Tag Archives: agriculture

California Antique Farm Equipment Show

White Cabover with Cattle Trailer in Tulare

Antique Farm Equipment Show

Visit agriculture’s past by learning about tractors, engines, equipment, and more. Antique Equipment Auction will be held south of Farm Credit Dairy Center. Tractor & truck parade. Kids Tractor Pull, Pony rides, Tractor rides.

International Agri-Center
4500 S. Laspina Street
Tulare, California 93274
(located right off Highway 99)

Annual event; April
559-688-1030
800-999-9186

antiquefarmshow.org

Aultman Taylor 30 60

Jeep FC-150 Forward Control truck

California State Fair

Sac Fair

State Fair of California
Sacramento Fair

Cal Expo & State Fair

For over 165 years, the California State Fair has showcased the progress and advancements of agricultural industry. 17-day event with carnival rides & games, numerous exhibits, livestock, plus local wines, cheeses, craft beers, cannabis, olive oils, and fine arts.

1600 Exposition Blvd
Sacramento, CA 95815-5199
916-263-3000

Annual event; July
Sacramento CA

calexpostatefair.com

califrepublic

 

In 1854 the first California State Fair was held in San Francisco.

Travel was a hardship for many in those days so organizers arranged for the Fair to move locations each year. Sacramento, San Jose, Stockton, and Marysville hosted the Fair for the subsequent four years. Pioneer residents quickly recognized tremendous riches in the fertile soil and so California’s number one industry, agriculture, was born. The Fair was the yearly source of entertainment and education for early settlers, drawing huge crowds of as many as 15,000 on a single day.

When the Fair returned to Sacramento in 1859, a decision was made to find a permanent home. Sacramento was a bustling city with more than 2,500 buildings and a newly installed water system using two and a half miles of pipe. Six square blocks between E and H Streets from 20th to 22nd Streets were bought with monies raised through a special election and contributions from local citizens. This site was called Capitol Park. One aspect of those early Fairs that deserves special mention is the significance of the horse.

sacramento fair

Arroyo Grande Harvest Festival

Small town

Arroyo Grande Harvest Festival

This community event is always a crowd-pleaser, with everything from parades to pie eating contests. The AG Harvest Festival serves as a tribute to agriculture, Arroyo Grande’s leading industry. This festival focuses on the local non-profit organizations that serve the community. Bring the whole family for all of the weekend festivities.

Annual event: September

agharvestfestival.com

Arroyo Grande Farmlands

Tulare County Fair

Tulare County

Tulare Fair

Tulare is located in the California Central Valley (the “bread basket”) – so summers can still be quite warm, or should we say HOT, even in September.

Big county fair for this farming region. Agriculture shows, auctions, destruction derby, exhibits, competitions, 4H livestock, parade, rodeo, tractor pull and much more. Don’t miss the delicious Dutch Oven Peach Cobbler Cook-Off and the Tri-Tip Cook-Off. Carnival rides and carnival games too.

Annual event; September

Tulare County Fair Assoc.
620 South K St.
Tulare, CA 93274
559-686-4707

tcfair.org

 

farris wheel

Tomato Festival Fairfield

Tomato Alley

Fairfield’s Tomato Festival

Big weekend event in Downtown Fairfield. Festival on Texas Street (Pennsylvania Avenue to Union Street)

Farmers Market, Tomato Alley, Tomato Eating Contest, Free Tomato Sampling, BBQ, car show, arts, crafts, live music, tons-O-food and plenty street vendors.

Annual event; August
707-422-0103

visitfairfieldca.com/blog/top-5-reasons-to-attend-fairfields-tomato-vine-festival/

fairfieldmainstreet.com

Tomato Tasting

Colusa Farm Show

farm show colusa

Farm Show in Colusa, CA

Agriculture Industry’s Big Machine Show
Colusa, California Highway 20

Established in 1965. One-stop shopping for all farm services and equipment. The purpose of this showcase is to acquaint agriculturalists with the latest in modern farming equipment and techniques. Year-in, year-out, we’re attended by farmers and suppliers from all over the world.

Colusa Fairgrounds
1303 – 10th Street
Colusa, CA 95932
530-458-2641

Annual event: February
3 day event

COLUSA, CA

colusafairgrounds.com/farm-show

 

Grange Hall, now California Guilds

gold country grange

Why are most California Granges now called Guild Halls?

