- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
Carvalho named UCCE feedlot management specialist
Pedro Carvalho joined UC ANR as a UC Cooperative Extension feedlot management specialist in the UC Davis Department of Animal Science, located in Imperial County, on Aug. 1, 2020.
Carvalho grew up on his family's cattle and crop farm in the state of Goias in Brazil. In 2012, while an undergraduate, he came to the United States to work as an intern in the beef cattle reproduction and nutrition labs at The Ohio State University. After earning a bachelor's degree in animal science at Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul in Brazil, he completed a master's degree at University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
He recently earned his Ph.D. at Pennsylvania State University, where he conducted research projects to enhance the efficiency of Holstein steers in the feedlot.
“My plan as an extensionist and researcher at the Desert Research and Extension Center is to first understand what the needs are from our feedlot operations in Imperial County,” Carvalho told Stacey Amparano, Farm Smart manager, who wrote a Q&A with him. “After that, I plan to implement and conduct actions (research projects and on-farm training) to help our beef producers and farmworkers. I really hope that I can bring value to our stakeholders by providing information on nutrition and management, as well as helping to train and improve the lives of the workers in feed yards of our state.”
Read the full text of Carvalho's Q&A with Stacey Amparano at https://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=43442.
Carvalho is based at UC Desert Research and Extension Center and can be reached at pcarvalho@ucdavis.edu and (217) 418-0202.
Sorooshian honored by American Meteorological Society
Soroosh Sorooshian, distinguished professor of civil and environmental engineering at UC Irvine and Director of the Center for Hydrometeorology and Remote Sensing, will receive an award from the American Meteorological Society (AMS).
AMS named Sorooshian, who is the director of UC ANR's International Rosenberg Forum on Water Policy, the recipient of its 2021 Hydrological Sciences Medal “For ingenious, groundbreaking work on surface hydrology and the remote sensing of precipitation that has profoundly impacted the field of hydrometeorology.”
The award will be presented during the AMS annual meeting scheduled to be in New Orleans Jan. 10-14, 2021.
Sacramento Valley Orchards newsletter wins award
A group of UCCE farm advisors won an award for the educational contributions of their Sacramento Valley Orchard newsletter. The Extension Division of the American Society of Horticultural Science presented an Education Materials award in the Newsletter Category for the “2019 Quarterly Publication of Almond, Walnut and Prune Sacramento Valley Newsletters.”
Coauthors of the newsletters are UCCE advisors Franz Niederholzer, Katherine Jarvis-Shean, Luke Milliron, Allan Fulton, Janine Hasey, Joe Connell, Rick Buchner, Dani Lightle and Emily Symmes, and UC Davis graduate student Drew Wolter.
Amid increasing orchard acreage, and reduced University of California Cooperative Extension orchard advisor appointments, advisors in the eight counties of the Sacramento Valley formed collaborative newsletters to increase their impact.
Quarterly newsletters for almonds, walnuts, and prunes provide a compelling model to better serve the approximately 1 million acres of tree nuts and fruit crops in the valley.
The team has created a sustained connection with more than 5,000 newsletter recipients and together published over 50 articles in 2019 alone. These articles made an even greater impact through publication on their own SacValleyOrchards.com website and frequent reprints by agricultural news media.
NOW team wins ESA IPM Team Award
The Navel Orangeworm Mating Disruption Adoption Team will receive the 2020 IPM Team Award from the Plant-Insect Ecology Section of the Entomology Society of America.
The Navel Orangeworm Mating Disruption Adoption Team is composed of
- David Haviland, UC Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program
- Bradley Higbee, Trécé, Inc.
- Charles Burks, USDS-ARS Commodity Protection and Quality Research Unit, Parlier
- Jhalendra Rijal, UC Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program
- Emily Symmes, Suterra, LLC.
- Robert Curtis, former associate director of agricultural affairs for the Almond Board of California
- Stephanie Rill, UC Cooperative Extension, Kern County
Normally the award is given in person at the ESA Annual Meeting in November, but there will be a virtual ceremony this year.
Diaz honored by state Sen. Morrell
Claudia Diaz, 4-H youth development advisor for Riverside and San Bernardino counties, recently received a prestigious award from state Senator Mike Morrell recognizing her work engaging underserved urban youth in environmental stewardship.
“She has also been instrumental in helping the Urban Conservation Corps develop greater capacity to engage youth of color in environmental education and stewardship, especially as it relates to resource development,” said Sandy Bonilla, founder of Urban Conservation Corps of the Inland Empire. “Her work engaging diverse children (Latinos, African-Americans, Native Americans) into the environmental movement is to be applauded.”
Aguiar honored by Riverside County Supervisors
In a ceremony held online due to COVID-19 constraints, Supervisor Manuel Perez presented Aguiar with a proclamation on behalf of the Riverside County Board of Supervisors, saying, “It is signed by all the supervisors and it is in gratitude for all you have done, Jose. We appreciate you, Jose. We appreciate what you have done for the agricultural industry.”
