- Author: Ben Faber
As firefighters in Southern California worked to achieve full containment on the Thomas Fire, agricultural officials in Ventura County issued their first estimate of damage to crops and farm structures, reporting that losses will exceed $171 million, with more than 70,000 acres of cropland and rangeland affected.
The Ventura County agricultural commissioner's office based its initial assessment on information about agricultural locations within the perimeter of the fire, which started on Dec. 4 and grew into the state's largest wildfire, burning nearly 282,000 acres as of late last week.
In a preliminary disaster report to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Ventura County Agricultural Commissioner Henry Gonzales estimated more than 10,289 acres of irrigated cropland and another 60,000 acres of rangeland in the county had been affected by the fire. He estimated the cost of the damage to current and future crops, machinery and equipment, dwellings, service buildings and other structures at nearly $171.3 million, with avocados and citrus crops suffering the highest losses.
The estimates do not include wage losses of farm employees, the report said, and “nothing can measure the pain and suffering of the farmers that have lost much of their livelihood.”
A more-exact assessment won't be completed until late spring to early summer, Gonzales said, as his office continues to conduct on-the-ground surveys and receive surveys back from growers. What's uncertain at this point, he said, is how well the tree crops will recover.
“The rather complicated part about damage on avocado and lemon trees is that the damage isn't readily apparent,” he said. “You can't really tell the damage until sometime in the future.”
Farmers will have a better idea in the spring, when their trees either bloom or won't bloom, Gonzales said. Even then, they won't know the extent of the trees' recovery until summer, when they can evaluate the crop itself. Aerial photography, he noted, will allow officials to see crop damage as it manifests.
In Santa Barbara County, which was also affected by the Thomas Fire, Assistant Agricultural Commissioner Rudy Martel said it will be a few more weeks before his office can provide an initial damage assessment. He noted it had been less than two weeks since mandatory evacuations in the region had been lifted, and growers had just begun to return to their properties.
“The growers have not been in contact with us,” he said. “We rely on their information, and it takes them a while to get those numbers to us because they're trying to get back into production, to start their business back up.”
He said he hopes a grower assistance workshop in Carpinteria later this week will provide the office its “first opportunity to touch base” with growers and gather initial damage estimates.
In Ventura County, the fire has so far cost avocado growers an estimated $10.2 million in losses, Gonzales reported. The county has about 18,500 acres of avocados, with 6,603 acres affected by the fire and 1,250 acres that suffered damage. Some 4,030 tons of fruit have been lost.
For citrus fruit, the county's lemon crop saw more than $5.8 million in losses, with 7,591 tons of lost fruit. Of the county's 14,800 acres of lemons, 1,767 acres were affected by the fire and 400 acres were damaged. Oranges suffered losses of about $3.4 million, while the cost to mandarins reached $491,022 and grapefruit losses totaled $35,930.
Other affected commodities include vegetables, with damage and losses totaling $4.6 million; miscellaneous fruit, $1.4 million; nursery crops, $1.4 million; strawberries, $486,416; rangeland, $480,000; apiaries, $139,500; hay and grain, $129,345; cattle, $125,000; cut flowers, $61,966; and raspberries, $55,420.

The preliminary estimate of nearly $171.3 million in agricultural losses in Ventura County from the Thomas Fire includes $25 million in lost farm machinery and equipment.
Photo/John Krist
Ventura County farmers and ranchers also face costs to replace and repair destroyed or damaged buildings, equipment and other structures. Gonzales estimated the fire destroyed 260 agricultural dwellings, service buildings and other structures. Another 215 buildings and structures suffered major or minor damage. Together, they were valued at a loss of $113 million.
The report estimated the cost to replace farm machinery and equipment at $25 million. Cost of land damages, including cost to replace trees, reached $3.4 million, while loss of irrigation systems totaled another $1.1 million.
“There were many homes, many structures that were lost,” Gonzales said. “Our very water-efficient irrigation systems, because they're made out of plastic, melted, so all of those will have to be replaced.”
Restoring irrigation systems is critical, he said, because of the region's ongoing drought conditions and lack of precipiation this season. Using water trucks is not an option, he added, because of the large number of affected acres that need watering. Because of high demand, he said there's been a local shortage of irrigation components, and some growers have had to order them or go out of the area to buy parts.