Simply, it’s FOOD politics.

Corporate food power versus local food production: organic, GMOs, bees, pesticide drift and a host of other issues. In 2011, all hell broke loose with the historic Grange Halls – newly elected officials, and the national goals versus the local community interests.

The following year California was voting to label GMO foods, a proposition which educated millions of eaters and chemical corporations spent gazillions opposing the bill, but it was only narrowly defeated. The National Grange was standing on the opposite side from the California State Grange on this important food issue. This may be when the chasm began to widen.

nongmo

Hippies, yuppies, left coast thinkers. Fruits, flakes and nuts! Tree huggers, eco-terrorist. Damn liberals. Food and California.

wyandotte

Remember that half of California voters knew about genetically engineered ingredients a decade ago. Many of them made diet decisions based on new information readily available. Maybe they sometimes exercise outdoors, and dig this web site. Others choose to ignore the food topic and ingredients listed. Call it denial. Call it an obesity epidemic.

Although the labeling law did not pass, many companies begin putting NON-GMO labels on the front of the food packages anyway. Health food manufacturers, now major brands, especially food produced inside California.

old building

SLOW FOOD

The local food movements in cities and in rural communities started growing, prior to the year 2000; Grange membership began increasing (for the first time since the 1950s) as young farmers and organic farmers took a new interests in “creating community” and finding a cleaner, greener way to the future of food.

Now we have farmers markets and CSA’s (community supported agriculture programs) all over the nation. Fresh food deliveries on a weekly basis. Awareness has only been accelerating on the food topic – with organic food sales rising steadily over the past few decades.

Raised Garden Bed
Grow Your Own Food

growingreens
Growing Your Greens

more articles & resources –

The State of the Grange

West Coast Grange Wars: A Reborn Farmers’ Movement Takes on Corporate Agriculture

The California State Grange backed 2012’s Proposition 37, which mandated labeling of genetically modified foods….

The National Grange suspended the California State Grange’s charter in September 2012, and revoked it in May 2013

We are anti-pesticide, anti-fracking but we are for food sovereignty. The National Grange is dynamically opposed to all of those. They are pro-GMO, pro-pesticides, pro-big farming as opposed to small and local farms. Politically there is a dynamic difference.

Food Movies: Food Documentaries, GMO Movie, Farm Documentary Films

Farm-to-Fork Festival

Farm_to_Fork_Bridge_Dinner_20170913_0234

Farm to Fork Festival

Designed to demonstrate where our food and drinks come from, the Farm-to-Fork Festival has proven to be one of the Sacramento region’s most popular events. The free event, hosted on the city’s iconic Capitol Mall boasts an exciting selection of farm-to-fork offerings that are produced and available in the Sacramento region. Attendees will find food, wine and beer from regional eateries and purveyors, as well as farmers markets, live music, cooking demonstrations, local grocers, farms and ranches, vendor booths and much more.

Annual event: September
916-808-7777

Sacramento, CA

farmtofork.com

DSCN7497

DSCN7046

Santa Cruz County Fair

santa cruz county fair racing pigs

Santa Cruz County Fair

September is the month for the Santa Cruz County Fair. Carnival rides and games, horses, live music, entertainment. Auto races, pig races, horse show

Annual event; September
831-724-5671

Santa Cruz California

santacruzcountyfair.com

 

Sam and Arthur go down the slides at the 2000 Santa Cruz County Fair

Oxnard Salsa Festival

Oxnard Festival Dancing

Salsa Festival of Oxnard

25+ years of Salsa @ the annual Oxnard Salsa Festival, on the Ventura coastline. Spicy food, hot music & cool ocean breezes welcome you to the regions biggest Latin celebration. Salsa tasting & competition. Live music, dancing & great Mexican foods.

