- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
Egg prices will rise about 2 cents each at the farm gate when new laws go into effect in 2015 that require egg-laying hens be given more space to move around. California voters overwhelmingly passed Prop. 2 in 2008, requiring the state's producers to modify their egg production practices.
This week, Governor Schwarzenegger signed a law that requires the producers of all eggs sold in California - even if they are out of state - to follow the same guidelines.
In stories about the latest development, the media sought expert analysis from Dan Sumner, director of the UC Agricultural Issues Center, who co-wrote a report...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
In the media coverage of Proposition 2's campaign and passage, reporters have made liberal use of puns. Here are a few examples:
Prop 2 . . .
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would crack the state's egg industry
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lays an egg for state producers
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is a study in cage fighting
There were many more, but Jim Downing of the Sacramento Bee came up with what I think is the best pun. In a story published last Saturday, he wrote:
"To a huge majority of California voters, it seems, the chicken does come before the egg."
For the story, Downing spoke to animal...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
The latter third of a 1,100-word article on backyard chickens published today in the Christian Science Monitor was based on information from UC Davis Cooperative Extension specialist Francine Bradley.
The article was a trend piece on growing interest in keeping chickens in urban or suburban settings to supply families with fresh eggs, organic fertilizer and pest control.
Bradley told reporter Maryann Mott that the responsibility taken on when adopting chickens is no different from that for more traditional pets, like dogs and cats.
"If you're going to be the steward of an animal, you should know how to take care of it before you...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
As media outlets begin to analyze the impact of Proposition 2's passage, they are turning to UC for information.
The headline of the Los Angeles Times story - "Prop. 2 probably won't hike egg prices" - is based on the report by the UC Agricultural Issues Center about the potential impact of implementing the provisions of Proposition 2. The article, written by reporter Carla Hall, says egg prices probably won't go up because out-of-state farmers, who already supply a third of Californians' eggs -- and could provide more -- are not affected by the new law, so they...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
UC Agriculture and Natural Resources is in the news today. For example, UPI ran a story about a UC Davis study that determined daily consumption of vegetable juice is an effective way for people to increase their vegetable intake. AgAlert released an article about a UC Riverside scientist's conclusion that fertilizer savings make growing a cowpea cover crop of value even to non-organic farmers.
These are important developments, but somehow it doesn't seem right to go into the details on the day...