Food & Farm News

» June 13, 2012 «

Los Angeles hosts 'Food Dialogues'

The farm comes to Hollywood next week for a discussion about how movies and TV shows depict farmers and ranchers. Organizers say the opening panel of the two-day “Food Dialogues” event will focus on the portrayal of food and agriculture in popular culture. The Los Angeles event will also feature a talk about how science and technology influence farming, an urban farm tour and a presentation by chefs who use local ingredients.

Egg production may dip

In an early outlook for 2013 egg production, the US Agriculture Department predicts the nation's farmers will sell slightly fewer eggs next year, in part in reaction to lower prices they're earning this year. In California, egg production has stayed relatively stable for the past seven years. A report puts the state's egg production at nearly 5.3 billion eggs last year, up slightly from 2010.  

Flower sales decline slightly

It's still the dominant producer of flower crops, but California saw mixed results in a newly released annual review of flower sales. California growers reported rising sales of bedding and garden plants last year, but sales stayed flat for potted plants and declined for cut flowers. Overall sales of California floriculture crops reached slightly more than $1 billion in 2011.

Making hay in the sunshine

The hay season has gotten off to a favorable start. The San Joaquin Valley Hay Growers group reports that the first two rounds of harvest have gone very well—producing more tons of hay than at this time last year. Recent bouts of rain in the Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys have not caused serious problems, the group said. It said demand has been strong from livestock producers both in California and in the international market.