California Ag Network

Tag: Event

  • Kings County Farm Day Is One Month Away; Unique Field Trip Brings Agriculture To Life For Local Third Graders

    Hanford, Calif., ((February 20 2017) – Kings County Farm Bureau is busy preparing for the annual event that best exemplifies what Farm Bureau is all about: Farm Day. Now in its 13th year, Kings County Farm Day will bring together 2,373 third graders and 108 teachers from 32 schools for a unique field trip. With the help of 24 businesses, 12 equipment operators and 26 animal presenters, students from across the county will have the opportunity to learn about the many facets of agriculture through interactive exhibits and hands-on experiences.

    Farm Day, which will take place on Thursday, March 16 at the Kings Fairgrounds, is a collaborative effort on the part of Kings County Farm Bureau (KCFB), the Kings County Office of Education and the Kings Fair. Farm Day strives to teach the next generation of consumers about the positive contributions farming makes to the community and the local economy.

    Volunteers will guide students through a number of exhibits that allow them to climb on tractors, pet a variety of farm animals and learn the process of how food gets from the farm to the fork.

    The goal of Farm Day, which requires hundreds of man hours to plan and execute each year, is to spark an interest in agriculture – the Valley’s dominant industry – at a young age for the next generation of consumers. As educational as it is fun, Farm Day teaches children valuable lessons about where food comes from, and demonstrates that it is not grown in the grocery store.

    “Farm Day provides us with a special opportunity to teach local students about the importance of living in a farming community,” said Farm Day Chairman Brian Bergman. “Our goal is for every child who attends Farm Day to gain an increased awareness of the positive contributions that agriculture makes not only to our local community and our economy, but to the world.”

    Farm Day will take place on Thursday, March 16, from 9 a.m. – noon at Kings Fairgrounds in Hanford, and is a very visual event that offers great opportunities for photos and video. It is requested that media planning to attend please call Kings County Farm Bureau at (559) 584-3557 or email dusty.ference@kcfb.org in advance so that we may assist you with coordinating interviews. On the day of the event, call Dusty Ference at (559) 303-1885.

  • Workshop On New General Plan Guidelines

    Fresno, Calif., ((February 20, 2017) – The Governor’s Office of Planning and Research (OPR) will be having a General Plan guidelines workshop on Friday, February 24, from 1 to 4 p.m., at the Fresno City Council Chambers, 2600 Fresno St., Fresno.

    OPR has been engaged in a thorough update of the General Plan Guidelines (GPG). The new GPG will include resources, data, tools, and model policies to help cities and counties update their general plans, and has been informed by extensive outreach and collaboration.

    A General Plan is the local government’s long-term blueprint for the community’s vision of future growth. OPR is responsible for updating the General Plan Guidelines – the “how to” resource for drafting a general plan. OPR also monitors general plan implementation with annual progress reports from cities and counties, and grants general plan extensions for qualified cities and counties.

    Elected officials, planners, practitioners, business leaders, developers and community members are invited to attend and learn about the updated guidelines, ask questions, and share their feedback. The workshop will give brief descriptions of the process of updating the guidelines, as well as the major updates made in each section, and the changes made based on public input.

    There is no cost to attend.

  • Train-the-Trainer tractor workshops

    Fresno, Calif., (February 10, 2017) – Western Agricultural Processors Association (WAPA) will be hosting tractor “Train-the-Trainer” workshops throughout the next two months.

    Dates and locations include:

    • February 22, in English, from 9 a.m. to noon and in Spanish, from 1 to 4 p.m., at the Semi Tropic Coop & Almond Huller, 25382 Highway 46, Wasco.
    • February 23, in English from 9 a.m. to noon and in Spanish, from 1 to 4 p.m., at Mid Valley Cotton Growers, Inc., 626 W. Cartmill, Tulare;
    • March 8, in English from 9 a.m. to noon and in Spanish, from 1 to 4 p.m., at the CPDES Hall, 172 W. Jefferson Ave., Easton;
    • March 9, in English from 9 a.m. to noon. and in Spanish, from 1 to 4 p.m., at Peters Fruit Farms, Inc., 41018 Road 56, Reedley;
    • March 15, in English from 9 a.m. to noon, at Travaille and Phippen, Inc., 12700 E. Graves Road, Manteca;
    • March 16, in English from 9 a.m. to noon, at Howard Dryer Co., 2169 Franklin Rd., Yuba City.

