- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert

California cherries are now beginning to show up at roadside stands, farmers markets and grocery stores, but the supply in 2013 may be a touch scanty, reported Reed Fujii in the Stockton Record.
Joe Grant, UC Cooperative Extension advisor in San Joaquin County, said the cherry crop is light throughout the area, across orchards and varieties.
"That rules out orchard-to-orchard factors, management factors or disease factors," he said.
Crop losses are often weather-related, but early frosts, or wet or cold weather during the bloom were not factors.
"Right now,...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert

During the recent cold snap in California, the media turned to UC Cooperative Extension advisors for information on the weather's impact on agricultural production in the Northern San Joaquin Valley.
The consensus for this part of the state: cold weather is good news. The Stockton Record checked in with Joe Grant, UC Cooperative Extension advisor in San Joaquin County.
"We'll take any and all cold that we can at this time of year to fulfill the chilling requirements of the trees," Grant said.
Paul Verdegaal, UCCE advisor in San...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert

KQED and the Center for Investigative Reporting co-produced a documentary about the impacts of climate change on California food production. A half-hour in length, "Heat and Harvest" has three distinct segments:
- Cherries, said reporter Mark Schapiro, are the canary in the climate coalmine for California tree crops. "They're highly sensitive to changes in temperature and rainfall, which scientists say are being altered by climate change," he said.
The segment included comments from Joe Grant, UC Cooperative Extension advisor in San Joaquin County.
He said California cherry...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert

Growing demand for pomegranate juice, with its many purported health benefits, is increasing farmers' interest in cultivating the drought-resistant crop, according to a story in the Lodi News.
The article featured a new, vertically integrated agribusiness venture being developed by San Joaquin County partners John Ferreira and John Cotta. The team are converting acreage from thirsty alfalfa to a crop cultivated since ancient times in Middle Eastern desert regions.
"I wanted to get away from chemicals and pesticides and high water usage," Ferreira told reporter Jordan Guinn.
The partners are planning to crush their own...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert

With winter winding down, fresh fruit season in California is right around the corner. The first fruit to come off trees in May and June are bing cherries.
The Stockton Record reports today that consumers can expect a bounty of the delicious and healthful fruit. California's cherry growers could produce a record-breaking 10 million 18-pound boxes of fruit this spring, according to the article by Reed Fujii. Last year California cherry growers produced 8.3 million boxes.
Excellent weather and an increasing number of acres planted to cherries is the reason for the projected growth, the story said.
In the past, the focus of the...