Growers now spend an average of $500,000 a year on automation in response to the persistent ag labor shortage. Western Growers discovered the data in its Specialty Crop Automation Report. The report, which tracks and measures industry progress in harvest automation across the fresh produce industry, is part of the Western Growers Global Harvest Automation…… MORE
Oakland Students To Return To Class After District, Striking Teachers Reach Deal
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Students in the Oakland Unified School District will return to full classroom instruction Tuesday after the district and striking teachers announced a tentative deal that includes a reparations task force for Black students and more say from parents and teachers in school decisions. Monday’s announcement ends a strike that had kept…… MORE
Prop 12 Animal Housing Rules Restarting
The California Department of Food and Agriculture issued this response following The US Supreme Court upholding California’s Proposition 12, an animal confinement initiative approved by voters in 2018. “CDFA is grateful that the United States Supreme Court has firmly upheld the people’s will in its decision in the National Pork Producers case. Throughout the country,…… MORE
Gov. Newsom Says State’s Budget Deficit Has Grown to Nearly $32 Billion
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California’s budget deficit has grown to nearly $32 billion, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Friday, saying the state’s challenges are partly due to high federal inflation rates and the state’s decision to let some people delay filing their taxes after winter storms. That’s about $10 billion more than Newsom predicted in January…… MORE
California Governor Likely To Announce Bigger Budget Deficit Than The $22.5B Announced In January
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday is expected to announce an even bigger budget deficit than the $22.5 billion hole that he confronted in January, reflecting an economy burdened by a sagging stock market and disrupted by a series of powerful winter storms that delayed billions of dollars in tax payments. California…… MORE
Supreme Court Rejects Challenge to Prop 12
The California prop measure includes banning the sale of pork from pigs that are kept in tightly confined spaces. The justices voted 5-4 to uphold a lower court’s decision to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the National Pork Producers Council and the American Farm Bureau that sought to invalidate the law. The groups argued that…… MORE
Apples and Oranges Top Fruit Choices
Apples held the top spot for total fruit available for consumption in 2021, the newest numbers available. Americans consumed an average of 1.7 gallons of apple juice, roughly nine pounds of fresh apples, and a total of 3.1 pounds of canned, dried, and frozen apples. Among the top seven consumed fruits in 2021, apples were…… MORE
Supreme Court Rejects Challenge To California Pork Law Mandating More Space For Pigs
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a challenge to a California animal cruelty law that affects the pork industry, ruling that the case was properly dismissed by lower courts. Pork producers had said that the law could force industry-wide changes and raise the cost of bacon and other pork products nationwide. California’s…… MORE
Caltrans Highway Worker Memorial Honors 191 Workers Who Died While On Duty
Fresno – The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) held a Workers Memorial Ceremony, Wednesday, to remember Highway Workers and other employees who have lost their lives while on the job. Since 1921, a total of 191 Caltrans workers have died in the line of duty. Wednesday’s ceremony was held in front of the Caltrans District…… MORE
California Will Pay $24M For A Man Who Died In Police Custody After Screaming ‘I Can’t Breathe’
LOS ANGELES (AP) — California will pay a $24 million civil rights settlement to the family of a man who died in police custody after screaming “I can’t breathe” as multiple officers restrained him while trying to take a blood sample, lawyers said Tuesday. Seven California Highway Patrol officers and a nurse were charged with…… MORE
