- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
The California drought is so severe, it is drawing worldwide attention, including recent news coverage in Norway. Reporter Kristoffer Rønneberg visited a farm and reservoir in the Central Valley and spoke to a UC Agriculture and Natural Resources expert for an article in Aftenposten (Evening Post), Norway's largest newspaper.
"Look at this," said west side farmer John Diener. "In this field, I tried to cultivate a type of wheat that doesn't need as much water. But it did not (thrive). We did not get enough rain. Now the entire crop has withered."...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
The extreme water conservation measures mandated by Gov. Jerry Brown has pundits casting a critical eye on the California almond industry, reported Daniel Dale in TheStar.com, a Canadian news website.
It takes nearly four litres of water to produce each solitary almond, the article said (about one gallon). The almond's small size, high retail price and easy-to-understand water needs create a a handy example of purported ag water gluttony for people being asked to conserve.
Almonds have become California's second-most lucrative crop and No. 1 agricultural export, but doesn't deserve "as much of a target as...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
Along the highways and byways of rural California, blossoms are beginning to pop on almond, peach, plum and nectarine trees. California growers have reason to be hopeful, reported Heather Hacking in the Chico Enterprise-Record.
Warm temperatures and sun ensure bees will be out pollinating the crop, rather than holing up in their hives, as they do when temperatures dip below 55 degrees or wind is swifter than 4 to 7 miles per hour.
Hacking spoke to a UC Agriculture and Natural Resources expert about the promising almond pollination season.
"The overlap is very good this...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
When Mother Jones magazine reporter Tom Philpott toured Central California to gather information for a lengthy profile of the California almond industry, he sought out UC expertise to round out the story.
UC Cooperative Extension advisors Gurreet Brar in Fresno County and David Doll in Merced County were among the sources. The reporter also spoke to Richard Howitt, an agricultural economist in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at UC Davis.
Much of the article...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
The California Almond Board released a report this week that said the almond industry contributes about $11 billion per year to the state's gross domestic product, reported Dale Kasler in the Sacramento Bee.
The report, prepared by the UC Agricultural Issues Center, calculated economic impacts of production, processing and marketing of the nuts. Almond-related activities generate 104,000 jobs statewide; 97,000 of those are in the Central Valley, the report says.
President of the Almond...