California Ag Network

Category: Livestock

  • Farmers Monitor Storms’ Impact On Crops, Water Supplies

    Sacramento, Calif., (February 23, 2017) – Strong storms during the Presidents’ Day holiday weekend flooded farm fields, caused several dairy farms to relocate their animals and brought other impacts on California farms and ranches. The storms also added more water to an already overtaxed system, and led to renewed calls to modernize the system.

    “In the long term, the surge of storms should bring an improved water outlook,” California Farm Bureau Federation President Paul Wenger said, “but it has definitely brought worries to farmers and ranchers whose land is inundated or whose crops may be at risk. We remain hopeful that weather in coming days will minimize any problems.”

    Wenger noted that many reservoirs have filled and have had to release water, which underlines the need to enhance California’s water storage capacity.

    “Believe it or not, there are people who think we don’t need more water storage, and that we should even tear down many of the facilities we now have,” he said. “These activists don’t care how many people suffer from devastating floods in winters like this. They don’t care how many people suffer from water shortages during droughts.”

    Wenger said California must move as quickly as possible to allocate money from the 2014 water bond, Proposition 1, to create more storage both aboveground and underground.

    “Environmentalists say we can solve water problems by conserving more water and storing more underground. But we’re not able to conserve most of the water flowing through the system now—we have had to let it go. And moving water into the ground takes time. You can’t replenish groundwater if you don’t have aboveground reservoirs and canals to hold and move water to where it can effectively filter underground,” Wenger said.

    Farm Bureau said farmers of a number of crops and commodities will be assessing the impact from the weekend storms, including:

    • Almonds—The storms hit just as almond trees were blooming. Bees that pollinate almond blossoms don’t fly in the rain and prefer temperatures higher than 55 degrees. In addition, a number of almond trees were blown down by strong winds during the weekend. But farmers said the tree losses weren’t as bad as feared, and expressed hope pollination would still be successful.
    • Berries—The rains delayed strawberry harvest along the Central and Southern California coast. Production may be temporarily reduced as farmers wait for waterlogged fields to dry and discard rain-damaged berries.
    • Dairy farms—Several dairy farms located near the Tuolumne and San Joaquin rivers needed to move their animals to higher ground as river levels rose. Other farmers are watching river levels carefully and preparing to move their animals if needed.
    • Field crops—Fall-planted grain crops that have germinated could take on too much water, which could ultimately reduce yields. Hay fields have also flooded. Soggy or flooded fields will delay planting for a number of crops.
    • Grapes—Vineyards in various grape-growing regions have been flooded. Farmers say that could leave vines vulnerable to root-rot damage if they remain flooded for too long.
    • Vegetables—Rains and muddy fields slowed vegetable harvest in Southern California and delayed planting in the Salinas Valley. Rain generally benefited vegetable crops in the Imperial Valley.
    • Walnuts—Flooded orchards that remain waterlogged for too long could be vulnerable to root diseases that can kill trees.
    • Miscellaneous—Heavy rains in foothill regions have washed out privately maintained roads, making it hard for cattle ranchers to reach their animals, and muddy pastures limit ranchers’ ability to reach herds on horseback. Pear orchards in Lake County have been flooded. Citrus fruit harvest was temporarily delayed. The storms brought large amounts of rain to Santa Barbara County farmers who have remained in severe drought. One farmer there reported losing about half an acre of avocado trees to a mudslide.

  • USDA California Crop/Weather Report for Week Ending February 19, 2017

    Sacramento, Calif., (February 22, 2017) – Another warm and wet week across the State as a strong Pacific system moved inland. The system brought rain to most of the State, with mountains receiving snow. Temperatures cooled through Friday, before rising slightly over the weekend.

    Dry weather ruled the State on Monday and Tuesday with the exception of some light sprinkles across the far northwest. On Wednesday, a storm system began to bring rain to the northern half of the State with up to three inches falling in the far northwest, tapering off to about half an inch along the I-80 corridor. As lighter amounts were seen further south to Fresno. Thursday through Saturday heavy rain for most of the State, with the Santa Barbara to Oxnard area receiving the most, at over four inches of rain. Deserts areas received scattered rain on Friday, totaling a quarter of an inch. Sunday brought more rain to the State, but with much lighter amounts as the storm system moved inland. One to two feet of new snow fell in the Sierras, and two to three feet in the northern mountains. Temperatures allowed for a slight increase of the snowpack in the northern mountains and in the north and central Sierras, while the southern Sierras snowpack remained unchanged.

