San Benito County Agriculture, Food & Gardening Digest

After being closed for over three months, the San Juan Bakery reopened Sept. 20 to the relief of tourists and regular customers who have been missing specialties like French bread, turnovers and doughnuts from one of the city’s original anchor businesses.

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.

The oldest sake factory in the United States and the oldest full-scale commercial brewery in San Benito County have made local history with their first collaboration.

In a session hosted by BenitoLink, a varied group of farmers came together at the Community Foundation Epicenter to discuss their needs, challenges and aspirations.

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.

With all his varied interests, it is surprising that Toney Canty is able to contain himself within the confines of his food truck. But the Hollister-based chef is content to serve up his fare at events all over San Benito and Santa Clara counties.

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.

DeRose Winery is now showcasing many of the wines that master winemaker Al DeRose produces in a new tasting room in San Martin.

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.

Members of the San Juan Bautista Urban Growth/Sphere of Influence Ad-Hoc Committee expressed a desire to remain in control of future development, and most said they want to stay away from historic areas and agricultural land.

With California setting goals to increase the number of new housing units to keep up with growth, agricultural regions such as Hollister are equally committed to preserving the open space and farmland in and around the city.

Twelve years ago, Thomas Bray inherited San Benito Gold Honey, the business his father Leon Bray founded 40 years before. These days, he sells his honey and pollen from a little trailer on Hwy 25.

In the six months since their grand opening, owners Mike Kohne and Maura Cooper have worked to redefine San Benito County’s wine reputation with their Crave Wine Bar & Shop in Hollister.

“Stirm Wine Company’s location in Aromas is not technically in San Benito County,” owner Ryan Stirm says, “But I am the most local non-local winemaker out there. I could hit San Benito County with a rock from my vineyard.”

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.

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.

The San Benito County Historical Society has acquired 13 restored and partially restored two-cylinder John Deere agricultural tractors manufactured between 1926 and 1953 and used on farms in the San Jose area.

The Hollister Downtown Association's 36th Farmers’ Market season begins April 19 and will run Wednesdays from 3 to 7 p.m. until Oct. 11. This year the Farmers’ Market season is extended and it will now run for 26 weeks.

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.

Tourists may be lured into Casa de Fruta to visit the fruit stand, but they would be well served by trying the wines and custom-brewed beers that pay tribute to its history.

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.

Taylor Farms, a San Juan Bautista-area produce wholesaler and packagers of pre-made salads, announces it will be leaving the power grid. Its renewable energy facilities will produce 8 megawatts of power for the company, enough electricity for 3,200 to 7,200 homes.

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.

Shawn Novack, water conservation program manager with Water Resources Association San Benito County, wants to pay residents to remove their lawns.

A proposal in the state Senate would spend up to $1.5 billion to buy “senior water rights” that allow farmers to take as much water as needed from the state’s rivers and streams.

San Benito County expected to see impressive revenue from cannabis companies. However, the county and the city of San Juan Bautista have yet to see any returns.