Sacramento County Agriculture, Food & Gardening Digest

Local agricultural businesses can now apply for grants and loans to improve their energy efficiency. The program was presented by U.S. Rep Doris Matsui in Galt on March 20.

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.

At least 1,000 tress haven fallen in Sacramento since the New Year’s Eve storm. The fate of a fallen tree depends on where it tumbles, but it’s usually recycled in some shape or form.

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.

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.

After nearly a decade as CEO of the California Exposition and State Fair, Arden area resident Rick Pickering says he will retire on Dec. 30.

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.

A new report from cannabis website Leafly found that more than half of all cannabis sales in the state (55%) are in the illegal market. Leafly found that states like California that allow municipalities to opt out of cannabis sales saw an increase in illicit commerce. States without the opt out did not.

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.

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.

This November, voters across Sacramento County will decide if the county should tax cannabis and hemp businesses in unincorporated communities. This measure does not permit cannabis businesses; legalization requires a separate board of supervisors action.

Fourk Kitchen, which serves a prix-fix, four-course menu that changes monthly, has announced the opening of its newest location at 1177 Riley St.

Former Sacramento Mayor Heather Fargo, and Susan Herre of the Environmental Council of Sacramento, take issue with a recent SacBee article and reject plans for unbridled development in Natomas.

Vintage tractors, farm animals, hayrides, draft-horse pulling contests, and much more are coming to the Historic Farm House on Dry Creek Road in Rio Linda May 13 (Kid’s Day) and May 14.

Some marijuana farmers are fighting back after a crash in wholesale cannabis prices has left them reeling. With help from a Sacramento delivery agent, 20 Mendocino County farmers have banded together to sell cannabis to consumers in Sacramento and Butte counties.

The Sacramento Tree Foundation, a nonprofit organization that fosters public engagement with the city’s tree canopy, is partnering with the city, the state and businesses to bring a cherry blossom park called Hanami Line to Robert T. Matsui Waterfront Park.

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.

What will happen as scores of farmers begin transitioning into retirement? From Woodland to Truckee, food advocates are hoping to recruit the next generation of agricultural entrepreneurs.

For most people, fog is a nuisance. But Dr. Daniel Fernandez at Cal State Monterey Bay has been working with fog for nearly 20 years, using nets to collect tiny fog water droplets.

Suzanne Peabody Ashworth, whose farm supplied produce to many top Sacramento area restaurants, died at age 70 on Dec. 23. Ashworth turned her family’s farm in West Sacramento into a player in Sacramento’s farm-to-fork movement.

Some people are referring to it as the Plantdemic—but whatever clever name you use, there’s no denying an increase of interest in indoor gardening during the pandemic. One Sacramento nursery has been reaping the rewards.

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill that will phase out the sale of gas-powered leaf blowers and other small off-road engines. According to the Air Resources Board, an hour’s use of a gas-powered leaf blower produces the same emissions as a drive from Los Angeles to Denver.

The city of Citrus Heights is inviting everyone to attend a community garden day this Saturday. Volunteers will have the opportunity to plant flowers and engage in other tasks on the corner of Greenback Lane and Park Oaks Drive.

A state bill was recently signed into law allowing consumers to bring their own wine bottles to be refilled at participating tasting rooms. “The new legislation allows wineries to reduce packaging waste and cost,” said Heather Brand, owner I. Brand & Family Winery in Monterey County.

Elk Grove’s Giant Pumpkin Festival is back and the community was more than ready to welcome the tradition again. The festival featured vendors, musicians, and of course the pumpkin contest.

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill Sept. 27 that is designed to decrease farmworkers’ exposure to wildfire smoke by giving them access to the state’s stockpile of N95 masks. Assembly Bill 73, authored by Robert Rivas (D-Hollister), designates agricultural laborers as “essential workers.”

After two years away due to the pandemic, the California State Fair is already making plans to return next summer. Included in the lineup? A competition for stateside cannabis.