66 students from eight Western U.S. universities and one Canadian college traveled to Modesto, California, for the 15th annual Western Dairy Challenge on February 20 – 22, 2020. The contest was hosted by Modesto Junior College. The Western Regional Dairy Challenge is a three-day educational competition designed to prepare students for dairy careers. Working in mixed-university teams of four or five …
WEATHER Temperature highs ranged from the mid 40s to low 70s in the mountains, low 60s to low 80s along the coast, low 60s to mid 80s in the valley, and low 60s to high eighties in the desert. Temperature lows ranged from the mid 10s to high 40s in the mountains, mid 30s to mid 50s along the coast, …
Message from CEO Tammy Anderson-Wise: We are living in an unprecedented and challenging time as COVID-19 continues to spread across the United States. California schools and non-essential businesses have closed their doors, and Californians are being asked to stay at home as a safety measure to stop the spread of this fast-moving pandemic. Dairy Council of California believes the health of …
Roughly 150 olive oil industry members were present at third annual California Olive Oil Day held in early March. The day started at 9 a.m. with a session focused on maximizing grower profits through grove management. Leandro Ravetti, Technical Director at Modern Olives spoke about irrigation management in olive orchards for oil production. His presentation included important information on the …
Effective April 13, 2020, the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) will revoke Quarantine Commodity (QC) permit number 1486. QC 1486 originally authorized the intrastate movement of bulk citrus fruit from the Asian citrus psyllid (ACP) Bulk Citrus Regional Quarantine Zones 2, 3, 4, 5 or 7, into the Huanglongbing (HLB) quarantine area, without meeting the ACP-free performance standard. …
Recycling trees onsite can sequester carbon, save water and increase crop yields, making it a climate-smart practice for California’s irrigated almond orchards, finds a study from the University of California, Davis. Whole orchard recycling is when old orchard trees are ground, chipped and turned back into the soil before new almond trees are planted. The study, published in the journal PLOS …
Winter sanitation, mating disruption and proper pesticide application — all critical strategies in managing the number one pest of tree nuts: Navel Orangeworm. No one wants this pest on their farms, but are growers really doing their due diligence in managing this pest with tools that are now widely available to the industry? Watch this interview with Bob Klein from …
Many growers have probably heard of the newer Golden Hills pistachio variety by now, but it is now being more widely planted in the industry. Likewise, growers and researchers are learning more about the unique characteristics of this variety that growers should consider before planting it. Watch this brief interview with UCCE Kern County Farm Advisor Craig Kallsen, as he …
Pistachio growers have more options today when it comes to varieties and rootstocks to plant with. Watch this brief interview with UCCE Farm Advisor Elizabeth Fichtner as she shares some of the characteristics of rootstocks currently available to growers and some of the pros and cons to planting on a seedling vs. clone. Read more in Pacific Nut Producer Magazine.
So how bad can Navel Orangeworm damage get in our tree nut orchards? Hopefully we won’t have to find out this season, as growers are equipped with more tools and practices to control the pest. Watch this brief interview with Research Entomologist Joel Siegel as he shares some evolving trends in pest pressure across the state, and read more about …
Dale: Biological nitrogen fixation such as that with legumes is done at the expense of...