USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, Pacific Regional Field Office recently completed the California Mandarin Objective Measurement Survey. A sample of 293 Tango and W. Murcott Afourer Mandarin varieties were randomly selected proportional to county and variety bearing acreage. Results show an average fruit set of 596 fruit per tree and an average fruit size of 1.344 inches in diameter for these varieties. This compares with the 2021 average fruit set of 290 fruit per tree with an average fruit size of 1.363 inches in diameter and the 2020 average fruit per tree of 945 with an average fruit size of 1.488 inches in diameter. This survey was conducted for the first time in 2020.
Fruit counts were made from two trees per orchard, and fruit diameter measurements were taken on the right quadrant of four trees surrounding the two sampled trees.
The initial 2022-23 California Navel orange forecast is 76.0 million cartons, up 19% from the previous year, according to the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service’s Objective Measurement Report. Of the total Navel orange forecast, 73.0 million cartons are estimated to be in the Central Valley. Cara Cara variety Navel orange production in the Central Valley is forecast at 8.0 million cartons. These forecasts are based on the results of the 2022- 23 Navel Orange Objective Measurement (O.M.) Survey, which was conducted from June 17 to September 1, 2022. Estimated fruit set per tree, fruit diameter, trees per acre, bearing acreage, and oranges per box were used in the statistical models estimating production.
This forecast includes production of conventional, organic, and specialty Navel oranges (including Cara Cara and Blood orange varieties).
Survey data indicated a fruit set per tree of 351, up 47% from the previous year and w e l l a b o v e the five-year average of 315. The average September 1 diameter was 2.106 inches, below the five-year average of 2.194 inches. The Cara Cara orange set was 307 with a diameter of 2.147 inches.
SURVEY SAMPLE
A sample of 785 Navel orange groves was randomly selected proportional to county and variety bearing acreage, and 717 of the groves were utilized in this survey. Once a grove was randomly chosen and grower permission was granted, two trees were randomly selected. The Navel orange sample included conventional, organic, Cara Cara, and Blood orange groves.
For each randomly selected tree, the trunk was measured along with all connected branches. A random number table was then used to select a branch, and then all connected branches from the randomly-selected branch were measured.
This process was repeated until a branch was reached with no significant limbs beyond this point. This randomly-selected branch, called the terminal branch, was then closely inspected to count all fruit connected to this branch, as well as all of the fruit along the path from the trunk to the terminal branch. Since each selected path has a probability of selection associated with t h e p a t h , a probability-based method was then applied to estimate a fruit count for the entire tree.
In the last week of the survey period, fruit diameter measurements were made on the right quadrant of four trees surrounding the two trees of every third grove. These measurements were used to estimate an average fruit diameter per tree. Of the 717 utilized groves, 8 were in Madera County, 109 were in Fresno County, 425 were in Tulare County, and 174 were in Kern County.
SURVEY HISTORY
A Navel Orange Objective Measurement Survey has been conducted in the Central Valley every year since the 1984-85 crop year, except for the 1991-92 season due to a lack of funding. The data from the first two years were used for research purposes in developing crop-estimating models. The Cara Cara forecast was undertaken at the request of the California Citrus Advisory Committee.
The California Milk Advisory Board (CMAB) is celebrating the flavors and traditions of Mexico brought to life by California’s Hispanic-style cheeses and dairy products with a consumer retail promotion focused on Hispanic Heritage Month.
The “Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with California’s Hispanic Dairy” promotion is designed to elevate awareness for Hispanic-style cheeses, cremas, breakfast cream and dips at Texas retailers using integrated digital media and in-store elements . Promotional support includes instant redeemable coupons, Instacart SEO, shopper marketing, Chicory recipe search and banner ads.. An advertising and public relations surround campaign will include digital banners, microinfluencer partnerships and social amplification as well as earned media outreach to spotlight recipe trends.
The campaign will run from mid-September to mid-October, and includes the following Texas retailers: H-E-B, Central Market, Joe V’s Smart Shop, Kroger, Walmart, and Fiesta stores. A total of 1,103 stores will participate.
