Agriculture

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.

The Castroville Artichoke Food & Wine Festival will return to the Monterey County Fair and Event Center for two full days of cooking demonstrations, activities, exhibits and entertainment.

Nicolaus “Nicky” Hahn, founder of Hahn Family Wines and pioneer of California’s Santa Lucia Highlands AVA, died last Friday at his home in Zurich, Switzerland. He was 81 years old.

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.

On May 18, the Salinas Valley Fair returns to King City for four days of family-friendly events, exhibits and activities.

The California State Fair has announced the recipients of the prestigious 2017 agriculture awards, which will be presented at the annual Friends of the California State Fair Gala.

A sold-out South County Ag Tour, presented by Monterey County Agricultural and Rural Life Museum, allowed participants to visit a few agricultural businesses in the area last Saturday.

After 30 years of making its own wine, Smith Family Wines will discontinue producing the Paraiso, Irie and Alexander-Smith labels and close the tasting room at the Paraiso Vineyards on Paraiso Springs Road in Soledad.

Dr. Joji Muramoto recently joined Farm Fuel part-time as senior researcher/consultant to conduct research improving the efficiency of mustard seed meal and ASD applications and products.

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