Annual event; July

OXNARD CA

oxnardsalsafestival.com

 

P1000046

Oxnard Salsa Fesival 2009

California Water Information

California Reservoirs
California Water Resources

water resources / water scarcity / land and water

snow flakes

SNOW PACK

State Snow Depths – Wunderground
SNOTEL Snow Depth Reports
http://www.wunderground.com/StateSnowDepth.asp?state=CA

California Snow Water Equivalents
Sierra Snow Pack Data
https://cdec.water.ca.gov/snow/current/snow/

Eastern Sierra Snow Pack by Sierra Wave
Article published Feb 2014
http://www.sierrawave.net/tag/eastern-sierra-snowpack/

Eastern Sierra Avalanche Center
Snowpack summaries published Dec 2014
http://www.esavalanche.org/content/snowpack-summaries-begin-soon

Sierra Avalanche Center
Sierra Nevada Mountain Snow in California
http://www.sierraavalanchecenter.org/

 

snow flakes

LAKES & RESERVOIRS

The Lowest Lake Levels in California
List of Reservoirs below 30% full, as reported Jan. 2015


Conditions for Major Reservoirs in California

http://cdec.water.ca.gov/

  • Trinity Lake
  • Lake Shasta
  • Lake Oroville
  • Folsom Lake
  • New Melones Lake
  • Millerton Lake
  • San Luis Reservoir
  • Don Pedro Reservoir
  • Pine Flat Lake
  • Pyramid Lake
  • Castaic Lake

San Diego River & Reservoir Data
Map of San Diego Hydrology, Water Storage
http://www.cnrfc.noaa.gov/

San Luis Obispo Reservoir Data
Lakes on the Central Coast of California
http://www.slocountywater.org/

  • Lake Nacimiento
  • Whale Rock Reservoir
  • Lake Lopez
  • Santa Margarita Lake
  • Twitchell Reservoir

Ventura County Watershed Map
Watershed Protection District
http://www.vcwatershed.net/

snow flakes

RIVER FLOWS

California River Forecast Center Map
Overview for recent rainfall data, snow depths, and ocean temperature
http://www.cnrfc.noaa.gov/google.php

California Current River Conditions
CA.gov Dept of Water Resources
http://cdec.water.ca.gov/river/rivcond.html

California River Forecast
California Nevada River Forecast Center
http://cdec.water.ca.gov/rivforecasts.html
Drought Info
http://www.cnrfc.noaa.gov/droughtInfo.php

Upper Sacramento River Forecast
Northern Sacto River
http://cdec.water.ca.gov/cgi-progs/rivfcast/USACBUL

snow flakes

NEWS & STATISTICS

Irrigated Lands in California – Farming Map

Dry Wells in California – DanaMite’s Map
More than 1,480 domestic well failures in 36 counties have been reported to the state of California recently.

California will need 11 trillion gallons of water to end epic drought by Mashable.com
http://mashable.com/

California Department of Water Resources
http://www.water.ca.gov/

Water in California – Wikipedia
Reservoirs, Water Sources, Aquaducts, Water Distribution
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_in_California

Residential Per Capita Water Use across California
Water conservation measures and stats per city
http://www.californiadrought.org/

Aquafornia, the Water Education Foundation
California water news from various news sources
http://www.watereducation.org/aquafornia

Association of California Water Agencies
Largest statewide coalition of public water agencies
http://www.acwa.com/content/water-information

USGS Water Data for California
The United States Geological Survey
http://waterdata.usgs.gov/ca/nwis

EPA – Environmental Protection Agency
California Drinking Water | Local Drinking Water Information
http://water.epa.gov/drink/local/ca.cfm

California Water Impact Network, C-WIN
Advocates for equitable and environmentally sensitive use of California’s water
http://www.c-win.org/

California Drought Map
National Drought Mitigation Center
http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/Home/StateDroughtMonitor.aspx?CA

 

snow flakes

PACIFIC OCEAN

Heal the Bay
Volunteer, Beach Cleanups, Santa Monica Pier Aquarium
http://www.healthebay.org/

The Pacific Genocide

  • Fukushima Meltdown
  • Acidification of Oceans
  • Overfishing
  • Pollution & Oil Spills
  • Marine Life Watch

Our Food

local farming

According to a new report by the National Center For Health Statistics, nearly 40 percent of all U.S. adults are now officially obese. An all-time record high. More than 70 percent of us are now officially overweight.

GIVE THANKS, we live in the “illusion of prosperity”

Now, it’s time to get serious and educated on the matters at hand.

The majority of the population does not even understand what is being done to them. Major food corporations know that eating heavily processed foods is addictive and an edible path to heart disease, cancer, diabetes and other deadly diseases, but they keep pushing those foods on us anyway. Junk food is making them rich and making us sick!