    Temperature highs were in the 30s to 50s in the mountains, 50s to 60s along the coast, 50s to 70s in the desert, and 60s to 70s in the valley. The temperature lows were in the 20s to 30s in the mountains, 30s to 50s the desert, and 40s to 50s in the valley and along the coast.

    Growers continued to wait for fields to dry out sufficiently to resume planting winter grain and field crops. The planted grains and field crops continued to mature, reaping the benefit from all the recent rain, and a few sunny days. Winter wheat and oats were maturing very well.

    Pruning, discing, weed control, and pre-bloom spraying continued where orchard floor conditions permitted. Aerial applications were made where field conditions prevented ground application. Olive groves were pruned. Pruning, tying, berm sanitation, and brush shredding started up again in the drier vineyards. The standing water in vineyards and orchards continued to cause concern for the health of the trees and vines. Early varieties of nectarines and peaches were blooming in Fresno County. The Navel orange harvest was slowed by the rainy conditions. Tangelos were harvested.

    As field conditions permitted, walnut orchards continued to be pruned. Almonds were beginning to bloom across the state. Bee hives were staged in preparation for the pending bloom season, though muddy conditions forced many hives to be left on drier ground outside almond orchards.

    In Tulare County, winter vegetables continued to mature. The drier weather in the county allowed the harvest to resume.  New fields continue to be prepared for spring planting.  Strawberry fields continued to thrive.  Blueberries continued to be planted, weather permitting.  In Imperial County, spinach, broccoli, and some lettuce were being harvested late at night. In Fresno County, some winter vegetable fields were soaked with soil saturation and no field work was able to be performed. Organic onions were being planted.

    Non-irrigated pasture and rangeland continued to improve due to the winter’s precipitation. Range was reported to be in fair to excellent condition. Supplemental feeding of livestock continued to decline as range conditions improved.

  • Gene Editing Can Complement Traditional Food-Animal Improvements

    Thanks to gene editing, this calf pictured with Van Eenennaam will not grow horns and will not have to go through the dehorning process. (Karin Higgins/UC Davis)

    By Pat Bailey

    Quick Summary

    • Gene editing builds on traditional breeding successes
    • The technology enhances sustainability plus animal health and welfare
    • Questions remain about regulatory issues
     Gene editing— one of the newest and most promising tools of biotechnology — enables animal breeders to make beneficial genetic changes, without bringing along unwanted genetic changes.

    And, following in the footsteps of traditional breeding, gene editing has tremendous potential to boost the sustainability of livestock production, while also enhancing food-animal health and welfare, argues UC Davis animal scientist Alison Van Eenennaam.

    She examines the potential benefits of genome editing today, Feb. 17, at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, held in Boston’s Hynes Convention Center. Her presentation is part of a session titled “The Potential of Gene Editing to Revolutionize Agriculture,” moderated by acclaimed molecular biologist Nina Federoff.

    Van Eenennaam also will participate in a news briefing on this topic at noon EST on Saturday, Feb. 18, in Room 103 of the convention center.

    Lessons from the dairy industry

    Thanks to improvements made in the dairy industry through traditional breeding, a glass of milk today is associated with just one-third of the greenhouse gas emissions linked to producing a glass of milk in the 1940s, says Van Eenennaam, a UC Cooperative Extension biotechnology specialist in the UC Davis Department of Animal Science.

    That was accomplished as traditional selective breeding improved the productivity of dairy cows so much that the number of dairy cows in the United States dropped from a high of 25.6 million in 1944 to about 9 million today, even as the country experienced a 1.6-fold increase in total milk production, she says.

    Potential of gene editing for food animals

    “A number of breeding methods, including artificial insemination, embryo transfer, crossbreeding and, more recently, genomic selection, have been used to achieve these improvements,” Van Eenennaam says. “Now, genome editing promises to complement traditional breeding programs by precisely introducing desirable genetic variations into livestock breeding programs.”

