Agriculture

Hemp Innovation Challenge at the 2020 World Ag Expo

TULARE - The Hemp Innovation Challenge is designed to accelerate the future of the hemp industry by supporting entrepreneurs, researchers and students who are launching the most disruptive hemp innovations in the world. Submissions will come from hemp innovators in universities, companies, research institutes, barns, and government agencies. Finalists will be invited to the World Ag Expo® in Tulare, California in February 2020 to participate in the fast pitch competition.

Prizes will be awarded for ideas connected to technology, software, and services driving growth and innovation into food, fuel, medicine, health, fiber, waste, and sustainable development as a few examples. Submissions are open to for-profits, non-profits, and early stage concepts or impact projects including those aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Blue Diamond Growers Encouraged by First Phase of U.S. China Agreement

SACRAMENTO - Blue Diamond Growers supports and is encouraged by the historic trade agreement signed with China this week. This agreement benefits all U.S. agriculture including the California almond industry. China is a very important market for California almonds and this agreement will help stabilize the trade relationship with China.

This benefits both China's consumers who want healthy almonds and California almond growers. We look forward to increased trade with China which this agreement provides. We are also looking forward to phase two agreement with China which is expected to provide additional benefits to almonds.

Sun-Maid Becomes First Food Brand to Collaborate with the National School Boards Association

FRESNO - With nearly 13 million students in the United States regularly attending school hungry, one in six children can't perform at their full potential in the classroom because they lack consistent access to affordable, nutritious foods*. Recognizing the need to bring attention to food insecurity, Sun-Maid® is working with the National School Boards Association (NSBA), the leading advocate for public education, to help nutrition become a more important focus in schools and among educators.

As a leading better-for-you snacking company and the first food brand to join forces with the national association, Sun-Maid will work collaboratively with the NSBA toward providing all students access to the same nutritional resources that can help establish a more uniform foundation for equity in the learning environment.

Hemp Education & Marketing Pavilion to debut at 2020 World Ag Expo

TULARE – Used in more than 25,000 products globally, industrial hemp was reintroduced to US agriculture thanks to the 2018 Farm Bill. Interest in hemp has grown nationwide, and according to a December 2018 Forbes magazine article, is a “potential economic dynamo for American farmers.”

World Ag Expo®, one of the largest ag trade shows in the world, is taking on the hemp conversation in cooperation with Plant Growth Group, a consultancy in the hemp marketplace. A 9,400 square foot tent will house thirty 10’x10’ exhibitor spaces, and a seminar stage, on the south east side of the grounds at the February show.

California Dairy Families Celebrate American Cheese Month by Declaring State "Cheese & Wine Country"

TRACY - October is American Cheese Month and California's dairy farmers are renaming the state "Cheese and Wine Country" in recognition of the award-winning cheesemaking heritage that grew alongside its wine industry and pairing the state's most noteworthy specialties formally together in a new way.

While California is widely known for its winemaking roots, its history as a top cheesemaker is just as strong. The state's rich cheese history started 250 years ago when Friar Junipero Serra introduced cheesemaking to the missions in 1769. Today, California is the nation's number one producer of fluid milk, butter, ice cream and Hispanic-style cheeses and is the second largest producer of all cheese.