At the 112th Blue Diamond Growers Annual Meeting held mid-November in Modesto, CA, Blue Diamond Growers President and CEO, Mark Jansen, highlighted the accomplishments of the past year, while recognizing remarkable headwinds the cooperative tackled through creative solutions, strategic partnerships, and world-class innovation. “Although 2022 was marked by supply chain disruptions, the ongoing COVID-19 impact, and a continuing drought, we still fulfilled our …

Napa Valley’s biodynamic winegrowing pioneer Mark Neal is pleased to announce that his Howell Mountain estate winery, Neal Family Vineyards, has achieved Regenerative Organic Certified® as recognized by the Regenerative Organic Alliance (ROA). The ROA was established in 2018 and is today considered the highest level of certification. There are only five vineyard estates worldwide that hold Regenerative Organic Certified® …

On October 26, 2022, the United California Farmers is having a rally at the state Capitol building starting at 8 AM. This rally is a protest designed to bring awareness to the water issues facing farmers and residents of the state. Water is a human need, and should not be a political issue. It is important that all people join …

Local food marketing, business and market support for small-scale farmers and food producers, new agricultural products and technology development are parts of a University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources project designed to boost jobs and farm resiliency in the San Joaquin Valley. The Fresno-Merced Future of Food Innovation Coalition, or F3, received a $65.1 million grant from the U.S. …

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 …

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. In a recent study, researchers determined cowpea root characteristics that could help the plants grow …

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 …

Combined sales of walnut trees to California growers were 6,444 acres for the 2021 crop year and 10,650 acres for the 2020 crop year. The majority of tree sales in 2021 were Seedlings, at 62% of new plantings. The Chandler variety came in second at 30%. For 2020, Seedlings were the largest percentage of new plantings at 58%, with the …

The Pacific Regional Office of the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) conducts an acreage survey of California citrus growers as funding is available. The purpose of this survey is to provide bi-annual citrus acreage, which includes information on new plantings and removals. It is the continuation of a long series of industry-funded Citrus Acreage surveys. Resulting data reveals that …

Dr. Mussen, a 38-year California Cooperative Extension apiculturist and an invaluable member of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology faculty, died Friday, June 3 at his home in Davis from liver cancer. He was 78. Known to all as “Eric,” he joined the UC Davis entomology department in 1976. Although he retired in 2014, he continued his many activities …