Agriculture

Emily Drost—a local volunteer, youth mentor and rodeo competitor—was named Miss San Benito Rodeo and will compete for the title of Miss California Rodeo Salinas 2026.  Drost will compete against five other contestants hailing from throughout the Central Coast. The 2026 Miss California Rodeo Salinas...

Downtown Hollister filled with cattle, classic cars and color guards June 20 as the San Benito County Saddle Horse Show and Rodeo kicked off its annual Downtown Parade, a tradition tied to a rodeo dating back to 1929. The parade began at 11am along San...

Authorities are urging residents who recently purchased grapevines from Costco stores in Monterey, Santa Cruz or Santa Clara counties to contact the San Benito County Agriculture Department as part of a statewide effort to stop the spread of a destructive invasive insect. Department staff announced...

The all volunteer San Benito County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue Mounted Unit took their horses for a training session in preparation for the San Benito County Saddle Horse Show & Rodeo Downtown Parade scheduled for 11am June 20. From left to right are J.D....

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...

San Benito Agricultural Land Trust this week announced it has received grant funding to support two significant land conservation projects in San Benito County.  Grants totaling more than $3.4 million will partially fund the purchase of the 586-acre San Antonio Ranch in San Juan Bautista,...

Rachael Gallagher wears the crown as the 2026 Miss Gilroy Garlic Festival Queen, winning the distinction at the festival’s annual scholarship pageant on April 19. Gallagher, 25, is a Gilroy native and a graduate of Gilroy High School’s Class of 2018, according to the Gilroy...

Fresh produce, local flavor and a strong sense of community have returned to downtown Hollister as the city’s annual Farmers Market kicked off April 15 for another season, bringing together growers, artisans and residents for a weekly celebration of all things local. More than 90...

On a 16-acre hilltop on Pacheco Pass Highway in southeast Gilroy, Recology turns thousands of tons of yard waste and food scraps from households throughout South Valley into nutrient-rich compost that farmers throughout the region use as a robust natural fertilizer.  The ultimate result is...

Cherry growers from Coyote Valley to Hollister are reporting one of the worst crops in recent memory after an unusually warm winter left trees without enough cold to fruit properly, followed by a heat wave during the critical bloom period that disrupted germination. “We have...