    Participants will be provided with the information needed for understanding the rules and regulations on tractor operation and conducting trainings. Sessions will cover Cal/OSHA regulations, safety aspects and proper operation and maintenance.

    Cost to attend is $50 per person. For more information, click here.

  • Ag Council Annual Meeting

    Sacramento, Calif., (February 7, 2017) – Ag Council thanks our members who have registered for the 98th Annual Meeting taking place March 8-10, 2017 at the Park Hyatt Aviara Resort in Carlsbad. If you have not yet registered, click the “Learn More” link below to register today. The registration fee increases on February 17, 2017.

    CoBank Partnership: As in the past, the Annual Meeting is held in conjunction with CoBank’s Pacific West Customer Meeting, and we appreciate CoBank’s partnership.

    Agenda: For the tentative agenda, click HERE.  Go to the “Learn More” link below to register for Ag Council’s 98th Annual Meeting.

    Questions: We look forward to seeing you in Carlsbad. Please contact Jennifer Johnson at ph. 916.443.4887 or jennifer@agcouncil.org with any questions.

  • Join SCW’s Karissa Kruse at Upcoming Tailgate Talks

    Santa Rosa, Calif., (January 31, 2017) – Starting in March, SCW President Karissa Kruse is hosting a series of Tailgate Talks throughout Sonoma County in partnership with our AVA’s. This is a chance to hear an update on our marketing efforts, sustainability initiative, grower education and have a casual conversation with Karissa and your AVA leaders about any issues or thoughts on your mind.

    We are still finalizing the dates for some AVA’s but please mark you calendar for the following confirmed Tailgate Talks:

    Tailgate Series Details

    Date: Varies by AVA
Time: 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Location: Varies by AVA

    • March 9, 2017: Dry Creek Valley – Location: Amista Vineyards – 3320 Dry Creek Rd.
    • March 30, 2017:   Alexander Valley & Pine Mountain-Cloverdale Peak
    • April 27, 2017:       Russian River Valley & Green Valley
    • May 11, 2017:         Sonoma Valley
    • TBA:                       Bennett Valley
    • TBA:                        Fountaingrove
    • TBA:                        Petaluma Gap

    For more information or to sign up for a Tailgate Talk with Karissa, please contact Denise Moore at Denise@sonomawinegrape.org

     

  • What a Feast It Will Be, Benefiting Honey and Pollination Center

    Davis, Calif., (January 30, 2017) – The UC Davis Honey and Pollination Center’s annual Feast, scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 11, will celebrate mead and honey, as usual, and something else: a new partnership to bring a pollinator-friendly kitchen garden to the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science.

    Amina Harris, director of the RMI’s Honey and Pollination Center, said the garden will be part of the Good Life Garden that sits amid the institute’s buildings in the south campus, and is being developed in cooperation with the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden.

    “We are creating a team to look at plantings, irrigation concepts, educational signage and even the installation of a beehive,” Harris said.

    The center’s mission: Helping UC Davis become the world’s leading authority on bee health, pollination and honey quality.

    Kathleen Socolofsky, assistant vice chancellor and director of the Arboretum and Public Garden, said: “We are thrilled to be able to plan the next phase of the Good Life Garden with our partners at the Robert Mondavi Institute, including the Honey and Pollination Center and other academic partners in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.”

    Ideas for the garden will be presented at The Feast: A Celebration of Mead and Honey, described by Harris as “a tasty way” to celebrate pollinators and the wonderful fruits and vegetables they help bring to the table.

    The dinner, now in its fourth year, also serves as a fundraiser for the Honey and Pollination Center’s outreach and education programs.

    Harris said Ann Evans, author of The Davis Farmers Market Cookbook (second edition), has created a feast menu that is redolent with seasonal flavors: hors d’oeuvres and Honey Stingers featuring ginger mead; a rich tomato aspic salad; and a main course of chicken with plumped dried figs and apricots, and roasted Musqué de Provence squash with couscous. Wines, honey lemonade and sparkling mead will paired with each course.

    A cheese interlude will accompany a dessert mead flight with a perfect closure to a winter feast: mead-poached pears served with butter cookies and the mead flight.

    The Feast, including music by the Jonny Gold Trio, will begin at 6 p.m. in the foyer of the RMI Sensory Building. Tickets: $150, available online. For more information, contact Harris by email.