How coronavirus is affecting the food supply

(Spectrum News) Jennifer Rufer, May 15

…Daniel Sumner, Executive Director of the University of California Agricultural Issues Center at UC Davis, tells Inside the Issues the meat shortage is a direct result of COVID-19. Because workers are typically in such close quarters, some are getting sick. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found 3 percent of workers in 100 meat processing plants have tested positive for the coronavirus, which, Sumner said, could mean the production won't be as robust as it used to be.

He said one of the bigger disruptions to the industry has been the...

Across the United States, Americans are buying and growing plants as a pick-me-up during the COVID-19 crisis, reported Lisa Irizarry in Newsday. The paper focused its story on Long Island, N.Y., its area of local circulation, but turned to UC Cooperative Extension emeritus advisor Rose Hayden-Smith for commentary about the trend.

Hayden-Smith is the author of "Sowing the Seeds of Victory - American Gardening Programs of World War I" and now serves as the educational technology fellow for eXtension, an organization that helps extension...

Pandemic And Wildfire: California Is Preparing For A Crisis Within A Crisis

(CapRadio) Ezra David Romero, April 15

…To protect human health, prescribed burns are not allowed for the time being on Forest Service land. But Ryan Tompkins, a forest advisor with the UC Cooperative Extension for Plumas, Sierra, and Lassen counties, says it's still early enough to prepare for wildfire with other tools like thinning and in some cases burning. 

“It is really difficult because of the concerns about smoke and COVID, but sort of now is our chance to be...

Only an hour north of Los Angeles, one of the nation's highest-populated metropolitan centers, a vibrant farming community is actively producing millions of dollars in agricultural crops, reported Teresa O'Conner on KCET.org.

O'Conner's article features Ventura County, where farms continue to prosper despite natural disasters, encroaching housing developments, drought conditions and global competition. About $259 million worth of lemons were sold in 2017, making the citrus fruit the number-two crop for the county. The top spot belongs to strawberries at $654 million. Celery, nursery stock,...