News

Farm fresh food fosters community

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Fruits, vegetables, and lines of customers waiting for fresh eggs are only a few of the things you can find at the Torrance Certified Farmers Market. Held every Tuesday of the year from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. , this market provides a space for shoppers to buy goods from 60 California farms, according to the market’s website. 

Rows of booths, multiple food stands, and a stage with live music makeup the Torrance Certified Farmers Market. Citizens of all ages sat at tables to eat, shopped for weekly groceries, and listened to the reggae band performing. 

“This is the best weekday market I’ve seen,” said Hector Valencia, a vendor at The Almond Guy, a booth selling farm fresh almonds. “It’s my first time selling here and it’s cool to see people walking around and coming out so early on a Tuesday.” 

Valencia said he has worked at many different markets throughout LA County and there’s a wide range of size and attendance. Sometimes a market will be slow and Valencia said he’s “just there to sell” while other markets offer an environment to chat with shoppers and people watch.

Agriculture

Michigan farmers struggle to fill seasonal jobs

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By STEPHANIE HERNANDEZ McGAVIN
Capital News Service
LANSING — The fall farming season in West Michigan has ended, but the future need for migrant workers remains. The Michigan Farm Bureau said migrant workers fill about 40,000 seasonal jobs on fruit and vegetable farms but the number is decreasing. Migrant workers are starting to see education and a permanent job as necessary, leading them away from temporary jobs that depend on time and place, Craig Anderson, manager of agricultural labor and safety services at the Farm Bureau said. “When you look at the jobs that agriculture has available, they’re unfortunately based on climates. Those three-to-six-week jobs are the types we are having a very difficult time filling,” Anderson said.

Agriculture

Programs for beginning farmers on the rise

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By MICHAEL KRANSZ
Capital News Service
LANSING — On average, the state’s farmers are 56 years old, according to Michigan Farm Bureau. But an interest in local and organic food might yield a younger, fresher crop of farmers. “It has a lot to do with people being awakened to the issue that the food system is broken and there are a lot of opportunities to fix it and also make a living,” said Lindsey Scalera, the Canton-based co-chair of the Michigan Young Farmers Coalition. “It’s tough. People’s farms do fail.

Agriculture

Farm acreage up, climate change partly responsible

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LANSING – More crops were planted in the northern Midwest this year than last year, including Michigan, according to a federal report. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) report says Michigan farmers planted 300,000 more acres of principal crops in 2014 compared to 2013. One reason may be that warmer temperatures are allowing for a longer growing season, said Jim Byrum, president of the Michigan Agri- Business Association. With frost starting later in the year, crops have more time to mature, he said. And higher temperatures are prompting crop production to expand northward.

Agriculture

Road restrictions hamper farmers this spring

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By NICK STANEK
Capital News Service
LANSING — The farming industry feels the lingering effects of the polar vortex in some parts of the state as cold temperatures continue into spring. County governments implement seasonal weight restrictions on roads every year to reduce the impact heavy trucks can have on roads. “By law, road agencies can enact weight restrictions on roads that are not designated as all-season routes when conditions merit,” County Road Association of Michigan says on its website. Although an annual nuisance for drivers, restrictions on weight, speed and axle-loading are tighter this year and slowing down the farming down in some parts of the state. Frost froze deep into the roads and made them more susceptible to potholes, said Clay Martz, manager of Crop Production Service in Lake Odessa, a company that ships fertilizer to corn growers.

Environment

Some wastes would be reused, not landfilled, under bills

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By ASHLEY WEIGEL
Capital News Service
LANSING — Coal ash could be used in concrete, lime ash could be used for farming and copper sand could be made into shingles under legislation that would allow certain industries to sell byproducts that they now throw away. These byproducts can’t be used now because they are classified as hazardous materials that can potentially harm the environment. But recently introduced “beneficial reuse” legislation would provide parameters for testing their toxicity. If the byproducts passed the test, they could be sold and reused rather than sent to expensive landfills. The bills will be discussed in committee and possibly reported out on April 17.