Gross farm income hit a record $2.13 billion in San Joaquin County last year, according to a report presented Tuesday.

Fifteen years after his death, Carlo Rossi carries on, hawking Modesto-made wines with his same old homespun humor.

Students in home economics classes will get cooking with ingredients donated by several processors. About 900 pounds of ground beef, eggs, almonds and canned goods were donated to help teachers deal with budget cuts at 14 schools in Stanislaus County.

Despite a gray sky Tuesday, the rain held off and allowed almond farmers to continue bringing in the crop.

Admirers of Floyd Zaiger's work in fruit breeding often visit to taste the latest from his test plots west of Modesto.

From the fields of Idaho to tasting rooms in suburban Chicago, potato farmers, researchers and industry representatives are in the midst of a hunt for an elusive prey: a new spud for McDonald's french fries.

WATSONVILLE — Strawberry pickers started the season with a tailgate event this year, but it wasn't a party.

In what Labor Secretary Hilda Solis called a "huge victory" for farmworkers, one of the country's largest food service companies announced Friday that it will buy winter tomatoes only from growers that pay a fair wage and offer good working conditions.

MERCED — The roller coaster is on its way down.

OAKDALE — One hundred years ago this fall, civic leaders got a flood of support for harnessing the Stanislaus River.

Fall's here, but it still feels like summertime in the valley. A small crew worked early Wednesday to beat the heat at Bava Farms in Modesto.

WASHINGTON -- A Central Valley water amendment that failed Tuesday night in the Senate nonetheless succeeded in driving a wedge between Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein and some key California farmers.

Stanislaus County will ask an appellate court to restore a controversial farmland preservation requirement, county leaders decided Tuesday on a relatively rare 3-2 vote. The appeal sets up another court battle between the county and home builders, who won in court in June after arguing that the rule unfairly penalizes them.

A disputed union election at Sacramento's Blue Diamond Growers should stand even though the company committed some unfair labor practices, a judge has concluded.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has once again declared a drought disaster in Stanislaus and nearby counties. The action, involving drought impacts since Jan. 1, allows affected farmers and ranchers to apply for low- interest loans and partial compensation for losses, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a letter last week to Gov. Schwarzenegger.