- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
Last week's flavor workshop at UC Davis was well attended by professionals in fruit and vegetable industries. They were challenged to begin contemplating the flavor nuances of their products in the same way wine producers have for decades. New technology is giving them objective tools, but the scientists agree nothing replaces human flavor testers.
For more on the flavor workshop, click here.
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
On Wednesday of this week (May 2), farmers will gather at the Nickels Soil Lab in Arbuckle for the 30th annual Nickels Field Day, one of the most popular annual field day events held by UC Cooperative Extension.
The Nickels Soil Laboratory was created by Arbuckle farmer Leslie J. Nickels. When he passed away in 1959, Nickels had no heirs or close family. He made provisions to donate his estate for agricultural research, specifically naming the Regents of the University of California and the Colusa County Water District as administrators.
The primary crop on the 200-acre research facility in Arbuckle is almonds. Numerous research projects have been conducted on variety selection, nutrition and pest control, but the...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
National Public Radio reported this morning that a judge in San Francisco will today consider whether to extend a temporary ban, imposed in February, on planting and selling of Roundup Ready alfalfa. U.S. District Court Judge Charles Breyer ruled that the USDA didn’t follow federal laws when it approved Roundup Ready alfalfa without conducting a full Environment Impact Statement.
To provide accurate, scientific information about biotechnology, the UC Agriculture and Natural Resources biotechnology workgroup crafted 15 fact sheets outlining the basics on the production and safety of genetically engineered crops, foods, animal feed and animals. The fact...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
I have always considered the UC Lindcove Research and Extension Center the most beautiful of UC’s agricultural research centers in California. Bright green citrus trees laden with orange and yellow fruit contrast with a backdrop of rocky foothills and the towering Sierra Nevada Mountains. On a clear day, from the top of the center's highest slopes, the San Joaquin Valley's agricultural patchwork meets the Coast Mountain Range in the distance. All of the RECs have something lovely to offer, but my visit to the Hopland Research and Extension Center yesterday gives it the top spot on my list of personal favorites. At the 5,300-acre center -- where research focuses on sheep production,...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
The next two days I will be in the field gathering ANR news, so will not be able to post to this increasingly popular ANR news blog. Tomorrow I'll attend the "Methods of Fruit & Vegetable Flavor Analysis Workshop" at UC Davis. The event is coordinated by UC Davis enology professor Sue Ebeler and UC Cooperative Extension specialist Diane Barrett. The resulting story, which I plan to post on May 1, will cover UC's role in researching and developing human and instrumental flavor perception for the fresh and processed fruit and vegetable industries.
On Wednesday, I'll be at the UC Hopland Research and Extension Center, just south of Ukiah, to collect information on farm advisor Morgan Doran's research on...