See an excerpt of Perez's remarks at https://youtu.be/SyafbarGJNU.
- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
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 impacts on cowboys and farmers who only provide one product.
“If you're a pig farmer, that's what you've got. The pigs are ready to go. So, everyday that you keep that hog, a 300 lb. hog, ready to go, you're losing money,” he said. “The same with cattle that are ready to go and there's no place to put them. That has shown in the price of cattle, and the price of hogs collapsing.”
The Surprising Backstory of Victory Gardens
(JSTOR Daily) Madeleine Compagnon, May 15
…Cultivating the earth as a response to moments of crisis dates back over a century, but not just as a relaxing activity. During World War I, writes Rose Hayden-Smith, a major Victory Garden movement promoted the idea of gardening as a civic duty. The goal was to increase food production on the home front, under the reasoning that the conservation of resources on the home front was key to victory on the battlefield. Garden propaganda was “striking in its use of military imagery,” according to Hayden-Smith's article. Poster campaigns often depicted “regiments” of women and children as “soldiers of the soil,” marching alongside U.S. troops.
https://daily.jstor.org/the-surprising-backstory-of-victory-gardens/
Revised Budget Features Significant Cuts to Close $54 Billion Deficit
(AgNet West) Brian German, May 15
…In his summary describing the state's economic position moving forward, Governor Newsom highlights federal assistance as playing a sizable role in structuring California's budget. Several reductions have been proposed if the state does not receive sufficient funding from the federal government, such as a 10 percent reduction in support for the University of California system. The UC Office of the President, UC PATH, and the UC Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR) would experience a decrease of more than $34 million in funding. New initiatives that were highlighted in the January budget, including the nearly $170 million in general funds for supporting a five percent UC base increase, have been now been withdrawn. The revised budget also eliminates another $3.6 million that would have supported a five percent base increase for UC ANR.
http://agnetwest.com/revised-budget-features-significant-cuts-54-billion-deficit/
$50 ribeye to go? Expect higher meat prices at Bay Area grocery stores and restaurants – (SFChronicle) Esther Mobley, May 14
…But while the supply of beef and pork in the U.S. has been down 10-15% in recent weeks, there is no long-term threat to the nation's meat supply, and already “it's creeping back up,” said Daniel A. Sumner, director of the University of California Agricultural Issues Center.
However, meat prices are also creeping up, and customers nationwide should expect their favorite cuts to be 10-20% more expensive than normal, Sumner added. In the Bay Area, the consumer price index for meat, poultry, fish and eggs rose 10.4% from February to April, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, compared to 5.5% for all types of groceries.
https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/article/Coronavirus-meat-shortage-We-won-t-run-out-of-15270789.php
UCCE sounds alarm on looming insect threat
(Farm Press) Jeannette Warnert, May 14
… “Spotted lanternfly is a major threat to apples, grapes, stone fruits, roses, landscape trees and the timber industry,” said Surendra Dara, UC Cooperative Extension entomology and biologicals advisor in San Luis Obispo, Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. “The agricultural industry and the public need to be looking out for this insect to prevent its migration and establishment in California.”
https://www.farmprogress.com/insects/ucce-sounds-alarm-looming-insect-threat
How to protect your home from disasters amplified by climate change
(Science) Mary Caperton Morton, May 13
…When it comes to climate-driven natural disasters, fires are as frightening as floods. In 2017 and 2018, California wildfires killed 147 people, burned 3.5 million acres and destroyed over 34,000 structures in two of the worst fire seasons on record. And wildfires are expected to become more severe across the West, says Max Moritz, a wildfire specialist at the University of California, Santa Barbara. “Warming temperatures are melting snow sooner and drying out vegetation so that we're already seeing longer fire seasons and more available fuel.”
…In densely built areas, the houses themselves can fuel fires. “You've probably seen aftermath photos where a fire has swept through a town and all the homes have burned, but there are still trees standing and green vegetation,” Moritz says. “That's what happens when the homes themselves are the fuel. It's not a land management problem where you should have cleared more. You can't thin the fuels because the homes were the fuel.”
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/how-to-protect-your-home-from-disasters-climate-change
Vine mealybug a menace in Monterey County
(Farm Press) Lee Allen, May 13
Larry Bettiga is urging growers to keep an eye out for vine mealybugs.
As the University of California Cooperative Extension Viticulture Farm Advisor from Monterey County observes, mealybugs are spreading leaf roll virus from site to site along the Central Coast.
Larry Bettiga is urging growers to keep an eye out for vine mealybugs.
As the University of California Cooperative Extension Viticulture Farm Advisor from Monterey County observes, mealybugs are spreading leaf roll virus from site to site along the Central Coast.
https://www.farmprogress.com/grapes/vine-mealybug-menace-monterey-county
New UC studies outline costs of producing irrigated pasture in the Sierra Nevada foothills
(YubaNet) May 12, 2020
Two new studies on the costs and returns of establishing and producing irrigated pasture in the Sierra Nevada Foothills have been released by UC Agriculture and Natural Resources' Agricultural Issues Center. Ranchers in Nevada, Placer and surrounding counties may find the cost estimates useful for planning.
