ANR news blog

San Diego UCCE puts automated advisor on the job

The San Diego County UC Cooperative Extension office is now extending vital wildfire information to local residents from a computerized kiosk. Not exactly the robotic assistant envisioned in the classic cartoon The Jetsons, these stand-alone touch screen computers automatically provide customized information to residents about how to protect their families and property from wildfire, according to an article in the Ramona Sentinel.

“The high-tech kiosk is a one-of-a-kind touch screen that allows you to select both indoor and outdoor areas of your home to show what zones might be vulnerable to a wildfire,” the article quoted UCCE environmental issues advisor Valerie Mellano. “In addition, there are tips about what to do before, during and after a fire. One impressive feature is that the kiosk prints out whatever information you select to take with you.”

The kiosk will be stationed at the County Administration Center during the month of May and more will eventually be sent to various county offices and private businesses, according to the newspaper story.

Animal agriculture in the spotlight

The Los Angeles Times today ran a story about hidden-camera video footage of a Turlock poultry farm. The story was picked up by the Associated Press and has now appeared in at least 40 newspaper and broadcast media outlets.

According to the Times story, the video was shot by an undercover investigator with the group Mercy for Animals and shows workers mistreating chickens at Gemperle Enterprises.

"What I saw on that video is not what our company does," owner Steve Gemperle was quoted in the article. "We do not accept any abuse of farm animals. It's against our values and morals."

According to the story, UC Davis emeritus professor of veterinary medicine, Ned Buyukmihci, was quoted in a letter the executive director of Mercy for Animals, Nathan Runkle, sent to Merced and Stanislaus county district attorneys.

The letter quoted Buyukmihci as saying the treatment was "cruel by any normal definition of the word" and violated the "norms of conduct with respect to animal welfare and veterinary care," according to the Times article.

The Times story, written by reporter Eric Bailey, includes a link to the Mercy for Animals Web site, where the 7-minute video documentary may be viewed online. The video, which ends with a plug for vegan eating, comes six months before California voters consider the California Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act, which is on the November ballot

Jim Downing wrote a story about the Mercy for Animals video for the Sacramento Bee. Associated Press Fresno bureau chief Garance Burke posted the AP story, which has appeared in the San Diego Union Tribune and the San Francisco Chronicle. TV reports have appeared on the CBS affiliate in Fresno and the ABC affiliate in the Bay Area.

Ventura Star shares UCCE ideas with the public

The Ventura County Star on Sunday ran a lengthy op-ed piece by UCCE advisor emeritus Daniel Desmond and horticulture and 4-H advisor Rose Hayden-Smith with a headline that begs for explanation: "Food will win the war."

The story gives a historical perspective on gardening's past ties to patriotism and makes that case that today, in light of high food and fuel prices and ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, it's time again to pick up a hoe for the homeland.

"During both world wars, food was vital to national security. To protect our country, Uncle Sam called on Americans to garden, and they did, in record numbers," the authors wrote.

Desmond and Hayden-Smith suggest how gardening can once again become a national initiative.

"We believe that the federal government should immediately allocate Homeland Security funds to promote school, home and community gardening efforts on a nationwide basis," they wrote.

What can ordinary Americans do?

• Suggest your school or community develop a garden and volunteer to help with the effort
• Find a spot of earth or a container and plant something edible
• Buy from local farmers and producers
• Visit a farmers market
• Write to your elected officials

These ideas will certainly result in more active and better fed Americans, and maybe it will even win the war.

Gardening then and now.

Stockton Record introduces new advisor

The Stockton Record devoted nearly 500 words in yesterday's paper to introducing the new UC Cooperative Extension dairy farm advisor for San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties, Jennifer Heguy. Reporter Reid Fujii spoke to both Heguy and San Joaquin UCCE county director Mick Canevari for the story.

According to the article, Heguy grew up in a farm family that ran a beef cattle operation outside Los Banos. She was active in 4-H and FFA and earned bachelor's and master's degrees in animal science at UC Davis.

Heguy most recently worked in the ruminant nutrition lab of UC Davis animal science professor Edward DePeters.

"That's definitely a plus, because he is well-connected with the issues currently facing the dairy industry," Canevari is quoted in the article. He noted that Heguy is "on the cutting edge of the issues and some of the research they are doing."

Dairy production in San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties is valued at more than $700 million a year, the story said.

"I really enjoy being part of something this big," Heguy is quoted.

Jennifer Heguy

Could a mandarin replace your Claritin?

Placer County mandarin grower Joanne Neft wants to confirm a theory that the diminutive fruit is a natural allergy treatment, according to a story in the Colfax Journal. She raised more than $20,000 to fund a USDA analysis of mandarins grown in the county that will determine how much natural synephrine the mandarins contain and how long the substance can last when frozen.

According to the story, synephrine is a decongestant. Curiously, Wikipedia doesn't mention the compound's decongestant properties in its synephrin entry, but says synephrin is a drug for weight loss derived from Citrus aurantium, also known as bitter orange.

According to the Colfax Journal story, Neft said she initially heard from a mandarin grower that synephrine is found in mandarins, based on what his grandfather had heard from a UC Davis scientist.

For the story, reporter Gus Thomson also spoke to UC Cooperative Extension farm advisor Cindy Fake. Fake said a scientific "stamp of approval" on mandarins could help local farming because of the public’s interest in health and nutrition.

An allergy-fighting mandarin, she said, could give the citrus fruit a sales boost like high antioxidants have given blueberries.

“People would like to find out that something they already love to eat is not only a healthy piece of fruit but has healthy substances that can lessen the impact of colds and allergies,” Fake is quoted.

The Sacramento CBS television news affiliate also did a story on mandarins' potential to fight allergies.

Mandarins may be an allergy remedy.

Read more