Agri-Pulse Communications is expanding with the opening of a news bureau in Sacramento, California, led by Brad Hooker.

“We have long known that legislation, regulations and legal issues decided in California often have national implications for the rest of American agriculture,” noted Sara Wyant, President and CEO of Agri-Pulse. “This expansion enables us to have someone with first-hand knowledge of agricultural issues in the state.”

Hooker previously served as the Communications Director for the World Food Center at the University of California, Davis and prior to that, as a senior writer for the university’s Department of Plant Sciences. He’s developed multimedia projects on topics including drought and climate change. He also worked for the Center for Responsive Politics in Washington, D.C., producing a blog that sifted through hard data on the money behind politics.