California Ag Network

Category: News

  • High School Students Who Worked with UC Mentors Big Winners In Ag Science Fair

    Davis, Calif., (March 12, 2018) – Nine Woodlake High School students took part in the UC Davis Agriscience fair research project competition, held at the campus March 2-3. Several who worked with UC Lindcove Research and Extension Center scientists took home winning ribbons.

    “We are very proud that we played a part in making these students winners,” said Beth Grafton-Cardwell, Lindcove director.

    Lindcove has been conducting an ag science ‘experience research’ day for Woodlake High School ag academy students the past three years. Last September, the students participated in a research project on citricola scale taught by Grafton-Cardwell. Students learned about experimental design, studied the life cycle of the insect using microscopes, collected leaves from a research plot, evaluated the survival of the scales exposed to different treatments, and plotted their data.

    “This was a great opportunity for students to see how science applies to agriculture and to talk about careers in agricultural science,” Grafton-Cardwell said.

    The Woodlake winners who were part of the program were Kirsten Killian and Nate Reeves. Kirsten was mentored by Lindcove staff research associate Therese Kapaun. Kirsten won first place in plant systems and fifth place overall. Nate Reeves took fifth place in plant systems. In addition, Woodlake High School won the overall novice Division 1 team award.

    The students’ teachers are Jason Ferreira, agriculture academy instructor, and teaching assistants Joshua Reger, Joel Leonard and Stephanie Doria.

  • CDFA Accepting Proposals For Small Dairy Research

    Sacramento, Calif., (March 12, 2018) – The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) is now accepting proposals to address small dairy climate change research.

    Supported by a $250,000 allocation from the Budget Act of 2017, these grants will fund research proposals that evaluate how small dairies differ from large dairies in adapting and mitigating to climate change. The proposals will also help identify cost effective strategies to reduce methane from smaller dairies.

    Eligible applicants include California academic institutions, nonprofits and out-of-state groups collaborating with California-based scientists and organizations.

    Applicants are invited to submit grant proposals requesting up to $250,000 electronically to cdfa.oefi@cdfa.ca.gov no later than Friday, April 16, 2018 at 5 p.m. PDT.

    The 2018 Small Dairy Climate Change Research Request for Proposals contains detailed instructions, including: eligibility requirements, timelines, scoring criteria and research priorities. Interested parties can access this information at: www.cdfa.ca.gov/oefi/research/.

    Contact: Steve Lyle, Director of Public Affairs, California Department of Food and Agriculture – 916-654-0462

  • Urban Farming Workshops Start Soon in Sacramento and San Diego

    Sacramento, Calif., (March 12, 2018) – Are you an urban farmer in the Sacramento or San Diego region? Are you a gardener thinking of selling some of your produce to neighbors, restaurants or at a farmers’ market? Are you part of a non-profit organization growing and distributing food in your community? If so, you are invited to join other urban farmers at one or more of four low-cost full-day workshops starting soon in both the Sacramento and San Diego regions, offered by UC Cooperative Extension and local partners.

    Learn more about the workshops, as well as the 2017 workshop series’ held in the Los Angeles and San Francisco Bay Area regions, at ucanr.edu/sites/UrbanAg/Urban_Ag_Workshops.

    If you’re growing more food, herbs, flowers or fiber than your family or organization consumes, and if you are selling or otherwise distributing the excess, and if you are growing in or at the edge of a city or town, then you are one of an increasing number of urban farmers. Urban farms are often very small scale, commercially marginal and operated by beginning farmers. They can be operated by individuals, families, non-profit organizations, schools or colleges, or by other groups. Research shows that successful urban farms can bring social, health, environmental and economic benefits to local communities, including improved access to healthful food.

    A UC Cooperative Extension (UCCE) team recently assessed the needs of urban farmers around the state, and found that they struggle with production, business, and marketing challenges, many of which are specific to the urban context of their farms. Additionally, many urban farmers are unaware of agricultural regulations, city zoning and permitting rules, food safety, soil quality issues and pest quarantines.

    To help new urban farmers get started effectively, and to help more experienced urban farmers improve their skills and profitability, the UCCE team is offering a series of four urban agriculture workshops in each of the Sacramento and San Diego regions. These communities have recently put policies in place to encourage urban farming, and many residents are getting involved. The workshops will be held at urban farm sites and will include farm tours and discussions with local urban farmers sharing challenges and success stories.

    The 2018 workshop series starts March 16 in the Sacramento area and March 23 in the San Diego area.

    Workshop #1 will cover urban farming legal basics, including types of urban farm enterprises, zoning issues, soil testing, required permits and licenses, and an introduction to key local resources such as the Agricultural Commissioner and UCCE staff.

    Workshop #2 will cover marketing and business management for urban farms, including business planning, record keeping, market channel options, and an introduction to labor laws and risk management.

