The April 6th application deadline to obtain a specialized California Ag Plate is quickly approaching. Ag Council encourages members and friends to show their support for agricultural education in California by purchasing a specialized Cal Ag License Plate. Click here for the online form to order a Cal Ag License Plate now.  To read answers to frequently asked questions about the program, click here.

The majority of the funds for the special plates will go toward agricultural education, agricultural career awareness and training, and youth leadership development in California. Read More

A bid from some quarters in the U.S. to resolve the ongoing controversy over two unpublished bird flu studies will begin to play out over the next two days as government biosecurity advisers reconvene to reconsider the issue. The National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity will meet Thursday and Friday in Washington, D.C., to go over revised versions of the two studies and hear about the work from their principal authors, noted flu virologists Ron Fouchier of Erasmus Medical Centre in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and Yoshihiro Kawaoka of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Then the group will have to decide whether to advise the U.S. government to withdraw its objection to full publication of the papers, continue to press for publication in abbreviated form or suggest the studies should not be published at all. Read More

At last report, San Francisco had just three acres in agriculture, most of it nursery plants. But the city has produced a state lawmaker with a strong interest in the farming that goes on around Modesto and beyond. Democrat Fiona Ma serves on the Assembly Agriculture Committee. She often deals with people from farming regions whose politics tend to be more conservative than hers. Ma nonetheless has cultivated respect from these colleagues, by visiting farms and food processors, and asking a lot of questions. "For a legislator from San Francisco, she has been a pretty solid vote for agriculture," said committee colleague Bill Berryhill, R-Ceres. Read More

Recipe: Turkey and Broccoli Stir-Fry

Spring has sprung, which means it’s time to put away those recipes for soups and stews and start thinking about lighter fare. The advent of spring also means fresh fruits and vegetables are more readily available. For example, NTF’s Turkey and Broccoli Stir-Fry recipe is a healthful dish that includes some of the season’s freshest ingredients. Experimenting with new turkey ideas and a variety of vegetables opens up many culinary possibilities.

Prepare this recipe between now and June 8, snap a picture of it, and send the photo to info@turkeyfed.org and you could win an Indoor Butterball Turkey Fryer!

Photos will be judged based on originality, creative composition and overall eye appeal.

All submissions must be received by 11:59 ET on June 8, 2012.

Official Rules and Regulations are available here.

California’s farmers and ranchers got a day in the spotlight Wednesday as Ag Day 2012 was held. Ag Day is the California agricultural community’s annual opportunity to give legislators, Capitol staffers and the public a chance to see what’s new down on the farm. Award-winning farmers were honored, and attendees picked up free samples, met rodeo queens, viewed presentations on farming sustainability and got an up-close look at a variety of farm animals. Read More

Assembly Member Fiona Ma and Bill Mattos promote Ag Day March 21 on the Capitol grounds. They are preparing for the Eat Local, Buy California Grown Day resolution press event commemorating the year anniversary of the "Eat Local, Buy California Grown Day" resolution that unanimously passed both the State Assembly and the State Senate. The resolution declares that Sundays are "Eat Local, Buy California Grown Day," and encourages families, restaurants, and grocers to buy California-grown floriculture, fiber, and foods on Sundays.

Officially, Ag Day was more than a week ago, but California agricultural organizations, the California Department of Food and Agriculture and various state workers, elected leaders and friends will fill the State Capitol grounds next Wednesday for an Ag Day Celebration. Booths will features lots of items from flowers to trees to Foster Farms T Shirts and California Poultry Federation recipe cards. Read More

The Spring CPF Quality Assurance Seminar will take place on Wednesday, April 25, 2012 at the Stanislaus County Ag Center in Modesto from 8:30am – 2:00pm. Please mark your calendars. For more information on speakers and topics, along with a registration please visit the Quality Assurance 2012 Spring QA seminar web page. For more upcomming events check out our Calendar of Events page.