California is the nation’s leading milk producer and makes more butter, ice cream and nonfat dry milk than any other state. California is the largest producer of Hispanic-style cheese and dairy products. California products can be identified by the Real California Milk seal, which certifies they are made with milk from the state’s dairy farm families using sustainable farming practices.
About Real California Milk/California Milk Advisory Board
The California Milk Advisory Board (CMAB), an instrumentality of the California Department of Food and Agriculture, is funded by the state’s dairy farm families who lead the nation in sustainable dairy farming practices. With a vision to nourish the world with the wholesome goodness of Real California Milk, the CMAB’s programs focus on increasing demand for California’s sustainable dairy products in the state, across the U.S. and around the world through advertising, public relations, research, and retail and foodservice promotional programs. For more information and to connect with the CMAB, visit RealCaliforniaMilk.com, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagramand Pinterest.
The California Milk Advisory Board (CMAB), the marketing order representing California dairy producers, announced the addition of Melissa Lema as Director of Producer Relations.
Lema joins the CMAB from Western United Dairies where she spent 11 years, most recently as a North Coast Field Representative focusing on all aspects of the relationship between producers and industry professionals, from laws and regulations to animal welfare, as well as overall industry communication.
She spent much of her childhood on her grandparents’ dairy farm in the Ferndale Valley. She showed dairy cattle through 4-H for ten years, and participated in dairy cattle judging through FFA. Lema later majored in Dairy Science at Cal Poly, SLO, where she graduated in 2009. She has been active in local and statewide dairy and agricultural organizations throughout her career including Farm Bureau, 4-H, the California Cattle Health Advisory Task Force, and the District 1 Dairy Princess Committee.
“As a farmer-funded organization focused on building demand for products made with milk from California dairy farms, Melissa’s deep relationships and understanding of all facets of the dairy industry is a tremendous asset to our team,” said John Talbot, CEO of the CMAB.
California is the nation’s leading milk producer, and makes more butter, ice cream and nonfat dry milk than any other state. California is the second-largest producer of cheese and yogurt. California milk and dairy foods can be identified by the Real California Milk seal, which certifies they are made with milk from the state’s dairy farm families who lead the nation in sustainable farming practices.
About Real California Milk/California Milk Advisory Board
The California Milk Advisory Board (CMAB), an instrumentality of the California Department of Food and Agriculture, is funded by the state’s dairy farm families who lead the nation in sustainable dairy farming practices. With a vision to nourish the world with the wholesome goodness of Real California Milk, the CMAB’s programs focus on increasing demand for California’s sustainable dairy products in the state, across the U.S. and around the world through advertising, public relations, research, and retail and foodservice promotional programs. For more information and to connect with the CMAB, visit RealCaliforniaMilk.com, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.
The theme for the 2023 GROWMARK Essay Contest is: “How can ag cooperatives stay relevant to future generations?” The contest is open to all high school FFA members in the United States.
This is the 30th year for the program, sponsored by the GROWMARK System and FS member cooperatives, in conjunction with state FFA leaders, to help young people develop their writing skills, learn about current issues affecting agriculture, and understand the unique role of cooperatives.
The deadline for all submissions is midnight Central time on October 28, 2022. Additional program details have been sent to agriculture teachers and are online at www.growmark.com.
One national winner will receive a $1000 award, and their FFA chapter will receive $750. Four national runners-up will each receive $500, and their chapters will receive $300. States with at least 25 essays submitted will also have a state winner selected. Each school may submit one essay.
About GROWMARK:
GROWMARK is an agricultural cooperative serving almost 400,000 customers across North America, providing agronomy, energy, facility engineering and construction, and logistics products and services, as well as grain marketing and risk management services. Headquartered in Bloomington, Illinois, GROWMARK owns the FS trademark, which is used by member cooperatives. GROWMARK also owns and operates SEEDWAY, the largest full-line seed company in the United States. More information is available at growmark.com.
More school children and others benefitting from food nutrition programs all across the country will enjoy California almonds this year, thanks to their inclusion in federal ag marketing efforts.
A USDA program known as Section 32 allows the U.S. Department of Agriculture to buy surplus ag commodities to distribute through various federally subsidized food programs.
