Fresno Bee reporter Nzong Xiong filed a story this month about blueberries, a topic that usually seems to get more ink when the weather warms. The story appeared in the Modesto Bee on Dec. 1.

Xiong spoke to Fresno County Master Gardener Lee Fanucchi, who is growing the healthful fruit in his own backyard. In addition, he went to the Valley's resident blueberry expert Manual Jimenez, the UC Cooperative Extension small farm advisor in Tulare County who has been conducting blueberry research at the Kearney Research and Extension Center for 10 years.

Jimenez noted the blueberry's need for acidic soil, a challenge in the Central Valley where soils tend...

The Sacramento Bee ran a story recently about the comparative quality-of-life for chickens who spend life in small cages and those that have greater freedom of movement.

Free-range chickens have the opportunity to socialize, scratch and flutter about with other birds, however, the lifestyle isn't perfect. For unbiased information, reporter Jim Downing spoke with UC Davis professor Joy Mench.

"When you give a hen some of these behavioral freedoms, you increase health risks," Mench is quoted in the article.

Mench noted that Europe's continent-wide conversion to cage-free egg production has yielded thousands of pages of studies comparing the...

NuWireInvestor.com, a Web site that proclaims it provides up-to-date investment news on a wide range of investments not effectively covered by traditional media sources, included a story today about investing in purebred beef stock. For information, reporter Beth Anderson contacted UC Cooperative Extension livestock and natural resources advisor Glenn Nader.

The article says the growth of artificial insemination as a tool for improving the genetics of cattle herds has opened up new opportunities for agricultural investors. Investors can purchase a bull and sell "semen units," which the article says go for a...

A lengthy New York Times article published this week reported on the efforts of retired UC Berkeley forest and genetics professor William Libby, who is helping create a collection of clones from at least 100 of California's tallest and oldest redwood trees. The cloned trees will be donated to whoever wants, and is able, to care for them. They will not be patented, but will remain in the public domain. Clone-seedling redwood forests have already been planted in England, France, New Zealand and elsewhere

Using the clones of the biggest and oldest trees gives reforestation efforts reliability and control you don’t...