SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Diamond Foods Inc. said Wednesday it is replacing its CEO and chief financial officer after an internal investigation found that the company improperly accounted for payments to walnut growers and it needs to restate two years of financial results.
The news sent shares of th ...
Wednesday, February 08, 2012 3:03 PM
COLUSA, Calif. - Vendors at the 47th annual Colusa Farm Show here said their sales have been good and getting better, buoyed by strength in prices for rice, nuts and other crops grown in the Central Valley.
"It's been better this year," said Jose Sanchez, general manager of the Fowler, Calif.-b ...
Tuesday, February 07, 2012 5:02 PM
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- A former California wine keeper convicted of destroying more than 4.5 million bottles in a warehouse fire was sentenced Tuesday to 27 years in prison.
A federal judge in Sacramento also ordered Mark Anderson to pay $70.3 million to customers who lost their premium col ...
Tuesday, February 07, 2012 3:31 PM
The U.S. Forest Service violated environmental law by approving a plan to greatly increase allowable logging levels on national forests in California's Sierra Nevada Mountains, according to a federal appeals court.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has overturned federal judge's ruling that ...
Tuesday, February 07, 2012 2:30 PM
Feed and fuel costs are keeping margins lean for dairymen in California and the Pacific Northwest.
Cost of production is high and it's anyone guess what feed prices will be this year, said Ray Souza, a Turlock, Calif., dairyman.
"I think right now most dairymen are in a negative cash flow ...
Tuesday, February 07, 2012 10:50 AM
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- A federal appeals court says environmental laws were violated in the lead-up to the Bush administration's 2004 decision to expand logging in California's Sierra forests.
The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled on Friday that the U.S. Forest Service f ...
Saturday, February 04, 2012 2:27 PM
RED BLUFF, Calif. - The new head of the California Dried Plum Board says he hopes for a rebound in plum acreage in the next decade even as plantings dipped again in the last year.
Only 55,000 acres of trees were bearing during the 2010-2011 season, down from the 61,000 acres that bore fruit in ...
Friday, February 03, 2012 4:28 PM
RED BLUFF, Calif. -- Despite an overall sluggish economy, businesses that cater to the livestock industry have been holding their own.
For some businesses, including Hickman Saddlery in Post Falls, Idaho, the key has been to augment income by venturing into new areas of marketing.
The business h ...
Thursday, February 02, 2012 12:00 PM
TULARE, Calif. -- Driven by a surging agricultural sector, the 45th World Ag Expo opens Feb. 14 with 300 new exhibitors and a raft of farmers and ranchers who have money to spend after a record income year.
This year's show chairman, Patty Colson, said all exhibit spaces on the show ground's 2.6 ...
Thursday, February 02, 2012 12:00 PM
RED BLUFF, Calif. -- Bulls are in better supply in California this year than they were a year ago, which is easing prices.
That much was evident at last weekend's 71st Red Bluff Bull and Gelding Sale, where 344 bulls sold for a combined $1.24 million -- marking the second year in a row the sale t ...
Thursday, February 02, 2012 1:00 PM
Location
International Agri-Center, Tulare, Calif.
Hours
* Tuesday, Feb. 14: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
* Wednesday, Feb. 15: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
* Thursday, Feb. 16: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Admission
* General admission: $12 at the gate.
* 6 and under: Free
Parking and shuttles
Free parking is availab ...
Thursday, February 02, 2012 3:00 PM
World Ag Expo this year is offering programs aimed at motivating FFA students, raising money for their local chapters and, as a special feature, the expo will sponsor a competition with cash prizes, organizers say.
Also among this year's programs are an FFA assembly, a fundraiser with a chance to w ...
Thursday, February 02, 2012 12:00 PM
Expert shares networking tips
ANDERSON, Calif. -- Jeff Fowle, an Etna, Calif., rancher who has been at the forefront of agriculture's social media revolution, will be a featured speaker at the Sierra Cascade Logging Conference Feb. 7-11.
Fowle, a past president of Ag Chat Foundation, will give t ...
