Yosemite Farm Credit Los Baños Branch Manager Bart Hertan gave the Enterprise the grand tour of the company's new building this week. | Full Story

Almond trees and some fruit trees are in bloom in the Central Valley. Ideally farmers would like the bloom time to be rain-free. However there has been precipitation on some areas of the valley and more is predicted. Growers know that if rain is light and there are periods of time between rainfall, bees will be able to do their pollination work. Thus far the rain hasn't been heavy and winds have stayed light. Farmers have prepared their trees against fungal diseases and say they remain hopeful for a good crop. | Full Story

Nigerian immigrant Dim Sunni Aaronswuche is counting on the giving spirit of Los Bañosans to make his new business successful. | Full Story

Cling peach farmers have removed more than 1,400 acres of trees from production this winter. That is part of an effort by farmers to bring supply and demand for cling peaches into balance. Cling peaches are mainly used for canning, and oversupply has been a drag on farmer earnings. The removal brings the bearing acreage of cling peaches in California to about 23,000. That's the lowest it has been in modern history and represents a 16-percent decrease from 2009 acreage. | Full Story

California dairy farmers will earn about the same amount for milk next month. The California Department of Food and Agriculture says all of the commodities used to set the price remained flat. The average price per gallon to farmers will remain at $1.42. The price per hundredweight will be $16.44 for Northern California and $16.71 for Southern California producers. The average milk production cost per hundredweight in the third quarter was $16.17, so farmers may earn a small profit. | Full Story

When Dave Crow would shop for his wife locally, many times he would find what he believed to be average-looking clothing. | Full Story

Livestock ranchers should benefit from the series of storms that marched through California. The rain will help to revive rangeland grasses that were parched during the previous three dry years. Still, some ranchers must provide supplemental food for their cattle. Rains have also helped grain farmers who grow their crops without irrigation. | Full Story

Despite the recession, Americans ate more ice cream last year than the year before, according to the market research firm Packaged Facts. Sales of ice cream and other frozen desserts increased 2 percent to $25 billion. | Full Story

Rains bring monthly total closer to average | Full Story

Farming advocates pleaded with federal officials on Jan. 14 at the fairgrounds in Los Baños to send water to drought-wracked parts of the San Joaquin Valley. | Full Story

The more they look, the more tangerines farmers find in their groves. An updated forecast issued this week increased the estimate of California tangerine production by 17 percent from the previous forecast issued last fall. Analysts say more than half a dozen different types of tangerines, mandarins and tangelos are being harvested now on California farms. | Full Story

How consumers feel about the economy influences what they buy at grocery stores and restaurants, and those shopping patterns affect demand for farmers' crops and commodities. Analysts say consumers have "traded down" in their food purchases, and more people are eating at home. A livestock economist told the American Farm Bureau Annual Meeting this week that consumer demand for meat and poultry products remains the big question facing farmers this year. Farmers increase winter lettuce plantings | Full Story

More lettuce fields have been planted in winter growing regions of Southern California and Arizona this season. A new government crop report says farmers increased their acreage of iceberg lettuce for harvest during the winter quarter. California farmers also planted more carrots for winter harvest, though acreage of broccoli, cauliflower and celery will be down slightly. The report says all the winter crops appear to be in good condition. | Full Story

Farmers and ranchers hope to persuade Congress to act on immigration and estate tax reform in 2010. California growers need a guest worker provision in any immigration reform package to assure adequate labor supplies. Farm Bureau will also urge Congress to act on estate tax reform. Although the estate tax disappears for a year Jan. 1, it returns at a lower exemption rate in 2011. Growers will seek an estate tax exemption for farmland as long as the land remains in agricultural production. | Full Story

Dairy farmers will earn more | Full Story