The almond industry doesn’t always have surplus inventory, but a couple of big crop years combined with pandemic-related shipping issues that delayed nuts being sent to overseas markets created the perfect conditions this year for almonds to participate in the federal program.
“In recent history, it happened once (in 2020) because of some pandemic pressures, but other than that, it’s been quite a while since there was an almond purchase,” explained Brock Densel, who works as part of the Almond Board of California’s Global Technical and Regulatory Affairs team.
As many as 26.2 million pounds of almonds could find their way into this year’s federal food programs. That means millions of American K-12 students who benefit from free or subsidized meals at their schools, as well as people of all ages who depend upon food banks or assistance programs, will be able to get a taste of California almonds.
The federal program is run through the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service, which administers a number of feeding programs. Qualifying for the Section 32 purchase program can be complex, but once approved, commodities brokers – or in the case of almonds, handlers – are able to bid on specific orders. Handlers can establish their own appropriate price point and low bid wins.
The deadline for handlers to submit bids was Aug. 31.
“Section 32 often relies on lower priced commodities,” Densel explained. “Typically, almonds haven’t had the market conditions to justify a USDA purchase.”
The Almond Board worked with its partners at the Almond Alliance to convince the USDA to include almonds in this year’s Section 32 program, and to revisit the specifications to allow broader participation. The Almond Alliance is allowed to lobby government agencies and elected officials on behalf of the industry, something the ABC cannot do as part of the marketing order.
Once almonds received the go-ahead, the Almond Board held a virtual training in June for interested almond handlers to explain the Section 32 rules and how the process works.
“Because this is such an infrequent opportunity for almonds – as opposed to other commodities or other tree nuts like walnuts – there’s not really the institutional knowledge of how to go through this whole process,” Densel said. “Here at the Almond Board, that’s certainly one of the things that we felt we could do, to help our industry members understand the requirements.”
Though inclusion in the Section 32 program is not something handlers can expect in most years, it can be a sensible alternative when almond inventories are up and USDA puts out a bid.
“At a time we’re seeing the challenges the almond industry is facing to market larger crops, Section 32 certainly provides an alternative destination and one that is logistically easier under shipping current conditions,” Densel said. — By the Almond Board of California
Researchers at UC Davis have found a new, safe way to treat dairy manure for use as a high quality, organic liquid fertilizer on fresh produce crops. Watch this interview with Ruihong Zhang from UC Davis as she shares the results of their studies and read more in California Dairy Magazine.
Please thank this video’s sponsor Clean Energy for their industry support.
The Sonoma County Farm Bureau is pleased to announce its new Executive Director, Dayna Ghirardelli.
Dayna Ghirardelli grew up in Petaluma where she was active in Tomales 4-H and Tomales FFA, showing registered and grade dairy cattle, and market lambs, participated on the parliamentary procedure team, and served several officer terms.
Dayna attended California State University, Chico where she majored in Agriculture with an Animal Industries pathway, which focused on both animal science and agricultural business.
Upon completion at Chico State, Dayna began her professional career with the UC Cooperative Extension as the Dairy Program Representative in Sonoma and Marin Counties. Dayna also spent time as a consultant to local dairy farmers, assisting them with their water quality permits/reports, and navigating organic transitions while she raised her two children, Grace (22) and Andy (20).
In 2008, Dayna began working part-time for Clover Stornetta Farms as their Producer Liaison, but that quickly turned into a full-time position where she was responsible for overseeing the efforts around animal welfare standards and compliance, milk quality, recordkeeping assistance for existing organic dairies, guidance for transitioning organic dairies, and building community relationships. Dayna eventually became the Producer Relations Manager while assisting Clover Sonoma through various transitions. The farmer-processor partnership was always at the core of every endeavor.
In 2020, Dayna joined the California Milk Advisory Board as the Director of Producer Relations, focusing on industry advocacy, dairy farmer communication and outreach, and relationships.
“The Farm Bureau is very excited to have Dayna on board as our newest Executive Director,” said Sonoma County Farm Bureau President Jennifer Beretta, “Dayna comes to the Farm Bureau with lifelong connections in the ag community and a successful career advocating for Sonoma County farmers and ranchers. We are confident that she will help us amplify our mission here at the Farm Bureau.”
