Sacramento, Calif., (January 26, 2017) – The California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) at a Jan. 26 award ceremony will recognize several organizations for projects aimed at managing pests while using fewer pesticides. The awards recognize innovation, leadership, education and outreach by California based organizations that carry out pest management. The six projects use integrated pest management (IPM) to manage …

Sacramento, Calif., (January 25, 2017) – The USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) has announced four grants totaling more than $13.6 million to combat a scourge on the nation’s citrus industry, citrus greening disease, also known as Huanglongbing (HLB). UC Riverside will receive $5,112,000 of that funding for a program to design and identify bactericides that can cure or suppress …

Sacramento, Calif., (January 25, 2017) – Calling for continued efforts to break down barriers to agricultural trade, the California Farm Bureau Federation expressed disappointment today in President Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement. “Trade in food and farm products benefits both rural and urban areas of California,” CFBF President Paul Wenger said. “For example, farm products …

Featured Image: Dead trees in the Sierra National Forest in April 2016. Credit: USFS Region 5 Davis, Calif., (January 25, 2017) – Why do some trees die in a drought and others don’t? And how can we predict where trees are most likely to die in future droughts? Scientists from the University of California, Davis, and colleagues examined those questions in …

Sacramento, Calif., (January 24, 2017) – California Department of Food and Agriculture Secretary Karen Ross is holding several public forums across the state seeking input from farmers, ranchers and other stakeholders on priorities for the 2018 Farm Bill. “The farm bill is as important to San Francisco and Los Angeles as it is to the Central Valley,” said CDFA Secretary …

Photo Credit: Sonia Fernandez Santa Barbara, Calif., (January 23, 2017) – There’s a new pest in town and it’s threatening one of the area’s top crops: avocados. First discovered in Los Angeles County in 2003, six-legged Asian shot hole borers have been found by UC Santa Barbara researchers in their own backyard. Last year, the insects appeared in avocado orchards …

Tulare, Calif., (January 23, 2017) – The Preventive Controls for Human Food regulation is intended to ensure safe manufacturing/processing, packing and holding of food products for human consumption in the United States. This course was developed by the FSPCA is the “standardized curriculum” recognized by FDA and fulfills the FSMA requirement for a PCQI (Preventive Controls Qualified Individual). Join us …

  Albany, Calif., (January 23, 2017) – U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists have developed a highly sensitive test that for the first time is able to detect all known Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, STEC bacteria are responsible for more than 265,000 cases of illness and 3,600 hospitalizations each year …