- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
A potato rainbow appeared on the grass at Hart Park in Bakersfield this week, offering farmers the opportunity to see a wide array of potato varieties developed by breeders across the United States and Canada.
The potatoes are the product of the UC Cooperative Extension and California Potato Research Advisory Board's Kern County Potato Variety Trial, which has been collecting potato variety data since the 1970s, according to an article about the annual field day in yesterday's Bakersfield Californian.
"The piles at the park contained every kind of potato imaginable. Big ones. Small ones. Lumpy ones....
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
The Elkus Ranch, an environmental education and conference facility in Half Moon Bay, was created to provide outdoor education opportunities for urban, disabled and inner-city youth. It sits on land donated to UC Cooperative Extension by the late Richard J. Elkus.
A milestone in realizing the Elkus Ranch mission was reached with the opening this spring of a new "enabling garden." A recent ribbon cutting was covered by the San Mateo County Times.
The garden, built by ranch foreman Augie Aguilar and groundskeeper Bruno Acosta, has raised beds of varying heights, some with cutouts for wheelchairs, so...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
Forage monitoring at the UC Sierra Research and Extension Center in Browns Valley shows the land produced, on average, 2,984 pounds of vegetation per acre, 93.4 percent of normal, according to an article published today in Capital Press. That may sound fantastic - 93.4 percent looks like an A to me. But UCCE farm advisor Larry Forero said that the growth came too late for most ranchers.
In fact, in nearby Tehama County, officials are seeking a federal disaster declaration because of drought damage to its rangelands. Reporter Tim Hearden wrote that...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
The California Farm Bureau newspaper AgAlert posted more information today about Light Brown Apple Moth in a story that included extensive quotes from UC Cooperative Extension farm advisor Mark Bolda.
Bolda told AgAlert assistant editor Kate Campbell that LBAM larvae and webbing were found in a Santa Cruz County blackberry farm. About 20 percent of the crop has been lost.
"This the first time we've seen so many light brown apple moths in the field," Bolda was quoted in the article. "The damage is without precedent. As the moth is becoming more numerous in the area, we're starting to see...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
Santa Cruz UC Cooperative Extension farm advisor Mark Bolda reported in his blog, "Strawberries and Caneberries," that a local blackberry farm sustained severe damage from the Light Brown Apple Moth. According to Bolda's report, 20 percent of the crop was lost.
"This information is being provided in the interest of emphasizing to the grower community that this pest is not only a regulatory problem now, but is capable of becoming an economic problem as well," Bolda wrote.
On Monday, a story about the LBAM infestation in blackberries appeared in the
