- Author: Aubrey White
In the information age, helpful information can be amazingly hard to find. Certainly for agriculture, the landscape is rife with expertise, experience, and knowhow. But connecting to the knowledge and linking knowledge-seekers with knowledge-holders can feel like an imperfect science. Research relevant to one crop may be irrelevant to the more than 300 crops grown in California. The unique experience of an individual farmer can be difficult to transfer to another.
As an outreach professional working with the University, I am constantly seeking new ways to engage with the agricultural community, and ways to improve how agricultural knowledge is produced and transmitted. How can solutions to agricultural and...
- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
Fresh produce growers are challenged to protect soil and water quality on their farms as well as support wildlife populations by preserving their habitat. At the same time, growers must protect their crops from contamination by pathogens that can cause foodborne illnesses. None of this is cheap or easy, but it can be done.
To help farmers and growers efficiently achieve the best results, the University of California Cooperative Extension, in collaboration with the Farm Food Safety and Conservation Network brought together 80 people on Aug. 20 for the seventh annual Food Safety and Water Quality Co-management Forum.
Participants represented food safety and conservation professionals, food safety auditors, academics, and...
- Author: Ann King Filmer
Saving the declining populations of Mojave desert tortoise is a big challenge. But scientists think that raising newborn “hatchling” tortoises in a controlled environment in the Mojave National Preserve for a year, then releasing the juvenile tortoises into the wild, may help save this threatened species.
The protected tortoises — which live up to 80 years and can go without water for a year — have existed for eons, but are now being decimated by habitat loss and predation. Professor
- Author: Penny Leff
The Sacramento River Delta Grown Agritourism Association map brochure invites, “Drive along winding rivers and sloughs in the heart of the California Delta; Visit quaint historic towns, shop at rustic farm stands or pick your own fresh fruit and vegetables; Taste Delta wines, picnic by the river, and enjoy the peaceful pace among generational family farms.”
The Capay Valley Farm Trail Map lists more than 40 farms in the Cache Creek watershed, and explains, “Capay Valley is a remarkable stretch of fertile land and rolling hills, home to a host of small and mid-size farms, natural wonders, and...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
The Clear Lake hitch, a large minnow found only in Clear Lake and its tributaries, was designated a “threatened species” last month under California's Endangered Species Act.
Introduced predatory and competitive fish species and low water flows in the hitch's spawning grounds have combined with other factors to throw hitch populations into decline, prompting its designation as a threatened species. With the new status, agencies can now solicit funds for stream and habitat improvements and any changes to the shoreline, tributaries and lake may only be made after carefully studying the potential impact on Clear Lake hitch.
“Anytime an animal gets listed, I believe it's an admission of failure on the part...