Dayna is a member of the California Department of Food and Agriculture 4th District Agriculture Association (Sonoma-Marin Fairgrounds and Event Center) board of directors and is currently the chairperson of Petaluma High School’s Agricultural Advisory Committee. Dayna resides in Petaluma with her husband Louie and son Andy.
Cowpea is an important crop in many parts of the world, especially sub-Saharan Africa. It is resilient and can grow in areas with little rainfall and low-quality soils. But as hardy as it is, cowpea yields can decrease by drought and low levels of soil phosphorus.
A high-resolution root hair image taken from a cowpea seedling root sample. The image was taken after 14 days of growth on germination papers. Root hairs play important roles in cowpea tolerance to drought and poor soils. Credit: Saba Mohammed
In a recent study, researchers determined cowpea root characteristics that could help the plants grow better in drier, low-phosphorus soils.
“Developing cowpea varieties that can produce optimally under stressful conditions is vital,” says Saba Mohammed, lead author of the study at Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria, Nigeria. “These resilient cowpea varieties can help make more people food and nutrition secure.”
The study was published in Crop Science, a publication of the Crop Science Society of America.
Cowpeas are a key source of calories for millions of people across the world. They are rich in protein and other nutrients. Cowpea plants also have a variety of other uses. They can serve as animal fodder and green manure.
Microbes in cowpea root nodules can increase soil fertility. These microbes make atmospheric nitrogen available to plants in the soil – a process called nitrogen fixation. Nitrogen fixation can be beneficial for farmers who cannot afford nitrogen-based fertilizers.
Most cowpeas production is in semi-arid regions. Harsh environmental conditions and poor soils often hamper yields. “Our work established that certain root characteristics increased the yield of cowpea plants under drought or low soil phosphorus conditions,” says Mohammed.
These root features include longer primary roots and higher numbers of lateral roots emerging from primary roots. Root hairs also play important roles in cowpea tolerance to drought and poor soils.
For example, cowpea plants with longer, denser root hairs had higher yields when grown in low-phosphorus conditions. “That suggests these root hair features play crucial roles in acquiring phosphorus from sub-optimal soils,” says Mohammed.
Scientists have long known that roots are a key part of how plants adapt to difficult environmental conditions. “The root system is half of the whole plant system,” says Mohammed. “Yet, it has been relatively under-explored in finding solutions to farming constraints.”
Root systems have diverse strategies for extracting resources from soil. “For instance, plants with deeper roots produce better than those with shallow roots under limited water conditions,” he says. “On the other hand, those with shallow roots may be more suited to soils with suboptimal nutrients.”
A field experiment on cowpea at the Institute for Agricultural Research in Minjibir Agricultural Research Station, Kano State, Nigeria. Cowpea crops are resilient and can grow in areas with little rainfall and low-quality soils. Credit: Saba Mohammed
That’s because nutrients – like phosphorus – are often concentrated in the top layer of soil.
For cowpea plants growing in dry and nutrient-limited soils, roots need to go deeper and spread wide and shallow.
“Our study shows that we can focus on cowpea varieties with longer taproots for drought tolerance and higher numbers of shallower basal roots to extract soil nutrients,” says Mohammed.
While root architecture can provide valuable information, examining root features of mature plants can be a time-consuming and exhausting process. Mohammed says it is easier and more economical to phenotype roots at the seedling stage.
The study showed that examining roots of cowpea seedlings could help identify root features in mature plants that are beneficial for growth in challenging environments.
“Our goal is to use the study results to breed new cowpea varieties,” says Mohammed. “These new varieties would perform optimally under limited water and low soil phosphorus conditions.”
Many small-scale and subsistence farmers may be unable to afford phosphate fertilizers. The new cowpea varieties Mohammed describes would benefit these farmers tremendously. However, he explains that developing new varieties with desired root features can also be a valuable resource in systems where intensive irrigation and fertilizers are used. These cowpea varieties can help reduce production costs and minimize environmental pollution from excessive fertilizer use.
