A fungus among us: Team hopes to cultivate truffles on Central Coast
A group of French and Chilean truffle farmers are sniffing out the Central Coast’s potential to grow the highly prized fungi. A team from Beyond Truffles, a Chilean truffle producer, and Agri-Truffe, a French truffle-tree nursery operation, are reaching out to San Luis Obispo County farmers and vintners in hopes of launching large-scale production Read More →
Santa Maria chamber names Citizen of the Year award for Bob Hatch
The Santa Maria Valley Chamber of Commerce has renamed its Citizen of the Year Award for outgoing President Bob Hatch and given him the inaugural honor. The change was announced at the chamber’s annual dinner on Aug. 13. The award is now called the Robert P. Hatch Citizen of the Year award. In accepting the Read More →
80-acre home development in Orcutt sells
An 80-acre residential development in Orcutt has been sold for an undisclosed amount. The project, called Bradley Village, was purchased by an area investment group called Bradley Ventures after listing for $8 million, according to Hayes Commercial Group, which represented the buyer in the deal negotiations. Also known as Key Site 30, the project is Read More →
Startup Weekend, en Español: Entrepreneurs pitch in Santa Maria
A design for a face-mask to protect farm laborers from dust, pesticides and sun damage took home the top spot at the first Spanish Startup Weekend in the U.S. The event, held the weekend of Aug. 1-3 in Santa Maria, gathered four teams who spent 54 hours working on prototypes and presentations for their Read More →
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 →
