Agriculture

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

Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System’s Farmers’ Market kicked off its 2017-2018 season last Friday, May 19. The Certified Farmers’ Market offers fresh fruits and vegetables, flowers and other items.

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.

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.

The Agriculture and Land-Based Training Association (ALBA) will host a Family Farm Day on Saturday, June 10, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 1700 Old Stage Road near Salinas.

Agricultural Commissioner Henry Gonzales has announced that the economic value of Monterey County agriculture increased by 4 percent in 2017, as compared with 2016, with crop production values of $4.4 billion.

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

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.

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.

Wine grape harvest is just around the corner in the Paso Robles wine country.