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A Central Valley legislator is collaborating with congress members and federal, state and local agencies to fix degraded water infrastructure in the valley.

As drought grips many of California’s prime agricultural areas, its two top-grossing crops are positioned well to pull through, much as they did during the last prolonged dry spell in the mid-2010s. Grapes and almonds, which since 2004 have been the state's top sellers, both have some natural drought tolerance thanks to their origins in the Mediterranean climate where recurring aridity is expected. But in California, their success is also tied to irrigation.

In its most recent report, the California Department of Pesticide Regulation found illegal amounts of chemical residue on 4% of the samples it tested, with most violations on imported produce.

The Almond Board of California has hired Rick Kushman as the new manager of media relations and Valerie Shepler has joined the staff of Fall Creek Farm and Nursery as a commercial manager for the U.S. and Canada territories.

As parts of Oregon and California face severe water shortages, the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service has awarded the states a total of 9 Regional Conservation Partnership Program grants.

Farm and environmental groups that often disagree on ag policy are urging the Agriculture Department to prioritize climate change in conservation programs and to consider changes to crop insurance that would promote the use of cover crops and other carbon-conserving practices.

The Agriculture Department continues to insist that working lands will be included in the Biden administration’s goal of conserving 30% of the nation’s land and waters by 2030, as the administration prepares to flesh out some of the details of its 30x30 initiative.

High commodity prices are fueling farmers' optimism as planters get rolling this spring, but in some areas the lack of rain this spring is making producers nervous as they plant into the dusty ground.