    Workshop #3 will be about production considerations for urban farmers, focusing on water management, integrated pest management (IPM), and soil contamination/soil improvement.

    Workshop #4 will cover pre- and post-harvest food safety practices, using CDFA’s Small Farm Food Safety Guidelines.

    Cost: Each workshop is $20 for a full day of expert speakers, participatory exercises, lunch and refreshments. Each workshop will be a one-day event. Urban farmers and future farmers, and others who are interested can take one, several, or all four of these workshops.

    Registration is open. Space is limited, so please sign up early.

    San Diego registration: http://ucanr.edu/sdurbanag2018

    Sacramento registration: http://ucanr.edu/sacurbanag2018

    More UC ANR urban farming resources: ucanr.edu/sites/UrbanAg/

    For more information:

    San Diego Series: Mary Redlin, Southern California Coordinator, mvredlin@ucanr.edu, (562) 900-3041

    Sacramento Series: Penny Leff, Northern California Coordinator, paleff@ucanr.edu, (530) 752-5208

  • CA Blueberry & Apple Growers Impacted by Early Spring Freeze

    Special Thanks to This Video’s Sponsor!

    Growers experienced unusually early warm temperatures this year throughout the state that was followed by a severe freeze that lasted long enough to do some damage to various crops in California. Although it will take some time to determine exactly how much damage the freeze caused, watch this brief interview with Alexander Ott from the California Blueberry & Apple Commissions as he shares some initial results.

  • CDFA Announces Grant Funding Available For Healthy Soils Program

    Sacramento, Calif., (March 9, 2018) – The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) is now accepting applications for the Healthy Soils Program (HSP). The program provides funding for incentivizing and demonstrating soil health practices that sequester carbon, reduce greenhouse gases, and improve soil health.

    The HSP has two components: the HSP Incentives Program and the HSP Demonstration Projects.

    The HSP Incentives Program provides financial assistance for implementation of soil health practices that sequester soil carbon and reduce GHG emissions. California farmers and ranchers, as well as Federal and California recognized Native American Indian Tribes, are eligible to apply.

    The HSP Demonstration Projects showcase California farmers’ and ranchers’ implementation of HSP soil health practices. By using demonstration projects, awardees can help support widespread adoption of soil health management practices throughout the state.  Not-for-profit entities, University Cooperative Extension, federal and university experiment stations, Resource Conservation Districts, Federal and California-recognized Native American Indian Tribes, and farmers and ranchers in collaboration with any of the aforementioned entities are eligible to apply.

    A total of up to $1.6 million will be awarded for the projects, with no more than $500,000 allocated specifically for HSP Demonstration projects.

    This grant process may prioritize funding to agricultural lands in counties where a state of emergency was declared in 2017 due to wildfires under executive orders signed by Governor Edmond G. Brown, Jr. These counties include: Butte, Lake, Los Angeles, Mendocino, Napa, Nevada, Orange, Santa Barbara, Sonoma, Ventura and Yuba.

    Applications and all supporting information must be submitted electronically by April 13, 2018 at 5:00 p.m. PDT. Awards will be made based on a first-come-first-served basis and will be subject to administrative and technical reviews prior to being funded.

    For detailed information on eligibility and program requirements, prospective applicants should visit the CDFA Healthy Soils Program website at: www.cdfa.ca.gov/oefi/healthysoils/.

    CDFA will hold two workshops and two webinars to provide information on program requirements and the application process (see below). CDFA staff will provide guidance on the application process, provide examples, and answer any questions. There is no cost to attend the workshops. Individuals planning to attend should email grants@cdfa.ca.gov with his or her contact information, the number of seats required, and the workshop location.

    Orange County – Tuesday, March 13, 2018
    1:00 pm – 2:30 pm – HSP Incentives Program
    2.30 pm – 4:00 pm – HSP Demonstration Projects
    OC Fair and Event Center – Board Room
    88 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa, CA 92626

    Yuba City – Friday, March 16, 2018
    9:00 am – 10:30 am – HSP Incentives Program
    10:30 am – 12:00 pm – HSP Demonstration Projects
    University of California Cooperative Extension Sutter/Yuba
    142 Garden Highway
    Yuba City, CA 95991

    Webinar – Monday, March 19, 2018
    9:00 am – 10:30 am – HSP Incentives Program
    10:30 am – 12:00 pm – HSP Demonstration Projects

    Webinar – Wednesday, March 21, 2018
    9:00 am – 10:30 am – HSP Incentives Program
    10:30 am – 12:00 pm – HSP Demonstration Projects

    To register for the webinars, please visit the program webpage at https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/oefi/healthysoils/.

    Prospective applicants may contact CDFA’s Grants Office at grants@cdfa.ca.gov with general program questions. For information regarding free-of-charge technical assistance provided by non-profit organizations, Resource Conservation Districts (RCDs), and California academic institutions, applicants should refer to www.cdfa.ca.gov/oefi/healthysoils.

