Agriculture

In my last column I highlighted Rosy and Rich Bergen’s Little Uvas Vineyard (LUV) and their facility called “The Garage” at 255 Fitzgerald Ave. in San Martin. Their long range plan is to have other businesses, like other wineries and eateries, help fill the...

Julie Hutcheson, a longtime Morgan Hill resident and environmental advocate for the South Bay, is the new executive director for Green Foothills.  Hutcheson has been on Green Foothills’ staff for more than 12 years and has taken an active role in leading the organization, most...

Local agencies finally have enough money to complete the Upper Llagas Creek Flood Protection Project, about 70 years after the massive infrastructure project was initially planned.  Valley Water celebrated the milestone Sept. 13 at the construction site in south Morgan Hill for the final phase...

Although farm and food production workers were considered essential workers during the pandemic, many of California's food employers endangered those workers, violating Cal/OSHA's Covid-19 guidelines more often than most industries, a new report said. The California Institute for Rural Studies’ report said farm and food...

A pair of young wild barn owls were reunited with Mother Nature Sunday thanks to the efforts by the Wildlife Education and Rehabilitation Center. Dozens of people took part in an upbeat send-off party at Little Uvas Vineyards in San Martin. The hour-long twilight gathering...

Since its founding in west Morgan Hill about six years ago, Fairytale Farm has rescued more than 250 mini-horses, ponies and donkeys that were living in unhealthy, neglectful conditions—many of whom were on their way to certain death, according to the nonprofit’s founder, Alexandra...

The Peninsula Open Space Trust purchased a nearly 2,500-acre portion of the Sargent Ranch in southern Santa Clara County, according to the organization’s president. The property is located near the site of a proposed sand and gravel mine. POST President Gordon Clark spoke with this...

The Amah Mutsun Land Trust this week announced that by the end of 2025, it will acquire a 50-acre property near the intersection of Highways 129 and 101 in San Juan Bautista—marking the first time the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band has regained full access...

UC Santa Cruz recently acquired and established the Strathearn Ranch Natural Reserve, a 2,400-acre oak-studded grassland property in San Benito County that will be used for field research and outdoor education for the university’s students, staff and researchers.  The UC Board of Regents approved the...

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...