Focus on Agriculture

The Monterey County Health Department Environmental Health Bureau has announced the release of a new phone application “MC Food Inspection Findings” available for public use. The new app assists the public in making informed decisions when seeking restaurants and food facilities that meet or exceed food safety standards.

The Monterey County Agricultural Commissioner’s Office is investigating an incident of possible exposure of farmworkers to pesticides.

Ranked 11th by last year’s U.S. food and wine festival calendar critics, the 2017 Paso Robles Wine Festival is scheduled for May 18-21.

South County organic farmer Israel Morales Sr. of JV Farms Organic in Soledad will receive the Organic Farmer of the Year Award at the Organic Trade Association’s Leadership Awards set for Sept. 11 at the Belvedere Hotel in Baltimore, Md.

The Rancho Cielo Youth Campus was the site of a groundbreaking ceremony for the Ted Taylor Agricultural Center on April 8.

In celebration of National Salad Month and in recognition of the great agriculture bounty of the Central Coast, the California Welcome Center Salinas and the Soledad Visitors and Gateway Center will be giving out free samples of fruits and vegetables.

Nearly 250 guests recently took a journey back in time to tour the properties owned by Salinas Land Co. and California Orchard Co. — located between King City and Greenfield — in celebration of the two companies’ 100th anniversary and their profound impact on agriculture in the Salinas Valley.

Mann Packing of Salinas is voluntarily recalling minimally processed vegetable products because they may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

In a joint effort to accelerate the development of agricultural technologies, Wells Fargo has awarded Western Growers a $30,000 grant for the second year in a row.

Future Farmers of America members from King City to Watsonville gathered at Soledad High School for the annual interview contest on Jan. 31.