Save the date, Friday, November 12th for the annual Grape, Nut & Tree Fruit Expo at the Big Fresno Fairgrounds.  Held by Malcolm Media Ag Publishing in cooperation with California Ag Network, Pacific Nut Producer, American Vineyard, and California Fresh Fruit Magazines, it is the ultimate postharvest industry gathering place for regional grape, nut & tree fruit growers and crop …

Save the date, Friday, November 5th for the Sonoma Grape Expo at the Cloverdale Citrus Fairgrounds in Sonoma County, Malcolm Media’s premier event for North Coast  Wine Grape Growers and PCAs.  Held biennially in collaboration with American Vineyard Magazine, California Ag Network (and the Sonoma County Vineyard Technical Group this year), it is the ultimate postharvest regional gathering place for …

The Organic Center is teaming up with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service; California State University, Fresno; and Purdue University on a free virtual conference series and hackathon examining technology to address complex issues for organic agriculture. Because organic farmers are prohibited from using common conventional materials such as most synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, the tools available for them to …

Western Growers (WG) is spearheading a Global Harvest Automation Initiative (GHAI) to accelerate harvest automation across the fresh produce industry, with a goal of automating 50 percent of harvest within 10 years. “For well over a decade, our members have struggled with a dwindling number of available workers. If we don’t come together as an industry to quickly and efficiently …

Dairy Cares — California is leading the nation toward a 100 percent clean energy future. Multiple state policies are working to achieve a cleaner, more efficient energy grid and transportation sector. The state’s dairy farmers are also world leaders in energy-smart practices. They’re reducing usage, electrifying equipment, generating renewable energy, and producing carbon-negative transportation fuel. California has already made great …

Every backyard gardener knows how hard it can be to tell when to water the plants. Multiply that by tens or hundreds of acres and it’s easy to see the challenges growers face keeping their crops healthy while managing water resources wisely. To determine water needs accurately, growers hand-pluck individual leaves from plants, put them in pressure chambers, and apply …

When orchard trees meet power lines, disaster can result. Whether it’s a power outage affecting millions or the accidental death of a line worker, such scenarios can have devastating and far-reaching consequences: Ø  In 2003, sagging power lines contacted untrimmed walnut trees in Ohio and caused a massive cascading outage – costing millions and leaving entire cities without power throughout …

The Propane Education & Research Council encourages producers to apply for the United States Department of Ag (USDA) Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) Grant, which offers funding for renewable energy systems or to make energy efficiency improvements. Through the program, producers or small business owners can receive a 25 percent grant for replacing a diesel irrigation engine with a …

With support from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture’s Multistate Research Fund, researchers at 17 land-grant universities are working together to develop automated systems that work well for labor-intensive specialty crops like fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, and nursery plants. A multi-state collaborative approach lifts the burden of research and development from a single specialty crop sector and spurs major …

Steve Fennimore, UC Davis Plant Sciences faculty member and UC Cooperative Extension weed specialist, and colleagues received the 2020 EurAgEng Outstanding Paper Award for the paper, “Crop Signalling: A Novel Crop Recognition Technique for Robotic Control,” which was published in Biosystems Engineering. The research represents a breakthrough in differentiating weeds from crops using machine vision systems. The technology could help California growers address challenges in …