- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
The hard work put in every summer by leafcutter bees was spotlighted by KQED Science, which took a Deep Look at an introduced pollinator that makes bountiful alfalfa seed production possible in California.
For facts behind the 'gee whiz' video, KQED turned to Shannon Mueller, UC Cooperative Extension alfalfa advisor emeritus, who helped introduce leafcutter bees in the early 1990s.
What makes leafcutter bees special? It's their innate ability to...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
When the director of the Fresno Farm Bureau, Ryan Jacobsen, developed an episode of the half-hour Valley's Gold program on ag education, he included two segments on UC Cooperative Extension.
"I'm a very proud 4-H member, from 4th grade to early college, in beef, rocketry and sugar beet (projects)," Jacobsen said. "When we think of 4-H, it's just so much more than those projects. There are so many leadership opportunities for these kids."
Jacobsen interviewed John Borba, the 4-H youth development advisor for UCCE in Kern county.
"4-H has an emphasis on citizenship, leadership and learning life skills,"...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
A Chowchilla beekeeper lost more than 400 hives to thieves this month, but with networking and investigation, was able to find the hide-out and get his bees back.
UC Cooperative Extension farm advisor Shannon Mueller spoke to KMPH Channel 26 News about the heist.
"They (farmers) are paying about $180 a hive, so those hives are worth a lot of money and because of that, we’ve seen a real increase in the theft of colonies," Mueller said.
In all, the stolen bee colonies were worth about $120,000, according to an article in
