- Author: Roberta Barton
Third grade teachers from around California toured UC ANR Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center (KARE) Center July 21 during a week of Next Generation Science Standards training in nearby Reedley sponsored by the K-12 Academy and WestEd.
Led by Chuck Boldwyn, KARE superintendent of agriculture, tour stops highlighted the California Irrigation Management Information System (CIMIS) weather station, sorghum deficit irrigation trials, and how a soil weighing lysimeter measures tree and vine crops water use.
Boldwyn encouraged teachers to subscribe to California Agriculture journal. Readers in the United States can subscribe for free. Published by the UC Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources (ANR), the quarterly peer-reviewed journal reports on research, reviews and news of California's agricultural, natural and human resources. Content can be easily understood by non-specialist readers. International subscription rates are $24 a year, or $20 a year for two years or more.
Khaled Bali, UC Cooperative Extension specialist in statewide irrigation water management at KARE, explained at the weather station how the data is used for irrigation management decisions. CIMIS was developed in 1982 by the California Department of Water Resources and UC Davis. One of the first CIMIS weather stations to be put into use is still located at the UC ANR West Side Research and Extension Center in Five Points.
At a stop in a peach orchard, teachers were surprised to learn of the large weighing lysimeter just below their feet. Basically, a lysimeter is a large "flower pot" measuring 6.5 feet wide by 13 feet long by 6.5 feet deep that rests on a sensitive balance-beam weighing scale in an underground chamber. Why would you want to measure soil weight? Short-term soil weight loss is almost entirely due to water evaporation through leaves or from the soil surface. When a specific threshold is exceeded, the crop is automatically irrigated. The orchard lysimeter has also been used to study the effects of water stress on tree water use. Two lysimeters were constructed at KARE in 1986. The second lysimeter is located in a vineyard.
Comments from teachers recognized the value of the agricultural science research underway at KARE.
"I was not aware of all the research that is going on in ag."
"A great tour. I hope the Reedley teachers take advantage of having the Kearney Center so close to them."
"It was amazing to see the concepts we have been learning put to work."
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
Despite the growing interest in soil health in many parts of the country, the notion hasn't captured the imagination of most farmers in California. The Golden State's lackluster attention to soil care is likely due to “phenomenal yield increases over the past several decades, the sheer diversity of cropping systems, and widespread perception that California's environment and crop production mix doesn't lend itself to soil health improvements,” said Jeff Mitchell, UC Cooperative Extension agronomy specialist.
A series of farm visits this summer in the Central Valley prove this rationale wrong, Mitchell said. The farm visits were sponsored by the UC Conservation Agriculture Systems Innovation Center (CASI), USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service and the California Association of Resource Conservation Districts. The farm visits showcased the soil health goals and experiences of six farmers who are familiar with soil care principles across a wide range of local cropping contexts.
The series of visits demonstrated the use of no-till and minimum tillage farming, cover cropping, enhancing the diversity of above-ground species and underground soil biology, surface residue preservation, and compost applications. Read more.
- Author: Cheryl Reynolds
As part of the Farmer-to-Farmer Program sponsored by the Partners of the Americas and funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Walter Bentley, UCANR integrated pest management entomologist, emeritus, at Kearney Agricultural Research & Extension Center, and Washington State University entomologist Jay Brunner traveled to Guatemala in April to help growers improve the peach and apple industry. Their primary goal was to identify pest problems and possible solutions to help peach and apple growers improve fruit production, taking into account the region's unique climate.
Bentley and Brunner worked with the Asociación Nacional de Productores de Frutales Deciduos (ANAPDE) and its director, Armando Hernandez, to reach out to various growers in the area. Bentley and Brunner set out to identify insect and mite problems. Fortunately, they found that there were only a few entomological problems.
- Author: Jeffrey Mitchell
This Friday starting at 10:00 AM and going till about 11:45 AM, Alan Sano and Jesse Sanchez of Sano Farms will host visitors at 44935-B W. Shields Avenue. They will discuss and show what they've done to achieve their soil management goals in their processing tomato fields using reduced disturbance tillage, precision drip irrigation and cover crops. Visitors will also have an opportunity to learn more about the growing farm demonstration network and its work. The visit will start at 10 o'clock and wrap up at about 11:45 AM. Further information can be acquired by calling Jeff Mitchell, ANR Cooperative Extension Cropping Systems Specialist at Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center, by calling his cell (559) 303-9689 or emailing him at jpmitchell@ucdavis.edu
From Fresno:
Take Hwy 180 west out of Fresno through Kerman, CA and to Mendota. In Mendota, take Belmont Avenue west out of town. At Fairfax Avenue, go north (right) about a mile. Turn left (west) onto Shields Avenue and continue about two miles to the farm on the left side of the road.
From I-5 north or south:
Take Shields Avenue exit. Go east on Shields. Continue about 5 miles to Sano Farms on right side of road. Follow signs to meeting place.
- Author: Laura J. Van der Staay
The Bravo Lake Botanical Garden Berry Festival is Saturday, May 28, from 8 am to 12 noon. There is an entrance fee of $5 per person, with children five years old and under free. UC Master Gardeners, UC ANR Kearney Agricultural, Lindcove, and Westside Research and Extension Centers are participants.
There will be blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, oranges, peaches, nectarines, Pakistani mulberries, and Setton Farms pistachio chews to taste. Visitors can walk through the tropical, vegetable, and rose gardens. They have the option to pick their own berries from the blueberry and blackberry gardens for a nominal cost.
Some of the other participants are the Sequoia Chapter of the Rare Fruit Growers, USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service, Woodlake Pride Garden Volunteers, Family Health Care Network, Woodlake Chamber of Commerce, the city of Woodlake, Proteus Inc., and Mid-Valley Disposal Inc.
The garden is located in Woodlake at 400 E. Naranjo Blvd. From highway 99, take highway 198 east, about 15 miles, turn north on road 196, turn east on Avenue 344 (Naranjo Blvd,). The garden is located on Naranjo Blvd., two blocks east from the four way stop.
For more information, contact Manuel Jimenez, UC Cooperative Extension advisor, emeritus in Tulare County, at 559-280-2483.