In July, a Sacramento area rice producer became the first U.S. company to secure a contract with China to export rice into the nation. China’s government began permitting American rice imports late last year and the Sun Valley Rice Co., from Arbuckle in Colusa County, became the first U.S. company to export the product to […]

Earlier this month, an invasive species that threatens crops was found near Sacramento’s Meadowview neighborhood. The Sacramento County Agricultural Commissioner and state agencies confirmed that two oriental fruit flies (Bactrocera dorsalis) were detected in the Sacramento area, which may trigger another quarantine. The oriental fruit fly is a tropical species that is widespread through much […]

The United Farm Workers (UFW) union will get a new president next month after Arturo Rodriguez, the current president, decided to relinquish the job after 25 years. Teresa Romero will be the third president of the UFW and the first ever female president of the organization. Rodriguez had been the president of the organization since […]

By Luis Alvarado California is home to the some of the most progressive farmers in the world. Despite enormous odds and pressures – drought; climate change; rising land, gas and energy costs; wildfires; labor shortages; regulatory burdens; relentless attacks from pests and disease – the state’s farmers soldier on, providing fresh fruit, produce and dairy […]

By: Raul Riesgo Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to travel from downtown Los Angeles to a farm several hours away. The farm tour was part of an effort by farmers to build bridges with people like me who live in cities and have very little understanding or appreciation of our California-grown food supply. […]

It’s hard to believe that it took five years to count the 2000 votes of farmworkers by the California Agricultural Labor Relations Board (ALRB). The votes were counted this week and it was clear that Latino workers, in this case, had no interest in joining the United Farm Workers (UFW) union. By a vote of 1,098 […]

Monterey County sheriff’s deputies discovered a field filled with thousands of opium poppies, which was enough to make $45,000 worth of heroin. According to officials, the field contained 27,000 plants and an additional 16,500 poppies that had already been harvested. Authorities eradicated the poppies, which combined together could make about 13 pounds of raw opium. […]

The question about what to do with the 2013 ballots in a union decertification vote by Gerawan Farming Inc. workers is still undecided. About 300 Gerawan workers gathered outside of the 5th District Court of Appeals in Fresno in April while the court heard the testimony of the United Farm Workers (UFW) union and Gerawan […]

 Farmworkers should have the right to be represented. If abandoned by a union, farmworkers deserve the right to vote. The right to have their voices heard and the right to be represented. Don’t take this choice away from them. Farmworkers deserve to have the same rights and protections as every other worker.

Fox & Hounds By: Annette Levi and Serhat Asci While urban and rural California may be miles apart geographically and politically, they could not be more interdependent economically. That’s what we found with a recent research project that determined nearly $3-billion of Southern California’s urban economy is directly linked to the state’s strawberry farming operations. […]