SJFB News

Weather forces late harvest for many
By Craig W. Anderson At harvest time, the San Joaquin Farm Bureau News takes a look at what’s been happening in agriculture before the year’s end from the experts on

Ag value up but there’s more to the story
By Vicky Boyd Despite the prolonged drought and last summer’s late heat wave, the county’s overall gross agricultural production value grew to more than $3.24 billion in 2022, a 1.6%

Winegrape harvest delays pose challenges
By Vicky Boyd Depressed wine markets, cool wet spring weather, a delayed harvest and inflationary price increases for crop inputs have prompted many county winegrape growers to do some soul

Farmers fight Tracy area development
By Vicky Boyd A plan to develop nearly 1,600 acres of farmland south of Tracy into warehousing has drawn the ire of nearby rural residents and farmers. From water supply

Thompson Hops’ brings the crop to local breweries
By Anna Genasci, Stanislaus County Farm Bureau, Director of Education & Communication Here we are in the Central Valley enduring another set of 100-plus days. Now, I am not a

High interest rates add to ags’ struggle
By Vicky Boyd Increasing interest rates, combined with rising crop input prices and often lower commodity prices, have conspired to put more pressure on many farmers’ bottom lines. Despite the

Drone technology continues to advance
By Vicky Boyd While drones have made inroads into aerially mapping farm fields and even applying beneficial insects, they have yet to gain the same traction spraying pesticides and other

Ag community trying autonomous vehicles
By Vicky Boyd Lodi-area vineyard manager Joe Valente has gone from skeptic to believer since he began working with Kingman Ag on a kit that converts conventional tractors into autonomous