In the May 2 issue of AgAlert, strawberry grower Daren Gee attributes the growth in Santa Maria strawberry acreage to UC's introduction of its Albion variety.

"Albion is probably the most consumer-friendly berry that has ever been produced by the university," Gee said. "It not only has that deep red color, but it also has a flavor to match. It ships extremely well, so these are some elements of berries that are very helpful to the consumer--especially when I can actually leave the fruit in the field several days longer to get that sugar level and sweetness up, and still have the ability to ship it to them."

President Dynes met Gee and UC Davis breeder Doug Shaw at the UC strawberry breeding facility in Watsonville on March 23.

In October 2004, we took President Dynes to Silacci Dairy in Sonoma County, where advisor Stephanie Larson and former advisor Dayna Ghirardelli talked about their water quality projects at the dairy.

I read in the May 23 issue of AgAlert that the Silacci family had to shut down the dairy. They had used 50,000 old tires to stabilize a hillside 50 years ago. But a change in the law in 1989 made it illegal for anyone besides a tire facility to stockpile more than 500 tires. The state paid for removing the tires, but the Silaccis had to pay for restoring the hillside and preventing erosion. They couldn't afford it.

Rich Silacci, who succeeded his father and grandfather in the dairy business, is now moving his family to take a job in San Luis Obispo.