The Tulare County Agricultural Commissioner released the May report for crops.
The unusual cool spring weather slowed growth on cotton plantings but officials expect it to pick up as the weather gets warmer in June. Also early planting of wheat, oats, and barley fields have matured and harvest is well under way. Harvested fields are being prepared for corn, cotton and beans.
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New federal standards will soon be in place to help you figure out what type of olive oil you're buying at the grocery store.
Terms such as extra virgin, light or unfiltered have long left people wondering what they were buying.
In April, the U.S. Department of Agriculture adopted scientifically verifiable standards for such descriptions and will start enforcing them in October. The definitions will differentiate cheap impostors from the best olive oil, and will conform to international and trade group definitions.
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Tomato prices are dropping because of an unexpected glut in Florida.
The sunshine state's cold weather in January and February killed plants and caused a tomato shortage that had some grocers charging nearly $4-dollars a pound.
But now Florida farmers are seeing their surviving plants mature and tomatoes ripen all at once thanks to warmer weather. That caused a glut and farmers who were getting $30 for 25 pounds in March are now averaging only about $4.75. Supermarket prices are falling too.
Some farmers say they'll leave their tomatoes in the field, rather than sell them at a loss.
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California's Raisins were made famous in TV commercials, now it's the grape's turn in the spotlight.
Millions of people who watch the food network will start seeing commercials featuring well-known chefs from around the country talking about why they love California grapes. The California Table Grape Commission hopes the advertising campaign will increase worldwide demand for fresh California grapes.