    NOTE – The HSP is part of California Climate Investments, a statewide program that puts billions of Cap-and-Trade dollars to work reducing GHG emissions, strengthening the economy, and improving public health and the environment – particularly in disadvantaged communities.  The Cap-and-Trade program also creates a financial incentive for industries to invest in clean technologies and develop innovative ways to reduce pollution.  California Climate Investments projects include affordable housing, renewable energy, public transportation, zero-emission vehicles, environmental restoration, sustainable agriculture, recycling, and much more.  At least 35 percent of these investments are located within and benefiting residents of disadvantaged communities, low-income communities, and low-income households across California.  For more information, visit the California Climate Investments website at:  www.caclimateinvestments.ca.gov.

  • California’s Desert Agriculture Is Hot Stuff

    Parlier, Calif., (March 9, 2018) – Stretching from the Death Valley to Calexico, California’s vast dry desert is home to a unique and important agriculture industry.

    It’s a place where summertime temperatures often top the 115-degree mark. Where water supplies for irrigation depend on the Colorado River, but upriver states are claiming more of it. Where evapotrasporation – a reference rate of water use in unstressed turf grass – is 72 inches per year, but rainfall is rarely more than 4.

    Still, stalwart farmers grow dates, carrots, lettuce, broccoli, cabbage, kale and more, plus plants for landscaping everything from family homes to beautiful and luxurious resorts. The agriculture output of the state’s three desert counties – Riverside, San Bernardino and Imperial – exceeds $4 billion annually.

    The California desert also impacts the quality of life across the nation. If Americans are enjoying a salad in the winter, the lettuce most likely was grown in the California desert. There are bountiful winter recreation opportunities available on the beautifully manicured golf courses, parks and landscapes.

    A group of UC Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR) academics formed a desert workgroup to better serve the state’s desert region. The group organized a symposium in February to bring together representatives from desert farm and natural resources communities, related industry and academics working in the desert.

    Director of UC Cooperative Extension in Imperial County, Oli Bachie, is chair of the UC ANR Desert Workgroup.

    “The close exchange of information among desert researchers, non-profit organizations, industry and clientele groups will facilitate collaboration among UC ANR, Arizona and Mexico and foster how our programs should be shaped on a regional level,” said Oli Bachie, the director of UC Cooperative Extension in Imperial County and the current workgroup chair.

    With saline soil, scorching summer temperatures and limited water supplies, the desert could be considered a hotbed of the “wicked problem.” A wicked problem isn’t evil, said UC Associate Vice President Wendy Powers, the symposium’s plenary session keynote speaker.

    “The term ‘wicked problem’ was coined at UC Berkeley,” Powers said. “It’s a problem with circumstances that resist resolution.”

    She named climate change and the growth of the global population California must help feed as wicked problems faced by the state. Powers described UC ANR’s statewide programs that are working to find solutions to formidable issues faced in California agriculture.

    “We’re on the verge of some serious breakthroughs as we look at solving wicked problems,” Powers said. “They are accelerated by conversations like those we’re having today.”

    UC ANR Associate Vice President Wendy Powers was the symposium’s plenary session keynote speaker.

    UC Vice Provost Mark Bell said that the potential of UC ANR to reach every single Californian is what drew him to his position in 2017. Bell invoked Star Wars robot R2D2 for an acronym to reflect the characteristics that accurately define UC ANR.

    “R2 stands for reach and relevance,” he said. “D2 is diverse and dispersed.”

    UC Cooperative Extension offices serve 57 California counties and its nine research and extension centers are located in key agriculture ecosystems, including one in the low desert of the Imperial Valley.

    The afternoon program of the symposium included breakout sessions to highlight programs and research efforts in three broad areas: irrigation and crop production, landscape management, and livestock and feed quality.

    “This was the first attempt to organize such a regional desert-based symposium for the UCANR Desert Workgroup with the collaboration of desert-serving UCCE counties,” Bachie said. “I believe that we have registered a remarkable get-together.”

    The symposium had speakers and participants from UC, USDA, California Department of Food and Agriculture, the desert agricultural industry, pest control advisors, non-profit institutions and organizations, agricultural commissioners, farm bureaus, Arizona and Mexico universities and the general public.

    “I believe that the symposium is a stepping stone for future desert research and extension meetings, conferences and symposiums among people engaged or interested in desert agriculture and natural resources,” Bachie said.

  • Tulare County Reports on Current Crop Status

    Visalia, Calif., (March 9, 2018) – 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 Corn is being planted as weather allows. Last week’s rain helped with winter wheat and oats growth. Ground preparation is continuing for spring row crops. Alfalfa fields need more time to fully develop before harvest begins.

