West

Kalera opens vertical farming facility in Denver

Colorado residents will soon be able to shop local for lettuce and microgreens from Kalera, a hydroponic indoor vertical farming company, thanks to the opening of the company's new Denver farm. The nearly 90,000-square-foot facility,... more »

Top state scientist to head California Bountiful Foundation

Amrith Gunasekara, manager of environmental programs for the California Department of Food and Agriculture, has been hired to head a research foundation conducting and supporting scientific studies on critical matters affecting California farm communities. [caption... more »

Siskiyou County, California, water curtailment for irrigators halted

Irrigators in Siskiyou County have won a court ruling to temporarily block a state water curtailment order that would have prevented area farmers and ranchers from tapping into percolating groundwater supplies they have relied on... more »

WSU’s first endowed potato chair seeks to grow state industry

Launching Washington State University’s first distinguished program serving potato agriculture, Steve Culman will delve below the surface to keep a $7 billion Washington industry strong. Currently a state specialist in soil fertility for The Ohio... more »

Fire damages Rio Fresh onion warehouse facility

A structure fire caused significant damage to a large portion of key fresh onion packing facilities in south Texas. On March 31, fire struck Rio Fresh Inc.’s San Juan, Texas, warehouse and packing operations. According... more »

California farmers’ markets receive state grants for healthy foods

The California Department of Food and Agriculture’s California Nutrition Incentive Program (CNIP) has selected seven projects to receive $750,000 in total grant awards to facilitate the purchase of California-grown fruit and vegetables at participating farmers’... more »

Funds allocated for repairs to Friant-Kern Canal

The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) allocated nearly $30 million this month to repair segments of the Friant-Kern Canal, which delivers water to 1 million acres of farmland from Fresno to Bakersfield. “Through this... more »

Gotham Greens to double capacity, expand to Texas, Georgia

Indoor farming specialist Gotham Greens said March 29 it plans to double the size of its greenhouse capacity this year to more than 1.2 million square feet, including its first two greenhouses in the South.... more »