- Author: Pamela S Kan-Rice
Waterfowl Alert Network data help assess risk of avian influenza H5N1
Every winter, millions of migratory birds fly south to warmer locales, passing over California Central Valley dairies and poultry farms. Many of these wild waterfowl are carrying the virus that causes avian influenza, based on the U.S. Department of Agriculture's wild-bird surveillance, says Maurice Pitesky, University of California Cooperative Extension poultry specialist in the School of Veterinary Medicine at UC Davis.
Bird flu has killed millions of birds and disrupted milk and poultry production....
- Author: Lexie Wilson, UC Organic Agriculture Institute
UC Organic Agriculture Institute visits area to hear innovations, needs of local producers
Modoc County, home to 8,500 people and tucked in the remote northeastern corner of California, has been a leader in advancing organic agriculture through its significant ranching and agronomic crop production, namely of potatoes and hay.
In fact, Modoc County is California's number one county for organic beef cattle production (119,782 acres in 2022), and consistently in the top five counties for total harvested certified organic acres in the state, according...
- Author: Saoimanu Sope
The Belden Village Apartments in Clairemont Mesa East of San Diego is home to a diverse population of older adults. Shital Parikh, a UC Master Gardener of San Diego County, took the initiative to build a garden that grows food and encourages residents to spend more time outdoors, getting their hands dirty alongside neighbors.
Almost a year ago, Parikh – a UC Master Gardener since 2014 – proposed to develop a community garden within the low-income residential facility with the intention that the residents would manage it independently overtime. When the San Diego Housing Commission (SDHC) and County of San Diego approved the...
- Author: Ria DeBiase, Communications Director, Giannini Foundation of Agricultural Economics
Rising farm labor costs could shift more U.S. crop production to Mexico
A dwindling and aging agricultural workforce, coupled with higher labor costs, have added pressure on U.S. farms over the past decade. A recent study by University of California agricultural economists Alexandra Hill and James Sayre explores these changing trends in U.S. and Mexican farmworker demographics and the potential implications for U.S. farms.
They found that the incentives to enter the United States under the H-2A visa program for farmwork far outweigh the incentives to immigrate for farm work without proper...
- Author: Pamela S Kan-Rice
The "Advances in Southwest Desert Agriculture Research, Organic Production and Food Safety" workshop is scheduled for Dec. 4 in Holtville. This event will showcase cutting-edge research and practical organic farming strategies tailored to California's unique desert environment.
The symposium will feature presentations from University of California Cooperative Extension advisors and other experts.
The agenda covers a range of critical topics, including insect pest management in low desert agriculture, weed management strategies for guayule seedlings, summer cover crops for soil health and disease management, integrated pest management for onion diseases, predicting...
