Agriculture

Proprietor Billoo Rataul stands tall and proud as he surveys the vineyard land that gently slopes to the banks of Machado Creek outside Morgan Hill. Born and raised in northeast India, he grew up near jungles where beasts still roamed, and his childhood imagination...

The Peninsula Open Space Trust this week announced the purchase and permanent protection of 80 acres within an ecologically important flood plain and wildlife corridor in Coyote Valley.  The 13th such conservation purchase by POST on the valley floor, this property, which POST is calling...

The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors has voted to limit development across some 7,500 acres in unincorporated Coyote Valley in an effort to preserve agricultural land for local farmers. The plan, which the board approved unanimously Dec. 14, will limit the number of single-family...

Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority has invited all local nature enthusiasts to give back to nature by joining the agency’s 2025 Volunteer Cohort, the OSA said in a press release.  Volunteers play a key role in the OSA’s mission to care for and connect...

The Gilroy High School Future Farmers of America (FFA) students found much success at the Santa Clara County Fair in late July. Gilroy FFA had 22 students participate in this year's fair.  Students brought home top prizes, which included but not limited to: Caitlyn Correia,...

Santa Clara County is considering sweeping changes to its rural zoning ordinances that would impose new building limits and require mitigation when farmland is converted to non-agricultural uses. If approved by county supervisors, the new rules could significantly affect wineries and other agricultural operations...

A regional land preservation organization recently purchased a 1,986-acre ranch in west Morgan Hill, pledging to permanently protect the property that includes sweeping views and critical wildlife crossings, as well as homes for native and endangered species.  The Peninsula Open Space Trust announced on April...

On Oct. 11-12, eight members from the Gilroy FFA chapter attended a Regional Leadership conference where more than 300 other students, all involved in the FFA, united at the 2025 South Coast Region FFA Chapter Officer Leadership Conference in Hollister. As an organization, the FFA’s...

The Valley Water Board of Directors elected Tony Estremera as the Chair for 2025, and Richard P. Santos as Vice Chair. The board voted on their new officers at the Dec. 10 meeting.  Estremera has been on the Valley Water Board since 1996, and is...

Gov. Gavin Newsom recently signed a new state law that could lead to more farmworker housing development in Santa Clara County.  Assembly Bill 3035 was authored by Assemblymember Gail Pellerin and was inspired by Santa Clara County Supervisor Sylvia Arenas’ Agricultural Worker Housing Initiative, says...