  • energy drinks
  • soda pop
  • candy
  • fast food

The average American diet is extremely self-destructive, and it is well time for a change. Which is why we at Total Escape decided to focus on the topic of FOOD for this autumn month of Thanksgiving.

On the towns pages we link to local farmers markets, health food stores, community co-ops, family farms, organic farms, farm stays and vineyards.

our food

OMG, GMO – soy, corn, sugar
* May contain ingredients partially produced with genetic engineering.

High fructose corn syrup, soy lecithin, natural flavors….
you may not realize how much GMO is in your food.

Why Care about Food

If you are concerned with your physical health & well-being, you already know that nutritious, real food is the best for your daily diet. You are what you eat!

Almost half of California voters voted to label genetically engineered foods, way back in 2012. So if you didn’t understand about healthy food choices 5 years ago, you might be willing to look at the food issue more closely these days.

mission corn chips

Although the labeling law did not pass, many companies begin putting GMO-free or NON-GMO labels on the front of the food packages anyway. Health food manufacturers, major national brands, and especially food produced inside California – can be found with the non-gmo verified label.

FOOD as medicine, in light of recent news:
Americans are the fattest culture ever; Declining bee population, continued environmental pollution, and the link to our epic diseases. Gut disorders, allergies, autism, cancer, diabetes, the list goes on and on.

Most Prevalent Pesticides

Glyphosate is a potent and dangerous chemical found in Monsanto’s Roundup weed killer, the most commonly used herbicide in history.  Glyphosate has contaminated the planet, and is now found in mother’s milk, our bloodstreams, and in our food and water supply. The World Health Organization announced in 2015 that glyphosate ‘probably’ causes cancer.

Levels of the herbicide Roundup in human urine have increased dramatically among California residents in the past two decades, a new study reports. Roundup is used to protect genetically modified corn and soy crops from weeds; Also sprayed on wheat and oats, during harvest; And blindly used by public and private land owners to control weeds on their property, which ends up in run-off water, as poison to lakes and rivers.

This chemical corporate push in agriculture is a decades-long experiment with our very own ecosystem: Our health and the health of our planet.

____________________________________________

Watch Food Documentary Films to find out more on this topic.

Organic is Non GMO & More

Granges are now Guild Halls?

Follow the Food Babe blog online

Favorite West Coast Pioneers:

Amy’s Kitchen
Bragg’s Apple Cider Vinegar
Bob’s Red Mill
Cal-Organic
Cliff Bar
Dr. Bronner’s Soap
Full Belly Farm
Lundberg Family Farms
Masumoto Family Farm
Organic Valley Coop

califricebag

Map California Baja

Secret Beaches
Secret Beaches of Baja

2003 Baja Map

Baja Topo Map

Topographic Maps of California Baja
Baja California Almanac

BAJA MEXICO MAP

The mysterious topographic map maker, Landon Crumpton, is gone. Although his Baja Almanac book of the Mexican peninsula is still as popular as ever.

bajaalmaac

The Total Escape crew has been using this amazing topo map for Baja Mexico since our the very first excursions in 1990. Click below to read more about the famous, hard-to-find Baja Almanac publication.

  • Baja California Almanac
  • Topographic Map Book of Baja California

  • National Geographic Baja Maps
  • NatGeo Baja California Mexico Maps

    Baja California Maps

  • Find more Baja Maps
  • Obscure Books & Maps, AAA Maps of Baja

    Baja Snack

    Pear Festival

    pearpacking

    Kelseyville Pear Festival
    Pear Fest Lake County

    Main Street in Kelseyville comes alive,w/ this family-focused event to showcase the areas history, agritourism, local businesses, craftsmen and community services. This is a fun filled day that starts off with a home town parade. Festivities include three stages with musicians, dancers and cloggers; horse demonstrations; antique car, engine and tractor shows; quilt shows; art shows and an entire pavilion devoted to all things ‘pear.’ Food vendors offer an array of scrumptious selections. Wine and beer tasting along with pear margaritas round out the choices. Pear pies and desserts always sell out.

    Annual event; September
    (one day only)
    707-279 9022

    Kelseyville, CA

    pearfestival.com

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