    She notes that genome editing has already been used to prevent livestock disease, including making pigs resistant to porcine reproductive and respiratory virus, and to improve animal welfare by developing dairy cows that don’t require horn removal.

    Additionally, research is underway to extend applications of gene editing in the future.  Gene editing might, for example, make it possible to produce offspring of only one gender, such as only hens for egg-laying operations.

    Regulatory process key for gene-edited food animals

    The potential for applying gene-editing techniques to make improvements in food-animal production largely hinges on future regulatory processes, according to Van Eenennaam.

    “It’s not yet clear what regulatory status food-animals produced with gene editing will have,” Van Eenennaam says, noting that gene editing does not transfer novel DNA into an animal, but can be used to make changes within the animal’s own genes.

    “The resulting DNA sequence may be identical to existing, naturally occurring DNA sequences,” she says. “The prospect that gene-edited animals would be subject to the same type of regulations that apply to an animal drug — even though their genetic modifications might be indistinguishable from those obtained through conventional breeding — is a concern for animal breeders who are eager to employ genome editing to complement traditional genetic improvement programs.”

    Media contacts

    Alison Van Eenennaam, UC Davis Dept. of Animal Science, 530-902-0875, alvaneenennaam@ucdavis.edu

    Pat Bailey, UC Davis News and Media Relations, 530-219-9640, pjbailey@ucdavis.edu

  • Tulare County Reports on Current Crop Status

    Visalia, Calif., (February 10, 2017) – Tulare County Agricultural Commissioner released the current status today of Major crops in the most valued county in the California Ag portfolio. They report that Growers continue to wait for fields to dry out sufficiently that they can resume planting winter grain and field crops. The planted grains and field crops continue to mature at an excellent rate, reaping the benefit from all the recent rains.

    Table grapes from cold storage continue to be exported primarily to Canada and Mexico. Field work in vineyards and orchards: pruning, tying, berm sanitation, and brush shredding, are starting up again as fields dry. Kiwifruit are being exported to Colombia. Pistachios are being exported Belgium, China, Egypt, France, Hong Kong, India, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and Vietnam. Almonds are being exported to Chile, China, Colombia, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Israel, Jamaica, Japan, Korea, the Netherlands, Norway, Pakistan, the Philippines, South Africa, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam. Pecans are being shipped to Australia, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia. Walnuts are being shipped to Hong Kong. Pomegranates are primarily being exported to Mexico. In drier locations the removal of older orchards and vineyards continues in preparation for replanting with new varieties.

    The citrus harvest is gaining strength with the clearer weather. Navel oranges are being shipped to Australia, China, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. The second application of copper fungicide has or will be made to meet the February 4th deadline for continued export to Korea. Mandarin oranges continue being shipped to Australia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Japan, and Mexico. Satsuma tangerines continue to be harvested and sent to domestic markets only. Melogold grapefruit are being exported to Japan and Korea. Lemons are being exported to Australia, China, Korea, and New Zealand. Removal of older orchards continues in preparation for replanting to new varieties this spring. The domestic market for citrus fruit remains steady at a good price.

    Winter vegetables continue to mature ideally. The drier weather is allowing the harvest to resume. Strawberries fields continue to thrive. Blueberries continue to be planted, weather permitting.

    Rangeland and dryland pasture quality continue to improve with the recent rainfall.

    Bare root rose nursery stock continues to be received, processed and shipped out. Potted roses are currently being shipped. Shipments of wholesale nursery stock have remained slow due to winter weather and a lack of demand.

  • Denner Ranch: 125 Years of Farming In Santa Rosa

    Santa Rosa, Calif., (February 10, 2017) – Denner Ranches, established in 1890, is operated by Kathy Reese and her husband Steve, Russ Denner and his wife Joanne and their son Brian Denner.

    The property was purchased by Reese and Denner’s great grandfather who emigrated from Devonshire England, originally settling in Illinois before coming west and deciding Santa Rosa was the place he wanted to live.

    The ranch was purchased in two parts, with the second half acquired in 1935. When the original piece of property was purchased in the 1890’s, it was growing winegrapes, but the vines were removed and the ranch transitioned through many other crops. Over the years, the ranch has raised horses for the U.S. Calvary, hogs, potatoes, hops, beef and dairy cattle, corn silage and hay.