Thursday, February 02, 2012 12:00 PM
A federal judge has upheld a requirement that California almonds be treated with heat or chemicals, which some growers claim unfairly favors foreign producers.
The USDA did not exceed its authority by imposing regulations that effectively banned the sale of domestically produced raw almonds, said ...
Thursday, February 02, 2012 1:00 PM
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- A bill that would end future state subsidies for corn-based ethanol is in the California Senate after sailing through the Assembly.
The bill by Assemblyman David Valadao, R-Hanford, would bar any funding from the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program ...
Thursday, February 02, 2012 12:00 PM
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Gov. Jerry Brown's recent hint that he'd consider delaying an $11.1 billion water bond set for the November ballot didn't please a leading proponent of plans to fix California's water system.
The governor indicated last month that a massive overhaul of the system could begin ...
Thursday, February 02, 2012 12:00 PM
ECHO SUMMIT, Calif. (AP) -- An announcement Wednesday that California's Sierra Nevada snowpack is a meager 15 inches in some places means bad news in a state dependent upon snowmelt to meet the water needs of 25 million people.
Resorts are suffering as skiers turn up their noses at manmad ...
Wednesday, February 01, 2012 3:44 PM
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Inspectors at Los Angeles International Airport have discovered the larvae of a destructive timber pest in a cargo crate from Germany.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection agriculture specialists say Horntail Wasp larvae had infested the crate, which had pest-free treatment ma ...
Wednesday, February 01, 2012 7:54 AM
INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) -- First lady Michelle Obama on Wednesday said the campaign to bring healthy food to all Americans is happening neighborhood by neighborhood.
Standing in a vacant Southern California store set to be refurbished and reopened this summer, Obama lauded efforts to bring large g ...
Wednesday, February 01, 2012 7:43 AM
RED BLUFF, Calif. -- Despite an overall sluggish economy, businesses that cater to the livestock industry have at least been holding their own.
For some businesses, including Hickman Saddlery in Post Falls, Idaho, the key has been to augment income by venturing into new areas of marketing.
Th ...
Tuesday, January 31, 2012 10:12 AM
RENO, Nev. (AP) -- A young gray wolf's search for a mate apparently won't take him to the northern Nevada desert where the annual Burning Man festival is staged.
The wolf known as OR-7 came within 15 miles of the Nevada line near Susanville, Calif., early last week before he decided to head b ...
Sunday, January 29, 2012 8:58 PM
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- A state appeals court has upheld a fine against an Oakland pet food chain, saying fleas are pests so a flea-prevention product the company sold should have been labeled a pesticide.
State pesticide regulators fined Pet Food Express almost $213,000 for selling the ...
Friday, January 27, 2012 8:36 AM
REDLANDS, Calif. (AP) -- A pest that threatens citrus crops has turned up in the San Bernardino County city of Redlands.
The Press-Enterprise of Riverside (http://bit.ly/xbMdf2 ) says the Asian citrus psyllid was discovered at the city-owned Granite Grove.
The newspaper says the City Council ...
Friday, January 27, 2012 8:36 AM
VISALIA, Calif. -- Interest in the burgeoning pistachio industry was reflected in the packed meeting rooms for the annual Pistachio Day.
The annual one-day event drew 650 people, roughly double the number attending just two years ago. The reason might be that the recently completed pistachio harv ...
Thursday, January 26, 2012 11:00 AM
RED BLUFF, Calif. -- The Golden State's largest farm organization wants to boost political fundraising this year to increase agriculture's clout in Sacramento.
California Farm Bureau Federation president Paul Wenger sent a letter to the group's 30,000 members urging more donations.
The organizat ...
Thursday, January 26, 2012 10:00 AM
PACIFIC GROVE, Calif. -- One of the West's largest conferences on sustainable agriculture will be offered here next week. It will include numerous workshops on organics and other topics.
Some 1,500 farmers, marketers, activists, educators and others are expected to attend the 32nd annual EcoFarm ...
Thursday, January 26, 2012 11:00 AM