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Santa Cruz County Agriculture, Food & Gardening Articles



The Pajaronian logo LOCAL NEWS
Farm Discovery at Live Earth celebrates the giving season

Pajaro Valley nonprofit Farm Discovery at Live Earth is inviting the community to celebrate another successful year of farm-based education for local youth. The organization aims to empower young people and their families to build and sustain healthy food, farming, …

Good Times logo LOCAL NEWS
Sustainable Systems Research Foundation Seeks Funding for its ‘Urban Food Initiative’

Santa Cruz Gives’ additional sustainable-ag nonprofits include Farm Discovery at Life Earth, Safe Ag Safe Schools and the CCOF Organization.

Good Times logo LOCAL NEWS
Thousands of Farmworkers Will Get Pay Raises Thanks to a Lawsuit

Farmworker advocates sued the Department of Agriculture over a 2020 proposed wage freeze and secured an injunction to stop the ruling.

San Lorenzo Valley Post logo LOCAL NEWS
Winter Gardening: Bare Root Roses

By Josh Reilly What are “bare root” plants? These are plants raised to maturity in soil for the retail nursery trade. Harvested during the Winter dormant season, the roots are cleaned of all soil, packed in wood shavings, paper or …

Good Times logo LOCAL NEWS
Ag Commissioner Releases Annual Crop Report

The 2020 Crop Report for the County of Santa Cruz details the region’s agricultural commodities during one of the most challenging years on record.

The Pajaronian logo LOCAL NEWS
Ag Commissioner releases annual Crop Report

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—The 2020 Crop Report for the County of Santa Cruz has been released, detailing the region’s agricultural commodities during one of the most challenging years on record. The Crop Report is presented each year by Agricultural Commissioner Juan …

San Lorenzo Valley Post logo LOCAL NEWS
Fall Gardening in the Santa Cruz Mountains: Preparing for Winter

By Josh Reilly Lay down a layer of mulch, put away the tools and gloves and wait until February. Too cold and muddy to do anything else. It makes sense. Or does it? Our Winters in the SLV are relatively …

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Holding Back the Bud Boom

California’s cannabis business is blossoming, but industry experts tell the Sacramento Bee that the state is leaving money on the table.

Image caption: RCDs look after the land, whether it’s used for grazing, growing, or getting out into nature.
California Dirt

What do resource conservation districts protect? Pretty much everything that’s worth saving.

Image caption: California’s three-year-old legal cannabis industry is already struggling. Here’s why.
The Crisis in California’s Legal Cannabis Industry, Explained

Cumbersome state bureaucracy and competition from their illegal counterparts has made life perilous for California’s nascent legal cannabis businesses.

Image caption: Some small composting facilities, made necessary by a methane-reduction law,  have been set up in or near community gardens.
Compost Belongs in the Garden

Californians Against Waste was one of the main advocates behind SB 1383, which requires California to divert 75 percent of its organic waste from landfills. California Local talked to CAW’s Nick Lapis to learn more about what it does and …

Image caption: At the dump, food waste is methane-producing garbage. At a farm, it's a valuable part of the food web.
Back to the Land, Not the Landfill

In 2022, California trash haulers will begin turning millions of tons of methane-emitting organic waste into a new cash crop: compost.

Featured

RCDs look after the land, whether it’s used for grazing, growing, or getting out into nature.
California Dirt
RCDs were created to avoid a repeat of the Dust Bowl. Now they work with landowners to preserve the air, water and natural habitats that sustain us all.
Dairy products are California’s top agricultural commodity, but the industry is often criticized for its impact on the environment.
Sustainable Sustenance
Greener ways to feed the world’s growing population
Fresh and dried fruit, wine, nuts and more can be found at Casa De Fruta, a venerable stop for drivers traversing Pacheco Pass.
Roadside Attractions
Apples and berries, steaks and dairy...and much more
They help feed the whole country, but life for California’s farm workers remains a struggle.
How California Feeds the Country
California, a state known for high-tech and show business glitz, is also America’s farming powerhouse.
How California reclamation districts turned millions of acres of wetlands into fertile agricultural land, starting in the earliest days of the Gold Rush.
Reclamation Districts: Turning ‘Swamps’ Into Farmland
From its earliest days as a state, California has been trying to turn marshes into productive land.
Since the Gold Rush era, land reclamation has cost California 90 percent of its wetlands.
How Land Reclamation Hurts California’s Environment
The hidden price tag of “reclaiming” swamps and marshes as usable land.
Working together with many volunteers, this crew feeds 65,000 people in Santa Cruz County every month.
California’s Oldest Food Bank Pays It Forward
California’s first food bank has helped residents of Santa Cruz County for more than 50 years.
The 1965 law known as the Williamson Act has been responsible for keeping about half of California's farmland out of the hands of developers.
The Williamson Act: How the Law That Protects California’s Farmland Works
More than half of California farmland is under contracts that prevent its development.