Food And Farm News
4-2-2025
Farmers encouraged to use livestock grazing to mitigate fire risks
By increasing the use of livestock to manage vegetation, also known as targeted grazing, California farmers and ranchers may be an overlooked potential ally in preventing future wildfires. That’s according to new research by University of California Cooperative Extension livestock and natural resources adviser Dan Macon and UCCE specialist Leslie Roche. “Farmers and ranchers are in a great position to adopt targeted grazing because of their lifelong and often multigenerational understanding of their location, along with their ability to balance livestock needs with landscape goals,” Macon said.
Salinas Valley vegetable production ramps up as season changes
With winter turning to spring, vegetable production in California is shifting from the Imperial Valley—the primary region for winter vegetables—back to the Salinas Valley, which dominates the state’s vegetable production for much of the year. “March, April, May is when we start to ramp up once the rain winds down,” said Jonathan Merrill, a Monterey County vegetable grower. “We specialize in partner contracts and grow for bigger brands that you’ll see in the grocery stores. The vast majority of what we do is driven by our customers, the shippers. They tell us certain amounts or acres per week.”
Easter lily producers prepare to ship flowers for spring holiday
California’s Easter lily producers are preparing to ship the flowers specially grown for the holiday. Rob Miller, a nursery operator and flower grower in Del Norte County—also known as the nation’s Easter lily capital—said he expects to start making deliveries around April 7, with Easter falling this year on April 20. Easter lilies naturally bloom in the summer. To get them to flower for Easter, growers must manipulate the plants in the greenhouse. “Pushing lilies or plants earlier or holding them off later is a function of temperature,” Miller said. “If you need them to be earlier, you have to force them at a warmer temperature. If you’re going to hold them a bit later, you can run the greenhouses a little cooler.”
California Farm Bureau TV program, host win TASTE Awards
California Bountiful TV, the long-running lifestyle program produced by the California Farm Bureau, and its host and executive producer, Aubrey Aquino, won two TASTE Awards at the 16th annual event held last month in Beverly Hills. Aquino was named Best Producer, while California Bountiful TV earned the award for Best Green/Organic TV Program. “It’s truly an honor to receive these awards, and I feel fortunate to be able to share and tell the many stories of California’s agriculture with a television audience,” Aquino said, adding this was the first time the show entered the TASTE Awards.
For more information about any story in Food and Farm News, contact the California Farm Bureau Marketing/Communications Division at 916-561-5550 or email news@cfbf.com. Connect with us on Facebook, X, or Instagram: @CAFarmBureau.
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