- Author: Ben Faber
The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) has released the 2015-2016 California Agricultural Statistics Review. The Review provides an overview of the state's agricultural statistics and weather highlights, as well as county-specific and crop-specific data. Overall, California continues to lead the nation as the largest agricultural producer and exporter despite the challenges posed by a fourth consecutive year of drought.
Highlights from the report are as follows:
- California's agriculture sales decreased by 16.8 percent between the 2014 and 2015 crop years for a total of $47.1 billion in cash receipts.
- California continues to lead the nation in exports, at $20.7 billion.
- California exported nearly 26 percent of its agricultural volume. Overall, California's agricultural exports have grown more than 120 percent during the past decade.
- Fruit and nut crops accounted for 36 percent of gross cash volume in 2015.
- California is the leading agricultural producer in the U.S., representing nearly 13 percent of the U.S. total.
- In 2015, California was home to 77,500 farms, with an average 329 acres — which is smaller than the national average of 441 acres.
- Nearly 27 percent of California farms generate more than $100,000 in commodity sales; the national average is 20 percent.
- The top five agricultural counties in California were Tulare, Kern, Fresno, Monterey and Stanislaus.
- California is ranked as the number one producer of avocados in the U.S. and produced between 60 and 75 percent of the national production of avocados, which accounted for 93 percent of U.S. receipts.
- California avocados ranked 28th in the state based on total value.
The entire California Agricultural Statistics Review is available online.
- Author: Ben Faber
At a recent CA Avocado Society meeting there was a discussion about bout flowmeters and their selection. Flowmeters measure the volume of water moving through a full-flowing closed pipe and as such are one of the key components of an irrigation system whether drip, microsprinkler or full pressure systems. They are essential for managing irrigation efficiently and for monitoring the performance of the irrigation system. Managing irrigation efficiently requires: (1) knowing how much water the crop has used since the last irrigation (irrigation schedu7ling); and (2) operating the irrigation system to apply only the amount of water desired. A flowmeter gives the grower the information needed to apply only the amount of water required.
A critically overlooked benefit of a flowmeter is that it makes it possible to identify changes in flowrate during the season (measured at the same pressure), which may indicate problems such as clogging of emitters or filters, leaks in the system or problems with the pump or well.
There are several types of flowmeters and each has their pluses and minuses. Propeller meters are the most commonly used, but can pose two potential difficulties: debris in the water and a small loss of pressure which can be a problem with low flow systems. Alternatives are magnetic meters, ultrasonic, turbine and venture meters. Proper selection is based on pipe size, range of flow and pressure loss. But as with everything it depends on proper installation and maintenance.
Attached is a nice little overview by Larry Schwankl on how to choose a flowmeter for your situation.
flow meters
- Author: Sonia Rios
California Avocado Growers Free Seminars Series 2017
Presented by: California Avocado Society, Inc., California Avocado Commission, and University of California Cooperative Extension
Scheduled Dates and Topics
FEBRUARY SEMINAR TOPIC
IRRIGATION MANAGEMENT AND AUTOMATION
Speakers:
Dates/Times/Locations:
Tuesday, February 7, 2017, 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.,
UC Cooperative Extension Office Auditorium, 2156 Sierra Way, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401
Wednesday, February 8, 2017, 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.,
UC Cooperative Extension Office Auditorium, 669 County Square Dr. Ventura, CA 93003
Thursday, February 9, 2017, 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., Fallbrook Public Utility District Board Rm., 990 East Mission Rd. Fallbrook, CA 92028
APRIL SEMINAR TOPIC
ROOTSTOCKS
Speakers:
Patricia Monosalva: Assistant Professor of Plant Pathology and Director of the UCR Avocado Breeding Program at UC Riverside.
Dates/Times/Locations:
Tuesday, April 11, 2017, 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.,
UC Cooperative Extension Office Auditorium, 2156 Sierra Way, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401
Wednesday, April 12, 2017, 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., UC Cooperative Extension Office Auditorium, 669 County Square Dr. Ventura, CA 93003 Thursday, April 13, 2017, 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.,
Fallbrook Public Utility District Board Rm., 990 East Mission Rd. Fallbrook, CA 92028
JUNE SEMINAR TOPIC
FIELD TRIPS TO SEE LOCAL ISSUES
Speakers:
TBA
Dates/Times/Locations:
Tuesday, June 13, 2017, 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., TBA
Wednesday, June 14, 2017, 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., TBA
Thursday, June 15, 2017, 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., TBA
AUGUST SEMINAR TOPIC-FLORIDA'S ISSUES WITH LAUREL WILT
Speakers: Jonathan Crane and Team: Tropical Fruit Crop Specialist at University of Florida.
Dates/Times/Locations:
Tuesday, August 1, 2017, 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.,
UC Cooperative Extension Office Auditorium, 2156 Sierra Way, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401
Wednesday, August 2, 2017, 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.,
UC Cooperative Extension Office Auditorium, 669 County Square Dr. Ventura, CA 9300
Thursday, August 3, 2017, 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.,Fallbrook Public Utility District Board Rm., 990 East Mission Rd. Fallbrook, CA 92028
Questions? Please contact your local Farm Advisor:
Sonia Rios, Riverside/San Diego, 951-683-6491 ext. 224
Ben Faber, Ventura Area, (805) 645-1462
bafaber@ucanr.edu
Mary Bianchi, SLO Area (805) 781-5949
mlbianchi@ucanr.edu
- Author: Sonia Rios
Date Palms were planted in the Coachella Valley of California, which is approximately two hours east of Los Angeles in the early 1890s. And now, plantings cover over 6,500 plus acres. These acres produce over 40 million pounds of our four primary varieties, which are the Deglet-Noor, the Medjool, the Barhi and the Zahidi.Date palms need plenty of ground water to drink, but high heat and arid weather to produce fruit. Therefore, date palms grow best in hot and arid climates.
Come learn about our date industry in California at the 2017 Date Palm Field Day
Time: 8:00 A.M – 3:00 P.M
Location: Coachella Valley Agricultural Research Station 86501 72nd Ave, Thermal, CA 92274
$15.00/person
Registration link coming soon
(Online registration available on site day of for walk-ins – payment by Card only)
Agenda
8:00 Registration
8:20 Welcome – Sonia Rios, CE Advisor
8:30 Tom Perring, UCR - Pink Hibiscus Mealybug biocontrol
9:00 Robert Krueger, USDA/ARS - Nitrogen assessment of date palms
9:30 Tony Fortier, Phoenix Agrotech - Tissue Culture date palms
10:00 Break
10:15 Peggy Mauk, UCR/CE - Establishment of date palms-Tissue Culture vs Off-shoots
10:45 MaryLou Polek, USDA/ARS - Role of the USDA Germplasm Repository
11:15 TBD
11:45 Lunch
(Included in registration)
1:30 Field tours
If you have any questions contact: Sonia Rios, UC Farm advisor
sirios@ucanr.edu
951.683.6491 Ext. 224
