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Western Growers has added Afreen Malik as the new science programs director and Michael Solomon has joined FiveStar Gourmet Foods as the company’s new president.

The California Pollinator Coalition is broadening its collaboration between agriculture and conservation groups to improve the health, diversity and number of pollinators on working lands.

A new study finds animal compost may prevent harmful microorganisms from surviving in farm fields. The research, published today in the Journal of Applied Microbiology, could inspire changes in soil management. Some farms have veered away from animal compost in favor of synthetic fertilizers in part because of fear the compost would introduce pathogens that, when they hitch a ride on fresh produce, make people sick.

As scientists ramp up efforts to prevent the next pandemic, California's Legislature is stepping into the battle with a bill that would bolster agricultural research on infectious diseases in the Central Valley.

New regulations in Mexico threaten to disrupt more than $100 million in organic food trade with the U.S., and the Biden administration has less than three months to address the situation before the requirements take effect.

The intersection of increasing labor shortages, higher pay for agricultural workers, and new attention to employee safety is highlighting efforts to bring labor-saving technologies to specialty crop fields.

Ranchers and environmental advocates are keeping a close eye on a decision by an Interior Department administrative law judge that found the Bureau of Land Management did not adequately analyze the impacts of grazing on greater sage-grouse habitat in Nevada.

A new report from the Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service and the University of Arizona says dry periods have been longer and annual rainfall has decreased over the course of the last 50 years.