, a voracious pest that can attack hundreds of types of fruits and vegetables.

Fast food lives in a consumer sweet spot: demand, convenience and relative affordability. And this pay hike—equal to minimum wage increases during the past five years—will create grand economic unknowns.

An overgrown parcel of land on the corner of Auburn Boulevard and Twin Oaks Avenue could become a new food truck plaza.

California farmers face challenges posed by multiple types of fruit flies. Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed spending just over $22 million to combat the spread of these flies.

An outbreak of the avian flu that began in California in October has killed 5.5 million birds throughout the Golden State. About 20% of the deaths have come in Sonoma County.

The holidays weren’t looking all that sweet for baker Jamie Mack, who recently had to make some hard decisions to keep his business, SpiderMonkey Dessert Studio at Arden Fair.

Bright blue waves have been spotted in Long Beach, Newport Beach, Huntington Beach and Seal Beach. The bioluminescence is caused by organisms known as dinoflagellates and can impact fish populations.

Humle Beer House is the latest business in Citrus Heights to open up, bringing 22 craft brews on tap to an area the owners called a “dead zone” for craft beer.

The Chico-based brewer has taken a more traditional approach to creating its non-alcoholic beer.

The site of Galt’s first winery will soon be home to nearly 100 new homes.

Farmland is being rezoned for industrial use, and massive warehouses are being built on spec near communities like Buttonwillow and Shafter, so goods coming through the Southern California ports can be shipped quickly throughout the western United States.

The California Strategic Growth Council approved over $116 million in Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation Program grants to permanently protect 50,500 acres of croplands and rangelands, as well as lands utilized by Indigenous tribes for the cultivation of traditional resources.

Salmon populations in the Scott and Shasta rivers have crashed, so state officials are about to restrict irrigation again. And the controversial rules may even become permanent.

A third of the country’s farmers are over the age of 65. To bring in new farmers, $500,000 from the California Farm Bureau’s California Bountiful Foundation will be used to train veterans and socially disadvantaged individuals.

Three restaurants in San Francisco, three in Los Angeles and one in San Diego have been added to the Michelin Guide. Two of the SF eateries also made Esquire’s list for best new American restaurants in 2023.

The California Department of Water Resources released an environmental impact report for a tunnel that the state would like to build through the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. The report identifies potential impacts to farmland, tribal remains and endangered species of fish.