Mallory Salant, district manager of Fruit Growers Supply in Santa Paula, said the fire led to skyrocketing demand for certain items.
“Aboveground irrigation parts are flying off the shelves,” she said. “A couple of days after the fire started, we were completely out of stock and it was very chaotic in the showroom.”
Irrigation tubing is currently the most sought-after item. At other times, a typical order might be 10 or 20 rolls of tubing, she said, but now farmers are ordering 200 to 400 rolls because they need to replace all of the tubing on their farm.
Despite the high demand, Salant said the store has managed to “stay on top of it” by working with vendors to restock quickly.
“At this point, our shelves are full,” she said.
by Ching Lee, assistant editor of Ag Alert/credit California Farm Bureau Federation

- Author: Ben Faber
Soil and agriculture courses are being taught again at Ventura College. This was a commitment of outgoing President, Greg Gillespie. There are only a handful California community (junior) colleges that still teach soils. Luckily Santa Barbara City, Allan Hancock, Pierce, Mira Costa and a few other community colleges in the Central Valley have at least introductory courses in soils. Many of the leading growers in Ventura County got their start in college taking soils courses at Ventura College, then went on to four-year colleges to round out their educations. The community college classes have always been a taste, a dusting of understanding of soils and if someone wanted to dig deeper, they would go on to somewhere like Davis, Fresno, Riverside, Pomona or San Luis. The community colleges are part of the continuum, start there and then go anywhere.
Dr. Jennifer Charles-Tollerup, the incoming Agriculture Instructor at Ventura College, brings a diverse set of experiences including 5 years in agricultural production systems, 4 years in agricultural research and education, 6 years in community college instruction as well as appointments in program development. She holds a PhD from the University of California, Riverside in Entomology with a concentration in Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and Statistics along with a Bachelor's from the University of California, Santa Cruz in Biology and Environmental Studies with emphasis in Botany and Agroecology. Jennifer trained as an Apprentice in Ecological Horticulture at UC Santa Cruz's Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems. She has worked on market gardens, family farms, and large-scale operations in citrus, grapes, nurseries, strawberries, herbs, lettuces, and edible flowers. Jennifer has used her academic and professional experience to coordinate elementary school garden programs.Jennifer readily supports the mission of the community college, to transform lives through education. Her approach involves building relationships with students and with agriculture partners, connecting the two together, and launching students into their life's work in agriculture. (this from CA Women in Ag newsletter, http://www.cwaventura.com/).More information about the Ventura College Agriculture Program can be found at http://www.venturacollege.edu/departments/academic/agriculture
Soil and agriculture courses are being taught again at Ventura College. There are only a handful California community (junior) colleges that still teach soils. Luckily Santa Barbara City, Allan Hancock, Pierce, Mira Costa and a few other community colleges have at least introductory courses in soils. Many of the leading growers in Ventura County got their start in college taking soils courses at Ventura College, then went on to four-year colleges to round out their educations. The community college classes have always been a taste, a dusting of understanding of soils and if someone wanted to dig deeper, they would go on to somewhere like Davis, Fresno, Riverside, Pomona or San Luis. The community colleges are part of the continuum, start there and then go anywhere.
Dr. Jennifer Charles-Tollerup, the incoming Agriculture Instructor at Ventura College, brings a diverse set of experiences including 5 years in agricultural production systems, 4 years in agricultural research and education, 6 years in community college instruction as well as appointments in program development. She holds a PhD from the University of California, Riverside in Entomology with a concentration in Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and Statistics along with a Bachelor's from the University of California, Santa Cruz in Biology and Environmental Studies with emphasis in Botany and Agroecology. Jennifer trained as an Apprentice in Ecological Horticulture at UC Santa Cruz's Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems. She has worked on market gardens, family farms, and large-scale operations in citrus, grapes, nurseries, strawberries, herbs, lettuces, and edible flowers. Jennifer has used her academic and professional experience to coordinate elementary school garden programs.
Jennifer readily supports the mission of the community college, to transform lives through education. Her approach involves building relationships with students and with agriculture partners, connecting the two together, and launching students into their life's work in agriculture. (this from CA Women in Ag newsletter, http://www.cwaventura.com/).
More information about the Ventura College Agriculture Program can be found at http://www.venturacollege.edu/departments/academic/agriculture
Come learn the dirt on the differences - ground, alluvium, subsoil, topsoil, mud, muck, marl, mire, smut - there are, but some terms are more subtle than others. Check out your local college for their soils course work.

