News

US Honey Industry Contributes More Than $4.7 Billion to Economy, 22,000 Jobs

FREDERICK, Colo. - The U.S. honey industry is thriving, according to a new study¹ from the University of California Agricultural Issues Center. The research found that the U.S. honey industry in 2017 was responsible for more than 22,000 jobs and its total economic output was $4.74 billion. Total economic output includes direct effect, such as workers hired to move beehives, indirect effect, like packaging supply companies for honey products, and induced effects, the wages honey industry workers spend at local businesses.

The study was directed by Dr. Daniel A. Sumner, an economist and director of the University of California Agricultural Issues Center, an institute which has studied the economic impacts of many farm commodities. The U.S. honey industry is made up of beekeepers, importers, packers and processors.

Sun-Maid Continues Successful Expansion with Move to Fresno

KINGSBURG - As part of the company's commitment to growth and efficiencies, Sun-Maid Growers of California announced it will move its corporate offices from Kingsburg and satellite offices from northern California to a new consolidated headquarters in Fresno this summer. Sun-Maid's Kingsburg location will be transformed into a center for operational excellence and product development to further incite innovation and encourage a strong focus on new products for the brand. To ensure a beneficial transition for employees, individuals may elect flex schedules, remote access and work-from-home options—all of which are being made available to the existing workforce.

The moves reinforce three key areas to help drive the company's transformation: it will support the growing talent base, create a culture of creativity, collaboration and excellence, and build its innovation pipeline. Sun-Maid's expanded Central Valley footprint serves as another milestone that's part of its re-emergence in the marketplace, which has included the hiring of a new CEO and launch of its first integrated campaign in a decade.

Hemp and CBD Products Grow in Prominence Around the Globe

NEW YORK - Hemp is known for its multifarious applications, however, it is most commonly associated with cannabis in recent times as hemp's classification under cannabis itself, had it declared federally illegal. After researchers evaluated hemp and realized that it is the non-psychoactive derivative of the cannabis plant, many people's position regarding the plant began to change. Now, hemp is being leveraged for medical applications through researchers extracting its main component: CBD. In combination with the recent passage of legislation like the U.S. Farm Bill and the delisting of CBD as a Schedule 1 drug, the overall hemp industry is positioned to see tremendous growth.

According to data compiled by Hemp Business Journal, a division of New Frontier Data, the total sales for the U.S. hemp industry totaled USD 820 Million in 2017. The research suggests that the industry is expected to grow to USD 1.9 Billion by 2022, and at a CAGR of 14.4% during the 5-year period. In particular, hemp-derived CBD products accounted for the majority of the industry's sales, delivering USD 190 Million in sales total. Furthermore, the segment is expected to continue to dominate the overall hemp industry in the future.

“American Grown: My Job Depends On Ag,” Coming To ValleyPBS This Fall

FRESNO - ValleyPBS will air a new series this fall, co-produced by 18THIRTY Entertainment, exploring agriculture in the United States entitled, American Grown: My Job Depends on Ag. The program will be an unbiased, in-depth look at the issues that inspired the Facebook group-turned-movement, the future of the industry, and the stories of how agriculture touches us all far beyond the table, from the clothes we wear to the roof over our heads.

The show is slated to start in September, airing Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m. after Valley’s Gold, building upon the success of ValleyPBS’ other locally-produced ag show about area crops. American Grown will follow PBS’ trusted journalistic standards to tell the stories of people in agriculture, giving voice to multiple sides on important matters impacting the industry.

Medical Marijuana, Inc. Subsidiary HempMeds Signs Agreement with National Distributor Mr. Checkout

SAN DIEGO - Medical Marijuana, Inc., the first-ever publicly traded cannabis company in the United States, today announced that its subsidiary HempMeds® has signed an agreement with national distribution leader Mr. Checkout to distribute its line of cannabidiol (CBD) hemp oil tinctures, liquids, topical and pet products to thousands of members of national and independent retailers including natural grocery and health stores, vitamin retail outlets and pharmacies.

Established in 1989, Mr. Checkout is a national group of independent direct store delivery distributors, full-line grocery distributors and wagon-jobbers, representing products at over 60 major retailers. Its distribution network services over 35,000 retailers across the United States, Canada and parts of the Caribbean. In addition, Mr. Checkout has worked with ABC's Shark Tank to help vet products either before they're on the show or afterward when the deal has closed.

2019 World Ag Expo Top-10 New Product Winners Announced

TULARE - Results are in for World Ag Expo’s® Top-10 New Products Competition, sponsored by Bank of America. The winners will be showcased February 12-14, 2019, during the World Ag Expo® in Tulare, California.

A large and impressive field of cutting-edge, cost-saving, and resource-managing products were submitted for the contest by exhibitors of the largest annual agricultural show of its kind. The contest judges were made up of farmers, ranchers and industry professionals. The Top-10 New Products competition is once again sponsored by Bank of America, which has an industry leading agribusiness group that delivers end-to-end banking and finance solutions to ag producers and related businesses.

Assistance Available for California Producers to Aid Declining Monarch Butterfly

DAVIS - California agricultural producers can voluntarily help the monarch butterfly on their farms and ranches through a variety of conservation practices offered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). This assistance comes at a critical time as recent reports show the western population of the monarch butterfly is at an all-time low.

“With the monarch butterfly’s western population in peril, we’re encouraging California producers to make simple tweaks on their farms that can go a long way for this iconic species,” said Carlos Suarez, state conservationist with USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in California. “NRCS offers more than three dozen conservation practices that enable producers to help monarchs and other pollinators as well as benefit their agricultural operations.”