    The family is currently growing 42 acres of Russian River Chardonnay. Additionally, the property has 258 acres of organic pasture most of which is leased to a local cattle company, but the family also runs their own small herd of cattle on the property. The remaining 180 acres are leased to a farmer growing vegetables which include squash, peppers, tomatoes and other seasonal items.

    While Kathy is passionate about the cattle and said she couldn’t see herself without them, Russ describes himself as the instigator of the vineyard. The 42 acres of winegrapes brings the property full circle, back to what it was originally planted with when the family purchased the land more than 125 years ago.

    Russ and his wife Joanne married in 1972 and moved back to the property in 1977 where they live in the original house built in the early 1900’s, which, as a remodeling contractor, he has restored.  Kathy and Steve married in 1970 and moved back to the property in 1982, building a new house.

    Russ’s son Brian, 29, joined the family business in 2013. He grew up on the ranch attending El Molino High School and Santa Rosa Junior College before working in security and construction. He was partway through the hiring process with the Richmond police department before deciding to come back and spend a year working on the family farm. He fell in love with the farm and has continued to work in the vineyard and is involved with day to day operations.

    Brian’s son, Silas, is six and will be the sixth generation of the Denner family to grow up on the property.

    Between 1984 and 1985, Russ and Steve were working on the farm, but the property wasn’t able to sustain both families. Russ and Steve went back to their day jobs. The parents were still operating the property and weren’t quite ready to let go.

    “It all worked out,” said Kathy, “timing is everything. Our fathers worked hard to build this ranch.”

    In 1994, Kathy and Russ returned to the property to take over the day to day operations. The family transitioned 46 acres of the property to vineyard in 1996. Russ said the family would have expanded more but were restricted due to the tiger salamander and the regulations surrounding it.

    “For farming to be sustainable you have to be able to change crops,” said Russ which has been vibrantly demonstrated by the family over the last 100 years. “The tiger salamander has made it so you can’t till the ground. We’re stuck with pastures we can only run cattle on.”

    The family has been working with NRCS on various projects and has had their pastures certified organic. They have also worked with the City of Santa Rosa to use reclaimed wastewater since 1976.

    The ranch has been used as a filming location for movies as wells as local sheriff’s department trainings. The Reeses are actively involved in Sonoma County Farm Bureau, where Kathy Reese sits on the board of directors, and are committed to ensuring future generations have the ability to farm in Sonoma County.

    “The scary part,” said Russ, “is not knowing how we’re going to keep going and change crops.”

    Kathy said, “How do you plan for succession when you don’t know how you’re going to survive?”

     

     

  • Fresno County Department of Agriculture Crop Report

    Fresno, Calif., (February 8, 2017) – Heavy rains continued in January promoting vigorous growth in barley, triticale, wheat and winter forage. Fields have been fertilized, and herbicides applied. Dry-land barley have been planted and showing good growth.

    The rains have put much of the fieldwork on hold, waiting for drier conditions. Between storms, growers reshaped beds, and added soil amendments for the next round of field crops. Sheep continue to graze in some alfalfa fields when other fields received areal herbicide treatments to control weeds in wet fields. First cuttings of alfalfa are rapidly approaching in Sanger district.

    Working around storms, growers continued to prune, disc, and apply herbicides to orchards. Around the County dormant sprays were being applied between storm systems. In the Sanger and Selma Districts, early varieties of nectarines and peaches started to bloom. Almond buds are swelling in Sanger and Huron, loads of beehives were moved in. Work continues in the vineyards with pruning, tying, and herbicide applications. Around the County orchards and vineyards continue to be taken out, replaced with almonds and pistachios. Almonds, Asian pears, dry apricots, dry cranberry, dry figs, dry prunes, pecans, raisins, and walnuts were exported to; Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Egypt, El Salvador, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Guyana, Hong Kong, Iceland, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Republic of Korea, Kuwait, Lebanon, Macedonia, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, Panama, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Trinidad & Tobago, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, and Viet Nam. Kiwi were exported to Guatemala, Japan, and Taiwan. Peruvian and Chilean grapes were re-exported to Canada

