Organic training farm gets funds

The College of Marin received a $233,000 grant from the California Community College Chancellor's Office, which will help the school support its organic farm until it becomes self sustaining, according to an article in the Marin Independent Journal.

The college launched the farm in 2009 as a kind of laboratory to help Marin residents and others learn the essentials of organic farming from experts like the University of California Cooperative Extension's Steve Quirt and Wendy Johnson of Green Gulch Farm, the story said.

State inspectors have been cracking down on the use of unpaid labor on California farms — ending an informal tradition of agricultural apprenticeship. The College of Marin program has emerged as an option for those who want hands-on organic farming experience.

Feared Eastern pest found in California
Growing Produce

Brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB), Halyomorpha halys Stål, was recently found in San Luis Obispo County in an incoming shipment of household items from Pennsylvania, where it is considered a serious pest. The ag commissioner’s office took immediate action to eradicate this intruder by physical removal and chemical treatments. For more information, the Growing Produce website referred readers to a post by UC Cooperative Extension strawberry and vegetable crops advisor Surendra Dara in his Pest News Blog.