Family farms comprise 93% of all California farms, account for 81% of land in farms, and 71% of the value of all agricultural products sold. This compared to 96% of all U.S. farms, accounts for 87% of land in farms, and 82% of the value of all agricultural products sold, according to the 2017 Census of Agriculture Farm Typology report released …
Award-winning journalist and filmmaker Amy Wu has written a forthcoming book “From Farms to Incubators: Women Innovators Revolutionizing How Our Food Is Grown,” that profiles dozens of women innovators and leaders in the growing sector of agtech. The book will be published on April 20, 2021 by Linden Books and is available for pre-sales through various outlets including Barnes & Noble and Amazon. This past February …
Navigating the Urban/Agriculture Interface: As California’s population grows, counties and cities across the state are grappling with the difficult challenge of preserving California’s rich agricultural tradition while providing adequate housing for their residents in accordance with state housing mandates. Housing and commercial development has slowly (or sometimes quickly) crept into traditional agricultural land especially in jurisdictions seeking to avoid infill …
Pollinator Partnership (P2) announced today that it has certified over 55,000 acres of almonds in 2020 as pollinator friendly and environmentally sustainable through its Bee Friendly Farming (BFF) Certified program. The Almond Board of California’s Bee+ Scholarship program has been instrumental in leading this movement by offsetting the cost of BFF certification, allowing land managers to apply those funds that …
The value of California’s 2020 utilized vegetable production dropped 0.9% to $7.68 billion compared to 2019’s value of $7.74 billion according to the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, Pacific Regional Field Office. Despite the decrease in state’s overall total value of utilized production, crops showing an increase included broccoli, cantaloupe, lettuce of all types, sweet potatoes, and tomatoes. California fresh market and …
Blueberry growers were disappointed in US International Trade Commission’s ruling today, not seeing the threat of rising imported foreign-grown blueberries to domestic growers. The American Blueberry Growers Alliance (ABGA) released the following statement regarding the outcome of the ITC’s global safeguard investigation into imports of fresh, chilled or frozen blueberries: “The American Blueberry Growers Alliance (ABGA) is disappointed with the …
The 2020 crush totaled 3,542,038 tons, down 13.9% from the 2019 crush of 4,115,413 tons. A crushing disappointment for the industry, this represents the lowest tonnage and some of the lowest prices growers have experienced in the last decade. Red wine varieties accounted for the largest share of all grapes crushed, at 1,813,964 tons, down 15.9% from 2019. White wine varieties crushed …
Keep getting crown gall in the orchard? Watch this brief interview with Kern County Area Orchard Systems Advisor Mohammad Yaghmour as shares a few simple steps on how to effectively prevent this detrimental infection. Read more in Pacific Nut Producer and California Fresh Fruit Magazines. Please thank this video’s sponsor Trece for their industry support.
Sudden Vine Collapse is a disease complex that has become a lot more widespread across California than was previously thought. First coined by growers as Mystery Vine Collapse, researchers now have some answers. Watch this brief interview with UC Davis Plant Pathologist Akif Eskalen to find out more and read about it in American Vineyard Magazine. Please thank this …
For a successful harvest, start the season strong. A large crop at harvest requires good bee activity at bloom in the orchard. The current UC general recommendation for bee hive stocking rates is 1-3 strong hives per acre. A strong hive contains at least 8 frames covered with bees, an actively laying queen, and one to two frames of brood. …
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Rex Dufour: Mustard cover crops have been effective against Pratylenchus sp in walnuts, and...