The USDA has just launched a website, “Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food”. The main goal of the site is to create new economic opportunities by connecting local food producers and consumers. In addition the USDA wants to help people be more connected and aware of the importance of understanding where our food comes from and how it gets onto our plates.

How does the USDA hope to accomplish these goals?

• By building the infrastructure to support the growth and viability of small and mid-sized farms and ranches new opportunities will in turn strengthen local and regional food systems and the communities they serve.
• They want people to make smart decisions about what they eat. Communities filled with people making healthy decisions will further support and strengthen local communities.
• The USDA will work with interested food producers to lower their energy costs and improve their resource management as well as assisting to preserve farm and ranch lands.
• These goals will be met using programs and people to support this effort. An assortment of programs and grant funds are available to help make this vision a reality.

To find out more, please visit  www.usda.gov/knowyourfarmer.

Preliminary results from the first statewide survey of California agritourism operators show revenue is generated  by participating farmers and ranchers.

Agricultural tourism allows visitors (tourists) to experience a taste of agricultural lifestyles. According to the survey, California farmers and ranchers hosted more than 2.4 million agricultural tourists in 2008. Tourism offerings are varied throughout the state.  Local, Ventura County agritourism ventures offer: farm and nursery tours; farm stands; petting zoos; picnic and play areas; u-pick produce; lectures and presentations; agriculture-related gifts and crafts; value-added food products; horseback riding and trail rides; camping; nature walks; special events; plants; and cut flowers.

Please see UC Small Farm Program's California Agritourism Database for places to visit. Farmers and ranchers offering agritourism venues can add themselves to the data base. Clicking on “Agritorism resources for operators” on the left-hand side of the screen will take you to a site to view the survey results and much more.

More about agritourism can be found on our previous blog posting, “Agritourism, is it right for you” and by contacting UC’s Small Farm Program at sfcenter@ucdavis.edu or (530) 752-8136.

Our Ventura County UCCE Master Gardeners work hard delivering science-based gardening information to the public. One of the ways they accomplish this is through their MG Speaker Bureau. The speakers are very knowledgeable in their subjects and are available for group meetings.

The current topics offered are:

• Composting
• Container Gardening
• Container Vegetable Gardening
• Fruit Gardening
• Garden Design/Plant Selection
• Gifts from the Garden
• Introductory Horticulture
• Pest Management
• Water-Wise Gardening
• Low Cost/No Cost Gardening
• Low Maintenance Gardening
• Propagation
• Pruning
• Roses
• Tomato Culture
• What About Soils?
• Succulents and Cacti
• Vegetable Gardening
• What is a Master Gardener?
• Peppers, Onions and Tomato Facts
• Fertilizer Use
• Weed Killers

Additional information and instructions on how to request a speaker can be found by clicking here. Please contact our office if you need additional information.

Like the rest of our researchers, Ventura County UCCE Farm Advisor Oleg Daugovish and Staff Research Associate Maren Mochizuki are busy with many projects. What will be shared with you today is a summary of one of Oleg and Maren’s  projects that have the potential to increase agricultural yields using captured greenhouse gases.

More than 7 billion tons of green house gases (GHG) were released in the United States in 2006. Most of the gases are attributable to the combustion of fossil fuels used for electricity and transportation. While current CO₂ capture technology focuses on geological storage, an incentive to capture emissions may be offered by agriculture: CO₂ could be supplied to plants for uptake and sequestration as an alternative to underground storage. Agricultural plants with C-3 carbon assimilation pathway have  shown increased productivity at  CO₂ levels elevated above the ambient air concentrations. One plant that has such a pathway is the raspberry, which is the fastest growing high value crop in Ventura County (annual value ~$85 million) and appears very suitable for carbon dioxide sequestration: it is a perennial C-3 crop with multi-layered canopy, is grown in tunnels/hoops that protect the CO₂ delivery to leaves from wind and rain, and, has existing support structures for the gas delivery system.

Working with collaborators, we evaluated several plant productivity parameters such as fruit yield, berry size, cane size in a large scale replicated study.

The delivery system was successfully designed and installed, applying a total of about 60 tons of CO₂ to three specific hoops during the four-month trial. Diurnal measurements of leaf stomatal conductance, CO₂ assimilation, and fluorescence showed a mid-day depression, enabling us to make an informed decision about optimum application time.  We avoided application at the time of the day when plants would be unable to take up the applied CO₂, thereby minimizing waste.  We found CO₂ concentration in the hoops where gas was applied were 20-25% higher than ambient CO₂ concentration during delivery periods (8 h/day), generally returning to ambient levels during hours when gas was not applied.  We also found that leaves in the middle and lower canopy, rather than the top, were the most active, prompting us to place our CO₂ drip tape for delivery at about 90 cm (35 inches) above ground level.

The number of baskets from the full hoops in which CO₂ was applied increased by 36% after CO₂ application.  Berry weight also increased 0.1% per berry in the CO₂ hoops.  Cane height, number, and diameter as well carbohydrate content of fruit were similar after CO₂ application in all measured plants.

Further information about this study can be obtained by contacting our office.