    Stone fruit, pecan, walnut, and pistachio orchards, along with grape vineyards, are completing pruning and debris shredding. More stone fruit orchards are starting to bloom, with the earliest varieties in full bloom. Almond trees have started blooming. Bee colonies continue being moved into almond and stone fruit orchards to help with pollination. Orchards are being monitored for possible damage from the recent freeze to the bloom, but the extent (if any) is as yet unknown.

    Navel oranges, Minneola tangelos, and lemons continue to be harvested. The harvest of late variety navel oranges is accelerating. Some pruning and skirting of orange groves is occurring. Navel oranges are being exported to Australia, China, Hong Kong, Korea, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, and Taiwan. Packing houses are grading fruit to maintain good quality going to market. Minneola tangelos continue to be shipped to Japan and the Netherlands. Growers are carefully monitoring last week’s freezing temperatures for damage. Weed control activities are happening in some groves. Some olive groves are still being pruned.

    Winter vegetables continue to grow. Broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower are being harvested and sold at the Farmer’s Markets. Vegetable fields are continuing to be prepared for early plantings of squash seedlings. Squash is being planted under hot-caps and hot-tunnels. Greenhouse vegetables continue to be harvested. Strawberry and blueberry plantings are progressing well and are starting to bloom.

    Last week’s rain was beneficial, but the rangeland forage is still in poor condition, but more rain is needed. The fed cattle market remained rose to $130.00 per hundred weight this week.

    Retail nurseries are stocked up on both perennial and annual plants for the spring season. Bare-root roses are being received and processed for reshipment out-of-state.

  • South America Palm Weevil is Killing Palm Trees in Southern California

    San Diego, Calif., (March 13, 2018) – South American palm weevils that have made their way north from Mexico are having a destructive impact on palm trees in the San Diego region, reported Abbie Alford on CBS News 8 TV in San Diego.

    UC Cooperative Extension specialist Mark Hoddle, the director of the Center for Invasive Species Research at UC Riverside, toured the reporter through the hard-hit Sweetwater Reserve in Bonita, where 10 percent of the palms die every three months.

    “We are going to see hundreds, thousands of Canary Island Date Palms die over the next couple of years,” he said.

    A Canary Island Palm in San Ysidro killed by South American palm weevils.

    The weevils use their protruding noses to drill holes in the palm, where females lay their eggs.

    San Diego County Agriculture, Weights and Measurements said it plans to remove 50 infested Canary Island Palms from the Sweetwater Regional Park and is educating arborists about the invasive pest.

    A spokesperson for the City of San Diego said it is working with UC Cooperative Extension.

     

  • Actual Impact of the North Coast Wildfires Revealed in Wine Study

    Special Thanks to This Video’s Sponsor!

    Over the last several months, there has been a lot of news coverage on the wildfires that devastated many parts of the state; however, the actual impact of the wildfires on the North Coast Wine Industry has been exaggerated in some of these reports. That is why Sonoma State University’s Wine Business Institute conducted a study to get some statistical data on the actual effects the fires had on California’s North Coast wine industry. Watch this interview with Executive Director of the Wine Business Institute Ray Johnson as he shares some preliminary results of this study. Read more in American Vineyard Magazine.

  • CDFA Now Accepting Applications For Alternative Manure Management Program Technical Assistance Grants

    Sacramento, Calif., (March 8, 2018) – The California Department of Food and Agriculture is now accepting grant applications from non-profits, universities, and California Resource Conservation Districts that will offer technical assistance to farmers and ranchers interested in applying to the state’s Alternative Manure Management Program (AMMP).

    “These grants dollars will help fund workshops and other assistance in the application process, making it easier for our dairy and livestock operators to successfully apply to
    AMMP and ultimately reduce greenhouse gas emissions on their operations,” said CDFA Secretary Karen Ross.

    Applicants may apply for funding up to $10,000 and must meet several requirements, including: one-on-one application assistance, technical assistance, and internet access for application submission.

    Detailed information on funding, eligibility and program requirements can be found at: www.cdfa.ca.gov/oefi/AMMP/.

    Applications must be submitted by email no later than March 14, 2018, 5:00 p.m. PDT. Grants will be awarded on a first-come-first-served basis.

    The AMMP is part of California Climate Investments, a statewide program that puts billions of Cap and Trade dollars to work reducing GHG emissions, strengthening the economy, and improving public health and the environment – particularly in disadvantaged communities.  The Cap-and-Trade program also creates a financial incentive for industries to invest in clean technologies and develop innovative ways to reduce pollution.  California Climate Investments projects include affordable housing, renewable energy, public transportation, zero-emission vehicles, environmental restoration, sustainable agriculture, recycling, and much more.  At least 35 percent of these investments are located within and benefiting residents of disadvantaged communities, low-income communities, and low-income households across California.  For more information, visit the California Climate Investments website at:  www.caclimateinvestments.ca.gov.