Don't see the video above? Watch it on YouTube. Video by Matt Yoon and Dylan Head // Story by Larry Peña What does Learn by Doing taste like? In the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences, Cal Poly students work year-round to create products for customers to enjoy at home, from seasonal flowers to wines to meats and cheeses.

View more about this event at California Small Farm Conference

Upcoming Events

1. Small Farm Tech Day, City Farm SLO: 3/6

Cal Poly

2. Social Justice Teach-In: 2/9

3. Scion Exchange, Grafting Clinic and Rootstock Sale: CA Rare Fruit Growers: 2/18

4. Aspire to Grow Conference: Diversity and Innovation in Food and Agriculture: 2/22

5. Proposal Process for Wildfire Fuels Treatment w/ Prescribed Grazing webinar: 2/24

6. Change the Status Quo: Social Justice Leadership Conference: 2/25

San Luis Obispo

7. Community Leaders in Food Rescue and Resilience, SLO Food System Coalition: 2/7

8. Spring Swarms! Central Coast Beekeepers Alliance, Santa Margarita: 2/9

9. Ranch Education Program, Cuesta College: begins 2/9

10. The Possibilities of Mushrooms, SLO Museum of Art: 2/13

11. Digging and Dividing Dahlias and Backyard Composting, UC Master Gardeners SLO: 2/18

12. BlendFest Coastal Excursions: Harmony Headlands, Seaweed Foraging and more: 2/23-25

13. N. American Strawberry Growers Association Meeting and Symposium, San Luis Obispo: 3/7-10

The San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 on Tuesday to repeal the planting ordinance for the Paso Robles Groundwater Basin before it could take effect on March 1, as farmers called for a more fair approach to managing the resource.

In yet another twist in the seesawing debate over the Paso Robles Groundwater Basin, the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors rescinded the county's newly adopted Paso basin planting ordinance on Feb. 7-preempting it from taking effect.

In a 4 to 1 vote on Tuesday, the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors decided to allow self-contained recreational vehicles (RVs) to stay one night at a rural property without a special permit. Reservations must be made through the Harvest Hosts website.

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) State Executive Director Blong Xiong today announced that 41 counties in California are accepting applications for the Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) to address damages from the recent severe storm to eligible farmland, fences, and conservation structures/other installations.

Author: County OES (805) 781-4300 Date: 2/6/2023 11:47:24 AM The storm Disaster Recovery Center located at the SLO Veterans Memorial Building in San Luis Obispo will continue to operate for another week, closing on Tuesday, February 14, 2023. Residents who would like to apply for assistance in-person must do so before the closing date.

Nigh: When the 2021 values came out, we were all super excited and wondered if we could ever top that. But in 2022, U.S. ag exports blew previous records out of the water. We reached over $196 billion in U.S. ag exports in 2022, which is an increase by value of 11 percent.

2022 was a record year for U.S. agricultural trade, topping $196 billion. Despite an 11% increase from 2021, it wasn't all good news for America's farmers and ranchers. While export values increased, overall export volume decreased by 6%. Imports of agricultural goods also increased by $28 billion, creating a trade deficit for 2022.

New UC Riverside research suggests nitrogen released by gas-powered machines causes dry soil to let go of carbon and release it back into the atmosphere, where it can contribute to climate change. Industrial manufacturing, agricultural practices, and significantly, vehicles, all burn fossil fuels that release nitrogen into the air.

30-day application period ends on March 7 - Pacific Gas and Electric Company and the Diablo Canyon Decommissioning Engagement Panel announced jointly this week that [...]

PUBLISHED ON PARIS (AP) - Hundreds of farmers drove their tractors through Paris on Wednesday to amplify their demand to be allowed to use banned pesticides on sugar beets and other crops to ensure "food sovereignty" for France. Entering the French capital through a southern gateway, the farmers' convoy rolled to the gold-domed Invalides monument, site of Napoleon's tomb.

Cui Song Situ assembles bouquets for Valentine's Day at Golden State Floral in West Sacramento. Despite steady pricing, California growers have seen their profit margins diminish in the cut-flower market due to rising input costs and increased competition from South America. By Caleb Hampton Fresh cut flowers have seldom been so coveted.

With Valentine's Day looming, our digital editor Kathleen Yale called up Amy Stewart, author of Flower Confidential: The Good, the Bad, and the Beautiful, to talk about the ins and outs of the floral industry, changing consumer aesthetics, the pursuit of blue roses, and the best bouquet for your worst enemy.

California-based Hippo Harvest says it can slash the water needed to grow the leafy greens that round out a healthy diet by more than 90% and use only precisely placed fertilizer with no runoff in large part by cutting out the human side of traditional farming that makes the practice more art than science.

Strawberry growers, researchers, and other industry members from around the globe are invited to attend the 10th North American Strawberry Symposium (NASS), a meeting of to be held in conjunction with the annual North American Strawberry Growers Association (NASGA) conference, March 7-10, 2023 at the Embassy Suites in San Luis Obispo, California, USA.

Have you ever seen those historical before and after architecture photos? The "before" shows a beautiful, ornate old building; the "after" is a recent photo where the historic building is gone and was replaced by an ugly one-like a warehouse.

Join us at our next regenerative viticulture field day on Friday, March 10 fro 11AM-12:30PM

Limited Availability

Featuring Caine Thompson, Managing Director (Robert Hall) and Phillippe Armenier, Consultant (Domaine Marcoux).

To expand on growing information around the profitability of conservation agriculture in California, EDF and K-Coe Isom are looking for California growers to collaborate on a project to evaluate the financial impact of sustainable viticulture practices. The goals of this project are to: Compare crop budgets for orchards using conventional vs.

The idea that California's coast should be a public resource was not always a given. Amid concerns that private development would cut off public access, citizen-led Proposition 20 appeared on Californians' 1972 ballots. Then-State Sen. Jim Mills led a bicycle tour down the coast, from San Francisco to San Diego, to rally support.

Much of California has been abiding by harsh water restrictions as the drought-stricken state struggles to retain enough water for its residents. By one estimate, 24.5 trillion gallons of water fell across California in just over two weeks, but even that was not enough for a rollback of state and local water restrictions.

Lake Nacimiento in the northern reaches of San Luis Obispo County has seen its banks nearly burst from the winter rainstorms. The lake gained more than 89 billion gallons since Dec. 1, according to data from the Monterey County Water Resources Agency. On Dec. 1, the lake held 60,285 acre-feet of water.

California's water supply has improved, but cities and state agencies are continuing to find ways to store much-needed water as the drought persists. The City of Pismo Beach is looking to build a more reliable water supply while increasing incentives to cut down on water use.

On the surface, the Salinas River, which courses through the agricultural heart of California's Central Coast, seems more like an ex-river. Even after major winter storms, it is rarely more than a creek.