- 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: Ben Faber
To help Ventura County's citrus community better understand the nature of the ACP epidemic — and the bitter lessons from Florida's failure to address it proactively — Farm Bureau and the ACP-HLB Task Force will host a workshop on Dec. 2. As speakers, we've invited three experts whose presentations were among the most compelling at last February's International Research Conference on HLB in Florida:
- Mike Irey, director of research and business development for Southern Gardens Citrus (which farms nearly 15,000 acres of oranges in Florida), who will speak about conditions in his state and provide an industry perspective on what it's like to live with HLB for a decade;
- Dr. David Bartels, an entomologist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Mission Laboratory in Texas, who will discuss his analysis of HLB survey data and what it can tell us about possible HLB infection sites throughout Southern California;
- Dr. Neil McRoberts, an epidemiologist and associate professor of plant pathology atUC Davis, whose computer modeling and research into the economic and social factors affecting disease spread can help guide development of an HLB management strategy for California.
The workshop will be from 1 to 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 2, at the Museum of Ventura County, 100 E. Main St., Ventura. It's free, but RSVPs are required. Please contact us at info@farmbureauvc.com or (805) 289-0155 if you plan to attend.

- Author: Ben Faber
California Avocado Growers Seminar Series 2013
“New and Important Tools For Avocado…”
Presented by:
California Avocado Society, Inc.
California Avocado Commission
University of California Cooperative Extension
******************************************************************
**February Seminar: Harvesting Strategies, Post-Harvest Handling, and H2A Updates
February 5th (Tuesday): San Luis Obispo (1-3 PM) Cooperative Extension Office/ Auditorium, 2156 Sierra Way, San Luis Obispo
February 6th (Wednesday): Ventura (9-11 AM) Ventura Government Center/Lower Plaza Assembly Room, 800 South Victoria Ave, Ventura
February 7th (Thursday) Temecula (9-11 AM) Temecula Civic Center, 41000 Main Street, Temecula
******************************************************************
**April Seminar: Chemical Strategies and Pest Updates
April 2nd (Tuesday): San Luis Obispo (1 - 3 PM) Cooperative Extension Office/ Auditorium, 2156 Sierra Way, San Luis Obispo
April 3rd (Wednesday): Ventura (9 - 11 AM) Cooperative Extension County Office/Conference Room, 669 County Square Drive, Ventura
April 4th (Thursday): Temecula (9 - 11 AM) Temecula Civic Center, 41000 Main Street, Temecula
******************************************************************
**June Outdoor Seminar: Field Fertilization and Herbicide Uses
June 4th (Tuesday): San Luis Obispo (1 - 3 PM) Location TBA
June 5th (Wednesday): Ventura (9 - 11 AM) Location TBA
June 6th (Thursday): Temecula (9 - 11 AM) Location TBA
******************************************************************
**August Seminar: Fertilization Techniques, PGR’s, and Local Issues Updates
August 6th (Tuesday): San Luis Obispo (1-3 PM) Cooperative Extension Office/ Auditorium, 2156 Sierra Way, San Luis Obispo
August 7th (Wednesday): Ventura (9 - 11 AM) Cooperative Extension County Office/Conference Room, 669 County Square Drive, Ventura
August 8th (Thursday): Temecula (9 - 11 AM) Temecula Civic Center, 41000 Main Street, Temecula
******************************************************************
**PCA Hours are pending
Project 8
The California Avocado Society (CAS) has received a grant from the USDA to conduct a seminar series in Spanish on avocado production. The program is focused on providing training on the basics of growing avocados, including irrigation, fertilization, pruning, harvesting, pest management, GAP in avocados, tool maintenance, etc. To give this program an easy to use name, it is simply referred to as Project 8.
The series is aimed primarily at workers who provide services other than harvesting and can increase their productivity through improving their understanding of the avocado growing system. The seminars are open to anyone, however CAS especially wants to reach those who work for small growers and provide the majority of the cultural operations for the grove.
Each seminar will be given completely in Spanish by native Spanish speakers. The seminar will include an expert in the subject from the University or similar institution and a person who has extensive field experience in the subject to give a practical perspective on the topic and how it applies to the worker’s every day work environment.
All participants will receive a certificate of completion to show that they have attended that particular course in the series.
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