- Author: Penny Leff
California farmers all over the state invite you to visit, shake off the city, learn a little and enjoy your holiday shopping the old-fashioned way; direct from the growers of winter fruits and creators of small-batch treats to fill your gift baskets. Here is a sample of some day-trips the whole family can enjoy:
Mountain Mandarin Orchard Days - Placer County - December 15 & 16, 2018
Follow the mandarin trail and join the Mountain Mandarin Growers' Association (MMGA) members at their groves on the third weekend in December for Orchard Days. They have loads of family fun in store.
Visit the
- Author: Cynthia Kintigh
Thanks to the happy cows of the California Milk Advisory Board, many know that California leads the nation in milk production. While you may think of Vermont or Wisconsin when you think of cheese, specialty cheeses make up about 11 percent of California's cheese production, creating a growing niche market.
Today artisan cheesemaking is a $119-million dollar industry in Marin and Sonoma, and the two counties are home to the second-largest concentration of artisan and farmstead cheesemakers in the country. The trend in farmstead and artisan cheesemaking shows no sign of slowing — membership in the California Artisan Cheesemakers' Guild increased 15 percent in 2014.
Navigating the start-up of any business is hard...