Santa Cruz County Agriculture, Food & Gardening Digest

Gov. Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta announced the lawsuit Wednesday, saying the tariffs hurt “states, consumers and businesses.”

Following the retirement announcement from current manager Zeke Fraser, the Santa Cruz County Fair has begin the search for a replacement.

Roaring Camp Railroads will be hosting the second annual Santa Cruz Mountain Mushroom Festival on May 3 and 4.

Food aid is one of numerous competing priorities California lawmakers will have to juggle in the face of steep potential federal cuts.

A report of the March 25 meeting of the Santa Cruz City Council, where a new infrastructure finance district, new library and new farmers market were among the items under consideration.

Across California, only one in five eligible college students receive CalFresh due to complicated requirements and an arduous application process. With two-thirds of students experiencing food insecurity, many campuses have started helping them apply for CalFresh.

The impact of cannabis lounges and an update on the housing element of the General Plan were on the agenda of the March 19 meeting of the Scotts Valley City Council. Read on to learn more

Read on to learn how to submit your art for the 2025 Watsonville Strawberry Festival art contest.

As construction begins this May on the new downtown Santa Cruz library main branch, the downtown farmers market will be setting up at a new temporary location while it searches for a permanent home. Read on for details.

The governor vowed to clear the way for more groundwater recharge. Has it worked? “We’re still tinkering around with small numbers,” one expert says.

Read on for details about what the Santa Cruz County chief executive says about the impact of cuts to federal contributions to Medicaid, food assistance and disaster recovery to county operations.

In their January 28 meeting, the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors narrowly gave preliminary approval of the consumption of products onsite at local dispensaries. Read on to learn more about the rule changes.

Though the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf reopened 12 days after a section collapsed into the bay, wharf restaurants are struggling to rebound from hundreds of thousands of dollars of losses. Read on to learn more.

Trump apparently wants to override new Biden-Newsom rules that have widespread support among Southern California cities and some Central Valley farmers.

Donate to Meals on Wheels for Santa Cruz County, which is facing a waitlist for the first time in 50 years in the face of increasing need. Read on for details and learn how you can help.

“If this is the new normal, this is absolute economic devastation,” says one local economist.

Those in California who’d like a latte with a side of weed have gotten their wish now that a new law goes into effect that permits licensed cannabis dispensaries to add sit-in cafes to their sites.  

Applications are open for Santa Cruz County residents to apply for commercial home kitchen permits. Read on to learn more about this new program.

New operating rules for massive Delta systems will increase water deliveries to Southern California cities and some growers. Salmon numbers could drop, especially in dry years.

Keith Poulsen's jaw dropped when farmers showed him images on their cellphones at the World Dairy Expo in Wisconsin in October. A livestock veterinarian at the University of Wisconsin, Poulsen had seen sick cows before, with their noses dripping and udders slack.

Gov. Newsom launched an ambitious program that uses Medi-Cal to help Californians access housing, healthy food and more. Now, its fate is in the hands of President-Elect Trump.

Are food recalls on the rise? Yes. Read on to learn more.

Learn how you can donate to the Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District "Stuff the Bus" holiday food drive on December 5.

Voters in California’s farm belt, stretching more than 400 miles from Kern County on the south to Tehama County on the north, delivered solid majorities for Donald Trump in this month’s presidential election.

With more than 65,000 residents relying on their services, Second Harvest Food Bank enters the holiday season in urgent need of donations.

THE SALINAS VALLEY is the setting for fecund soil, labor rights movements and John Steinbeck novels.Squeezed into one 90-mile-long wedge between the Gabilan and Santa Lucia mountains, the valley’s residents constitute less than 1% of Californians but have shaped the identity of the whole state.

An update on the progress in developing an unused baseball field at the Del Mar Elementary School into a nutrition and education farm.

Many California farmworkers have long lacked safe and affordable places to sleep — an issue thrown into sharp relief after last year’s mass shooting in Half Moon Bay, which left seven agricultural workers dead.

Santa Cruz County released the 2023 agriculture report, which showed a hit to productivity from the winter and spring storms and flooding.

Live Oak School District and Community Bridges signed a two-year lease allowing the nonprofit to continue running its Meals on Wheels program from district property on Capitola Road.

In their September 10 meeting, the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors approved an ordinance allowing home kitchens for commercial food use.

Free and discounted fairs and a special bus route to the Santa Cruz County Fair are being offered by Santa Cruz Metro September 11-15.