Food And Farm News
June 24, 2026
Local farmers grow malting barley for brewing beer
California grain farmers are finding success producing sustainably grown malting barley for Alameda-based Admiral Maltings. The San Francisco Bay Area malthouse sources the barley from local growers and produces malt, which can be used for distilling, brewing and food production. Ron Silberstein, co-founder of Admiral Maltings, said the company pays growers a premium to grow malting barley, as well as wheat and rye, using earth-friendly or carbon-sequestering practices such as no-till. “It’s not the cheapest, but it’s all about sustainability,” Silberstein said. Fritz Durst, who grows organic no-till wheat for Admiral in Yolo County, said the premiums are crucial for making it financially viable to grow the grains. “Everybody thinks sustainability is about soil that’s healthy—and that’s part of it,” Durst said. “But part of sustainability is right here, paying a fair price to the grower.”
How farmers can help fight wildfires
In 2017, as dozens of wildfires ravaged California’s wine country, University of California, Davis, researcher Natalia Pinzón witnessed the devastation firsthand. The experience showed Pinzón the necessity of including farmers and ranchers in the state’s wildfire preparedness and mitigation efforts. She said farmers play an important part in preventing wildfires by reducing wildfire fuels, for example. “They also create the social infrastructure that is so important during disaster response,” Pinzón told Ag Alert® in an interview. “During a disaster, what we need most for immediate response is integrated social networks and integrated communities that can leverage existing resources quickly and mobilize. That can make a huge difference for a community’s ability to survive an event like this.”
Farm advocates seek support for local USDA offices
California Farm Bureau this month joined more than 100 agricultural organizations in a letter urging congressional appropriators to provide additional funding and staffing support for local U.S. Department of Agriculture offices of the Farm Service Agency and Natural Resources Conservation Service. The coalition highlighted growing concerns that staffing reductions, retirements and workforce attrition have led to delays and service disruptions in USDA field offices across the country, including in California. The offices play a critical role in administering farm programs, conservation assistance, disaster relief and technical support for farmers. According to the letter, several USDA agencies have experienced significant workforce losses during the past year, creating challenges for producers seeking timely access to programs and services.
Central Valley farms begin ramping up irrigation
Farmers in the Central Valley are ramping up irrigation for the season as temperatures rise going into summer and many crops enter a key stage of development ahead of harvest. “For almonds, we’re getting through our irrigation portion of the season,” San Joaquin County walnut, almond and olive farmer Josh Barton told Ag Alert® this month in a field report. “With walnuts, we’re ramping up our irrigation right now. We’ve kind of prolonged our first irrigation of the season till middle and the end of May. It’s been our standard for about the last 10 years. We’ve been doing some lighter shots of water, waiting for some of our district water deliveries to get made as allocations have been set. We’re doing all our irrigation maintenance and pressure bombing, making sure that our trees are ready to take the water and that we’re utilizing it properly.”
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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