Agriculture

TriCal, Inc. and the developer of the Strada Verde Innovation Park have reached a “comprehensive safety agreement” that aims to alleviate concerns about the proximity of more commercial activity near a chemical storage facility off Highway 25. The agreement comes as a group of local...

Mosquitoes testing positive for West Nile Virus are still active in a small area of unincorporated San Benito County, according to the county agricultural commissioner’s office.  Crews are scheduled to target the affected area with mosquito treatment on Oct. 18, with daytime temperatures expected to...

Addyson Dell, an ambitious 13-year-old homeschooled eighth grader who is the secretary of her 4H club in Hollister, is on a mission to repair her new livestock shelter that was badly damaged in a recent wind storm.  With the help of her parents, Dell is...

On a recent December afternoon, about 30 volunteers gathered at St. Francis Retreat Center in San Juan Bautista to give their efforts to the sprawling, multifaceted Farmworker Caravan—an annual holiday donation drive for families in need in five counties.  Labeled a “Santa’s Workshop,” the Dec....

The feud between San Benito Foods and the City of Hollister may have to be settled in court as the tomato cannery filed a lawsuit in San Benito County Superior Court, alleging the city violated the California Environmental Quality Act and the Brown Act. The...

UC Santa Cruz recently acquired and established the Strathearn Ranch Natural Reserve, a 2,400-acre oak-studded grassland property in San Benito County that will be used for field research and outdoor education for the university’s students, staff and researchers.  The UC Board of Regents approved the...

Brittany Moore, of San Juan Bautista, took home the title of Miss San Benito Rodeo 2022 last weekend at Bolado Park.  Moore, 20, is the daughter of Andy Moore and Cheryl Yetter. She is currently attending Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, majoring in Animal Science...

Ken Griffin is San Benito County’s first agricultural commissioner since 2021, following a recent interview and vote by the board of supervisors.  Griffin has served as the county’s Acting Agricultural Commissioner for about five years. The board voted to remove “acting” from his title on...

A series of letters published in South Valley newspapers over the past several months claiming that mountain lions are dangerously overpopulated in the Santa Cruz Mountains has drawn sharp disagreement from researchers and wildlife managers who say the claims misrepresent how the species’ populations...

The San Benito Agricultural Land Trust recently completed steps to permanently protect another portion of Phil Foster Ranch in San Benito County’s fertile San Juan Valley.  With assistance from two public funding programs, SBALT has acquired an agricultural easement that brings the total protected acreage...