Funding farming’s future: USDA tags Tri-Counties for program
A $10 billion federal fund from the U.S. Department of Agriculture could provide much-needed assistance for developing water systems and other infrastructure in the Tri-Counties, where the region’s agriculture industry has suffered tremendous losses from the drought. The USDA has designated Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties as “drought disaster counties” as Read More →
Read More →Crop values hit $4.4B as drought parches strawberries
Drought conditions sapped 12 percent of the value of strawberry production in Ventura County while wine grapes surged for Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties to help boost the region’s crop values to $4.4 billion, according to reports on last year’s crops.
Read More →Dry weather plagues Ventura County strawberries
Oxnard strawberry growers lost an average $10,000 to $15,000 per acre worth of crop last year because the berries died off prematurely in dry weather, and farmers could be in for a repeat of that scenario this year.
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Strawberries top tri-county farming forecast in 2014
Strawberries remain the largest piece of the pie in the Tri-Counties’ multibillion-dollar agriculture industry, but there will be slightly less acreage in the New Year.
Read More →Dry spell: Ventura County struggles to refill from Santa Clara River
Farms, industries and municipalities in Ventura County could see a severe reduction in the amount of water they receive from the Santa Clara River watershed and sharply higher prices if a pair of environmental challenges are successful, a top groundwater manager said Nov. 16.
Tony Morgan, groundwater department manager for the United Water Conservation District, said at a symposium in Santa Paula that the district is unlikely to be able to supply anywhere near the water this year that it has in the past because of prolonged dry weather.
Read More →Precision agriculture is a timely idea, but profits may not grow fast
Farmers are a skeptical lot. And Ventura County farmers have good reasons to be skeptical. They, and their counterparts in the Tri-Counties, grow high-risk, high-yield crops on relatively small plots of land surrounded by housing developments and urban areas. They are subject to heavy regulations on fertilizer, pesticide and water use. Particularly on strawberry fields Read More →
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