Ag Alert

California State University, Fresno, Institute for Food and Agriculture will host the 45th annual Agribusiness Management Conference Oct. 29, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Pardini’s, 2257 W. Shaw Ave., Fresno.

A California startup looking to turn agricultural byproducts into better, less expensive cattle feed is among 10 semifinalists in the American Farm Bureau Federation’s 2027 Ag Innovation Challenge. Gilly, based in Modesto, is developing a fungal-based prebiotic feed additive intended to help cattle digest more fiber, with the goal of allowing cows to get more energy from forage and agricultural byproducts already used in dairy rations.

The state has committed $820,000 to help contain the invasive glassy-winged sharpshooter, which can spread Pierce’s disease, a fatal threat to grapevines, after potentially infested nursery vines were distributed across the state. The Pierce’s Disease and Glassy-Winged Sharpshooter Board approved the emergency funding from its reserves to support the ongoing response to nearly 10,000 grapevines traced to a Fresno nursery. The vines may have carried the pest into 40 counties.

California farmers: A free, simple call to 811 before you dig can prevent injuries, costly repairs and service outages—and in our state, it is the law. Taking a few minutes to start an 811 ticket protects your crew, land and bottom line every time you break ground.

• Lynda Hopkins is a farmer, supervisor representing Sonoma County’s 5th district and member of the California Air Resources Board. She spoke with Ag Alert® about how her farming experience shaped her approach to government policy and her concerns about anticipated state funding cuts for climate-smart farm programs. How long have you been a member of the California Air Resources Board? What do you hope to accomplish there? Lynda Hopkins I’ve been on about a year and a half.

By Kolton Christenson Micronutrients are needed in only small amounts, but they are essential in crop productivity. Unlike macronutrients—for example, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium—micronutrients function primarily as enzyme activators, electron carriers and regulators of plant metabolism. They help drive many physiological processes that support growth, reproduction and stress tolerance.

August 19, 2026 Labor California Farm Bureau has joined more than 450 agricultural organizations in a letter urging Congress to support H.R. 9535, the Securing Agriculture’s Workforce Act.

By Manola Secaira Corn has long been a staple crop in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. But in recent years, reports have shown a change in the region’s agricultural makeup as more delta farmers turn to rice—a move supported by state dollars. Jerred Dixon, manager of the Nature Conservancy’s 9,200-acre Staten Island Preserve in San Joaquin County, is a fifth-generation farmer whose family grew corn when he was growing up in the area.

California’s gray wolf population continues to expand and reproduce, while livestock depredations remain concentrated in several Northern California areas, according to several new reports from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. The latest CDFW livestock report, updated Aug. 10, lists 108 investigations conducted so far in 2026. The cases include confirmed, probable, possible and unknown wolf involvement, as well as incidents ultimately determined to be unrelated to wolves.

By Marc Loupé On a California farm or ranch, memory is not an abstract thing. It is knowing when to irrigate, which field floods first, which employee can run which machine, where records are stored and how to read the land after years of experience. When Alzheimer’s disease or another dementia enters that setting, the impact reaches far beyond one diagnosis. It can affect safety, business continuity, family relationships and the future of the operation itself.