    Preparation for spring planting has started in a few fields with weeding, discing, irrigation repair, and formation of rows taking place. Field fumigations for eggplant, strawberries, and tomatoes had started in some districts but most were on hold due to ground saturation from recent rains. Garlic and onion planting have all emerged and show good growth. Broccoli is growing steadily in Firebaugh, while asparagus fields were topped and shredded for spring harvest. Harvesting of carrots and daikon continued. Broccoli, cilantro, kale, mustard, and leaf lettuce was planted for seed production. Onion and lettuce seed were exported to Germany, Japan, and republic of Korea. Blueberries started showing signs of swelling buds in Selma district, when other areas remain dormant.

    January had a few nights with below freezing temperatures but so far, no significant freeze damage has been reported in the districts. Rain also delayed citrus harvest in many districts but exports are steady. Around the storms, fungicide applications took place in many citrus orchards. Grapefruit, lemons, mandarins, Navel oranges, pummelos, tangelos, and tangerines were exported to; Chile, China, Ecuador, Fiji, Guatemala, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and Tonga. Olive groves underwent discing, and herbicide applications to control weeds.

    The rain has had a huge impact on the rangeland, creating favorable conditions for grazing livestock. Sheep continue to graze on dormant alfalfa and fallow fields. In Huron district, cattle are being shipped out for processing. With the almonds and stone fruit starting to bud, beehives were brought in from out of state to be placed in orchards for pollination.

  • USDA California Crop/Weather Report

    Sacramento, Calif., (February 1, 2017) – The stopping of the Pineapple Express coupled with a retreat of the persistent upper-level trough that has been present over the western region for the last couple of months produced a week of warmer and drier conditions.

    Temperature highs were in the 10s to 40s in the mountains, 40s to 50s in the valley, 40s to 60s along the northern coast and deserts, and 70s to 80s along the southern coast. The temperature lows were in the -10s to 20s in the mountains, 20s to 30s in the valley, 20s to 40s in the desert, and 30s along the northern coast and 40s along the southern coast.

    Widespread showers fell on most of the state on Monday, with the heaviest rains seen in the San Diego area, where over one inch fell. Most other areas received less than a quarter of an inch of rain. Snow fell in the mountains, with the greatest accumulations in the 4-8 inch range in the area just southwest of Tahoe and also in parts of the southern Sierras. Tuesday and Wednesday continued to bring limited showers in certain areas, particularly the northern mountains and southern coasts. Thursday through Sunday saw no measurable precipitation at any reliable sites. Snow packs in the mountains continue to be in very good shape, maintaining cover through the week and likely increasing by 4-6 inches in the area around Tahoe.

    Continued rains have benefited the growth of already planted grains and field crops, but the rain has hindered ground preparations for continued planting. Low spots in some fields were showing stress from repeated standing water. Farmers in some areas have been encouraged to report crop losses due to flooding.

    Standing water and muddy conditions continued to hinder fieldwork for much of the state. Winter field work continued when conditions permitted. Deciduous fruit orchards continued to be pruned and brush shredded. Removal of orchards and vineyards continued in preparation for replanting with new varieties. Rain continued to slow navel orange and Satsuma mandarin harvest. Fungicide applications to citrus were made as conditions allowed.

    Some almond and walnut orchards were impacted by falling trees due to strong winds and saturated ground. Nut orchards continued to be pruned and brush shredded as weather conditions permitted.

    In San Joaquin County, conditions were drying out, which helped with standing water in the fields.  In Monterey County, heavy rains were welcomed, though the saturated ground restricted field access.  Growers began planting cole crops, as well as lettuces and greens.  In San Mateo County, the fields were still very wet and unworkable.  In Fresno County, the onions and garlic have germinated.

    Non-irrigated pasture and rangeland continued to green up due to this winter’s rain. Range was reported to be in excellent to good condition. Standing water and flooding continued to impact some valley pasture and dairies. Sheep grazed idle fields and dormant alfalfa fields. Where field conditions permitted bees were staged in preparation for the bloom season. Bee keepers continued to feed their hives to compensate for the lack of blooming vegetation.