Belt tightening: Amid drought, food banks face bare cupboards
Demand is up at the region’s food banks, and supply is down. In the for-profit world, those two factors would mean higher prices, but since food banks give away their products, their cupboards are starting to look a bit bare.
Budding trend: Region’s growers count on locavore movement
The $176 million tri-county cut-flower industry is hoping to woo Valentine’s Day shoppers, who are expected to spend $1.8 billion nationwide this year on blooms for their sweethearts.
Mussel tussle: Ventura County water districts at odds over invasive quagga
Amid a historic statewide drought, low reservoir levels and diminishing groundwater supplies, two Ventura County water districts are caught in a saga over the invasive quagga.
Cloud farming : SLO firm brings sensor technology to the fields
The Tri-Counties may or may not see many rain clouds this year, but farmers around the region will be using cloud computing to manage their irrigation with San Luis Obispo-based Hortau.
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.
