- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
A UC Cooperative Extension farm advisor warned that food prices could double as a result of the surge in U.S. fuel prices. The advisor, Milton McGiffen, who works with vegetable crops in Riverside County, was quoted today in the San Diego Union-Tribune.
“If you double the price of oil, I would assume that food would at least double, and it might be more because the cost of oil gets magnified in the food chain," he is quoted in the story.
The article said the fuel-to-food price link stems from:
- Farmers paying more to fill their tractors with diesel for planting and harvesting
- Higher cost...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
The director of the UC Small Farm Center, Shermain Hardesty, said there are a number of hurdles California small-scale farmers must overcome to compete in state's highly industrialized food production and distribution system, according to a recent Bakersfield Californian news story. The article, written by Jeff Nactigal, centered on Community Supported Agriculture, or CSA, a system in which consumers pay a monthly subscription and receive a weekly supply of produce, typically organically grown.
Featured farmer Vernon Peterson started his CSA 10 months ago with 50 subscribers and now delivers more than 1,000 boxes of organic produce to 20...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
Cooler weather in California is helping firefighters begin to get a handle on fires that have raged in the state for weeks. But concerns over the fires' consequences are sure to continue for months. Two articles over the weekend touched on such issues.
The Wine Spectator magazine raised the spector of 2008 vintage wines being imparted with a smoky character due to the fires.
"There are examples of smokiness from forest fires showing up in wines," the story quoted Roger Boulton, a viticulture and enology professor at UC Davis.
The article, by Augustus Weed, said chemicals in the smoke can coat grapes and be...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
The Humboldt County UC Cooperative Extension office has a new service for consumers and growers in the rural enclave. A Web site at redwoodag.com was designed to help local farmers find local markets for their products, according to a story posted today in Capital Press.
Written by Sacramento freelance writer Wes Sander, the story details the efforts of UCCE farm advisor Deborah Giraud, who received grants from the UC Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program to explore options for farm-to-institution marketing and to develop the Web...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
Officials looking for ways to eradicate light brown apple moth from California's Bay Area and North Coast seem to face skepticism of their every move. Aerial spraying of pheromones has been abandoned after opposition from residents in the infested areas. A story this week in the Contra Costa Times sheds doubt on a planned alternative program, releasing sterile moths to control the pest.
According to the article, UC Berkeley entomologist Andrew Guitierrez says the female light brown apple moth can mate several times in the one- to two-week period before laying eggs.
"Within a few days, 100 percent of them have mated,...