American Society of Agronomy, Soil Science Society of America, Crop Science Society of America: Collectively, these Societies represent more than 12,000 individual members around the world. Members are researchers and professionals in the areas of growing our world’s food supply while protecting our environment. Together we work toward solutions to advance scientific knowledge in the areas of agronomy, crop science, and soil science.
Photosynthesis has evolved in plants for millions of years to turn water, carbon dioxide, and the energy from sunlight into plant biomass and the foods we eat. This process, however, is very inefficient, with only about 1% of the energy found in sunlight ending up in the plant. Scientists at UC Riverside and the University of Delaware have found a way to bypass the need for biological photosynthesis altogether and create food independent of sunlight by using artificial photosynthesis.
Plants are growing in complete darkness in an acetate medium that replaces biological photosynthesis. (Marcus Harland-Dunaway/UCR)
The research, published in Nature Food, uses a two-step electrocatalytic process to convert carbon dioxide, electricity, and water into acetate, the form of the main component of vinegar. Food-producing organisms then consume acetate in the dark to grow. Combined with solar panels to generate the electricity to power the electrocatalysis, this hybrid organic-inorganic system could increase the conversion efficiency of sunlight into food, up to 18 times more efficient for some foods.
“With our approach we sought to identify a new way of producing food that could break through the limits normally imposed by biological photosynthesis,” said corresponding author Robert Jinkerson, a UC Riverside assistant professor of chemical and environmental engineering.
In order to integrate all the components of the system together, the output of the electrolyzer was optimized to support the growth of food-producing organisms. Electrolyzers are devices that use electricity to convert raw materials like carbon dioxide into useful molecules and products. The amount of acetate produced was increased while the amount of salt used was decreased, resulting in the highest levels of acetate ever produced in an electrolyzer to date.
Experiments showed that a wide range of food-producing organisms can be grown in the dark directly on the acetate-rich electrolyzer output, including green algae, yeast, and fungal mycelium that produce mushrooms. Producing algae with this technology is approximately fourfold more energy efficient than growing it photosynthetically. Yeast production is about 18-fold more energy efficient than how it is typically cultivated using sugar extracted from corn.
“We were able to grow food-producing organisms without any contributions from biological photosynthesis. Typically, these organisms are cultivated on sugars derived from plants or inputs derived from petroleum—which is a product of biological photosynthesis that took place millions of years ago. This technology is a more efficient method of turning solar energy into food, as compared to food production that relies on biological photosynthesis,” said Elizabeth Hann, a doctoral candidate in the Jinkerson Lab and co-lead author of the study.
The potential for employing this technology to grow crop plants was also investigated. Cowpea, tomato, tobacco, rice, canola, and green pea were all able to utilize carbon from acetate when cultivated in the dark.
By liberating agriculture from complete dependence on the sun, artificial photosynthesis opens the door to countless possibilities for growing food under the increasingly difficult conditions imposed by anthropogenic climate change. Drought, floods, and reduced land availability would be less of a threat to global food security if crops for humans and animals grew in less resource-intensive, controlled environments. Crops could also be grown in cities and other areas currently unsuitable for agriculture, and even provide food for future space explorers.
“Using artificial photosynthesis approaches to produce food could be a paradigm shift for how we feed people. By increasing the efficiency of food production, less land is needed, lessening the impact agriculture has on the environment. And for agriculture in non-traditional environments, like outer space, the increased energy efficiency could help feed more crew members with less inputs,” said Jinkerson. This approach to food production was submitted to NASA’s Deep Space Food Challenge where it was a Phase I winner. — By Holly Ober, UC Riverside
About UC Riverside
The University of California, Riverside is a doctoral research university, a living laboratory for groundbreaking exploration of issues critical to Inland Southern California, the state and communities around the world. Reflecting California’s diverse culture, UCR’s enrollment is more than 26,000 students. The campus opened a medical school in 2013 and has reached the heart of the Coachella Valley by way of the UCR Palm Desert Center. The campus has an annual impact of more than $2.7 billion on the U.S. economy. To learn more, visit www.ucr.edu.
Cowpea is an important crop in many parts of the world, especially sub-Saharan Africa. It is resilient and can grow in areas with little rainfall and low-quality soils. But as hardy as it is, cowpea yields can decrease by drought and low levels of soil phosphorus.
