CAFB Publications
California Farm Bureau Publications
AgAlert
AgAlert is the weekly newspaper published by California Farm Bureau. Agricutlural members receive AgAlert by mail; Collegiate members receive AgAlert electronically.
Giving producers the edge with news, research and marketing trends, this weekly newspaper is the first in agriculture news. The weekly publication is available only to Farm Bureau Agricultural and Collegiate members. Learn more at www.agalert.com
California Bountiful Magazine
Just like the weekly television program of the same name, California Bountiful magazine connects the people, places and stories of rural life to your life—no matter where you live. The magazine is published six times a year and is one of the many benefits enjoyed by Farm Bureau consumer members. To read articles online, visit the CA Bountiful Magazine web site at www.californiabountiful.com.
New articles on California food, people and places!
> Go to the California Bountiful Magazine website.
Featured Stories from Monterey County
Ramiro Ruiz Jr. is an unsung hero of agriculture: the one who comes to the rescue when a piece of equipment breaks down and farmers can’t finish a harvest, transport produce or plant a field. A mechanic for 16 years for Dole Fresh Vegetables/Bud of California in Monterey County, Ruiz and his 25 colleagues work hard maintaining agricultural machinery—so farmers and truck drivers can get nutritious food to America’s dinner tables. Click to read his story here and then view his award-winning photo below.
Visions of California: Monterey County photographer wins first place in the annual Farm Bureau Photo Contest. Ramiro Ruiz, who works as a farm mechanic, was driving on August 16, 2020, when he saw a foreboding cloud moving in over the farm fields of the Salinas Valley. “It started getting black. It’s a wildfire,” Ruiz recalled. “I pulled over at one of our romaine lettuce fields and I grabbed the picture. It was nice and clear and sunny, and, next thing you know, that great big ol’ plume of smoke was over the Salinas Valley.”
Getting married these days can sometimes take a lot of Patience. Literally.
Mark Silacci, who owns Swenson & Silacci floral shops in Salinas and Monterey, says the pale Patience rose is just the thing to deliver the trending colors of cream and white that many couples request. He also favors the peach-colored Juliet rose and turns to a grower just a few miles up the road, Green Valley Floral, for fresh-cut stems of both varieties to create arrangements that play to current trends.
“Spreckels Crossing is a really amazing project,” Assistant Manager Briselda Gutierrez said. “We provide housing for the field workers at a really low, low cost.” The 450 or so seasonal residents at the 100-unit employee housing complex she helps manage now have a better option for living space. Opened in 2016, the complex offers fully furnished two-bedroom units and a slew of amenities to Tanimura & Antle’s full-time harvest employees.
California is the nation’s top agricultural producer, but that doesn’t mean everyone living in the state has enough to eat. Members of the Central Coast Young Farmers and Ranchers program aim to change that. When companies have a surplus of product, YF&R members help get the food to those in need through Ag Against Hunger.