San Joaquin County Agriculture, Food & Gardening Digest

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.

Agtech is not just redefining farming in the San Joaquin Valley, it’s reshaping our approach to the land. Drones, sensors, and data analytics have become indispensable, driving efficiency and economic vitality across the fields.

One of the oldest restaurants in Lodi took its first step toward moving into new digs.

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.

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.

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.

Manteca’s first community garden will be created in a grassy area adjacent to the fire station on Lathrop Road at the Madison Grove Drive entrance to the Del Webb neighborhood.

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.

Even though California is facing a crippling housing shortage, one potential source remains untapped. The state allows thousands of apartments used for part of the year by farmworkers to otherwise sit vacant for three to six months.

There is an old adage that everyone deserves a second chance. For Lodi native Sajad Shakoor, that phrase has been his mantra.

Water managers in Pajaro Valley are paying farmers for water they get back into the ground. The move comes as California has grappled with water shortages in recent years.

HERBL, one of California’s biggest cannabis companies, collapsed earlier this year. The company, which sold $700 million of cannabis last year, reportedly shorted the state $17 million in taxes.

A newly updated “plant hardiness zone map” from the Department of Agriculture has many of the nation’s gardeners rushing online, Googling what new plants they can grow in their mostly warming regions.

Center for Food Safety has filed arguments seeking to revoke the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ approval of nationwide permit 56, which authorizes industrial finfish aquaculture structures in ocean waters around the country. CFS represents a coalition of conservation, tribal, and fishing organizations.

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.

This quaint tasting room and bottle shop located on the grounds of the Wine & Roses Resort at 2545 W. Turner Road is the place to get maps and information, and relax while tasting wines that showcase the Lodi American Viticultural Area.

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.

U.S. Representatives Josh Harder of California and Tracey Mann of Kansas have introduced bipartisan legislation to protect farmers from the devastating effects of drought.

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.

Marc R. Marchini, who combined his vocation as a Union Island farmer and a leader of the California asparagus industry, with service as a school trustee, has been inducted posthumously into the San Joaquin County Agricultural Hall of Fame.

As families entered the haunted house at Dell’Osso Family Farm in Lathrop, 11-year-old Sha’Day Danis ran back out the entrance with her mother after a big scare.

The nonprofit group A New Lodi is hoping to bring cultures from around the world to the city through the power of food.

San Joaquin County’s milk producers recorded a major financial boost in 2022, while the county’s almond and walnut producers continued to face declining revenues, according to the 2022 San Joaquin County Annual Crop and Livestock Report.