- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
Woodland as ag hub topic of forum
(Woodland Daily Democrat) Jenice Tupolo, Jan. 30
Developing Woodland as an agricultural center is becoming more of a reality, even as local organizations worked together in creating a forum focused on agricultural innovation in Yolo County.
...The city of Woodland, AgStart, UC Agricultural and Natural Resources, and the city's Food Front initiative hosted keynote speaker and vice president of the UC ANR, Glenda Humiston, at the conference.
http://www.dailydemocrat.com/business/20180130/woodland-as-ag-hub-topic-of-forum
Small Farmers in Fresno...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
The California drought has become a significant player in farmer decisions about their cropland, reported Dan Reidel in the Chico Enterprise Recorder.
Reidel spoke to a farmer who pulled out 75 acres of almond trees because of limited well capacity. He is replacing old trees that have high water needs with saplings the use much less water.
Almond orchards typically need 40 to 43 inches of water per acre per year, said Joe Connell, UC Cooperative Extension advisor in Butte County. That's about 27,000 gallons of water per acre.
Connell estimated orchards get about 12 acre-inches...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
Even as farmers across California struggle with the third year of drought, so do University of California agriculture researchers, reported Todd Fitchette in Western Farm Press.
Fitchette opened his story with the plight of ag research at the UC West Side Research and Extension Center near Five Points. Many of the farmers in the area will receive no surface water allocation this year; neither will the research center.
The facility can pull water from a deep well, but it is not enough nor is the water quality adequate for all the farming operations, said Bob Hutmacher, UC...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
If anyone can be lucky during a drought, that would be Butte County nut growers, reported Heather Hacking in the Chico Enterprise Record.
Many of these farmers use groundwater to irrigate their orchards, and groundwater in the Sacramento Valley is in pretty good shape, said Joe Connell, UC Cooperative Extension advisor and county director in Butte County.
If groundwater levels drop, growers will be pumping from farther down. So far, things look like they will be OK for...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
Proven health benefits is increasing demand for walnuts, and farmers are reacting by planting more trees, according to an article in the Chico Enterprise-Record. The trend has created a backlog for new trees.
"All the nut crops are doing very well," said Joe Connell, UC Cooperative Extension advisor in Butte County. Markets for almonds, pistachios and walnuts have expanded, and prices are firm, he said.
In 2011, walnuts became the No. 1 crop in Butte County. If growers want to plant new walnut orchards, they must get on a waiting list to buy them in 2015.