
Bren School students get grant for biochar project
By Erika Martin / Friday, February 20th, 2015 / Agribusiness, Latest news, Small Business, Subscriber content, Top Stories / Comments Off on Bren School students get grant for biochar project

A startup spun out of UC Santa Barbara is seeking to use the ashes of forest burns to give new life to farmers’ fields.
Goleta farm fishes for sustainability
By Marissa Wenzke / Friday, February 6th, 2015 / Agribusiness, Latest news, Top Stories / Comments Off on Goleta farm fishes for sustainability

Along the oceanside bluffs just north of Goleta, one farm is producing 20 to 25 varieties of organic produce using a sustainable farming method that uses as little as 10 percent of the amount of water used in traditional agriculture. Working from two 10,000 square-foot greenhouses, Sustained Harvest Farms is a maze of commercial tubs Read More →
Groundwater plan is serious business in Ventura County
By Marissa Wenzke / Friday, February 6th, 2015 / Agribusiness, Latest news, Law & Goverment, Top Stories / Comments Off on Groundwater plan is serious business in Ventura County
Officials in Ventura County are moving with deliberate speed to implement the three-bill package known as the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, which took effect on Jan. 1.
Water shortage spurs string of tri-county drought dilemmas
By Marissa Wenzke / Friday, January 30th, 2015 / Agribusiness, Columns, Latest news, Top Stories / Comments Off on Water shortage spurs string of tri-county drought dilemmas
The emergency drought of 2014 and persistently dry conditions since then have made for difficulties in almost every industry, as the state has grappled with a way to resolve the issue of quickly depleting groundwater.
Paso wine country gets drought relief with early storms
By Tom Bronzini / Friday, January 16th, 2015 / Central Coast, Columns, Latest news, Top Stories, Wine & Viticulture / Comments Off on Paso wine country gets drought relief with early storms
The 6.5 inches of rain that have fallen in the Paso Robles area so far have done much to leach out an accumulation of salts in the root zones that has stressed the vines and lowered wine grape yields.
Dubroff: With drought worries shelved, falling oil prices give region a break
By Henry Dubroff / Friday, December 19th, 2014 / Columns, Latest news, Opinion, Top Stories / Comments Off on Dubroff: With drought worries shelved, falling oil prices give region a break
On a drive throughout much of the Highway 101 corridor dodging rainstorms on Dec. 15, I learned a lot about how much the psychology of a return to normal weather is having on the region.

Region’s craft brewers expand despite drought, tight supplies
By Elijah Brumback / Friday, December 19th, 2014 / Latest news, Subscriber content, Top Stories / Comments Off on Region’s craft brewers expand despite drought, tight supplies

On average, craft brewers use between six and eight gallons of water to produce just one gallon of beer. And while the drought has set back some breweries in the northern half of the state, tri-county brewers say they’re upping annual barrel production with little trepidation of future water issues.