USDA announces food distribution program, but will it help farmers?
(NPR Marketplace) Jasmine Garsd, May 11
…Now the U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced that starting this week, the Farmers to Families Food Box Program will begin distributing $1.2 billion in surplus food to communities across the country. Professor Daniel Sumner of the University of California, Davis, says the program aims to assist those who might not be covered by other programs, like food stamps. “They are homeless or they're not eligible in other ways. One of the attempts here is to get food to the poorest, most vulnerable people.”
Covid19 Pandemic Panic Gardening
(Food Chain Radio) Michael Olson, May 9
Guest: Missy Gable, Director University of California Master Gardener Program
https://metrofarm.com/michael-olson/covid19-gardening
4-H members embrace new communication technology
(Desert Review) Kayla Kirby, May 8
Imperial County 4-Hers have taken to the internet to connect with other members, leaders, and the community to share their experiences and current practices at home.
According to Program Director Anita Martinez, people think 4-H has gone dark after showing their animals at the fair. Martinez said that couldn't be further from the truth.
“During this time of year, everyone thinks 4-H is over because the fair is over. But this is when all of the other activities, projects, and events are going on,” said Martinez.
Vineyard Mechanization: Quality at a Distance
(Wine Business) W. Blake Gray, May 8
…"Vineyard size has increased in California due to consolidation," said S. Kaan Kurtural, associate specialist for cooperative extension viticulture at UC Davis Department of Viticulture & Enology. "Mean acreage is approaching close to 260 acres. It's hard to get to all these vineyards in a normal amount of time. The cost of labor has gone up: $15 an hour plus benefits, recently. Also, people don't want to work in vineyards anymore. And vineyards are a rural industry, not close to population centers. People have to be driven from populated areas."
https://www.winebusiness.com/news/?go=getArticle&dataId=230585
California Pistachios, Walnuts: Leaf-Out Problems – What's Going On?
(Ag Fax) Katherine Jarvis-Shean, May 8
Since mid-April, many advisors up and down the Valley have been receiving calls about unusual leaf-out in pistachio and walnut. The Sacramento Valley has certainly been experiencing this.
https://agfax.com/2020/05/08/california-pistachios-walnuts-leaf-out-problems-whats-going-on
California rice growers challenged by ammonia availability
(Farm Press) Todd Fitchette, May 7
…The good news for rice growers is they have choices. University of California rice Extension specialist Bruce Linquist compared aqua-ammonia to a granular urea fertilizer and found both performed similarly in terms of yield and nitrogen uptake. "To get these results, you must make sure that the urea is applied to a dry soil before flooding and it be managed so that it gets incorporated below the soil surface before planting (or banded as you do with aqua)," writes Linquist in the UC Rice Blog.
https://www.farmprogress.com/rice/california-rice-growers-challenged-ammonia-availability
Calif. ag shows strains under virus, shutdowns
(Farm Press) Tim Hearden, May 6
…Glenda Humiston, vice president of the University of California's Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources, said the increased reliance on web-based working, communication and education emphasized the need for improved rural broadband internet service. The university is considering installing signal towers at its Cooperative Extension offices and facilities that growers can access for automated field work, she said.
“We've known for years that rural areas are not well served,” Humiston said. “California is a leader in emerging technology … but the reality is a big chunk of California is still underserved or unserved (by broadband).
“We are having some luck in developing public-private partnerships,” she said, “but the reality is public investment is going to be critical for this.”
https://www.farmprogress.com/farm-operations/calif-ag-shows-strains-under-virus-shutdowns
Welcome to the Age of Digital Agriculture
(Growing Produce) David Eddy, May 6
Growers have traditionally relied on scouts to get the information they need to make decisions. But there are a couple of problems with that. First, the data gathered isn't always 100% reliable. Second, labor costs are rising – that is, if growers can even source the increasingly scarce labor they need.
Researchers at the Digital Agriculture Laboratory at the University of California, Davis, are trying to change that. Dr. Alireza Pourreza, a University of California Cooperative Education Specialist of Agricultural Mechanization, is leading a project to employ remote sensing for nutrient content detection in table grapes.
https://www.growingproduce.com/fruits/welcome-to-the-age-of-digital-agriculture/
Potential for meat shortages may go away sooner than later
(KTVU) Tom Vacar, May 6
…To avoid meat hoarding, many grocers are limiting purchases. UC Davis Professor Daniel Sumner is a renowned agricultural economist.
"As consumers, we're probably gonna pay a little more and/or another way the stores will say, 'Well, we don't want to raise our prices too much, so you'll only buy two packages,'" said Professor Sumner.
Coronavirus has shut down numerous meat packing facilities causing a shortage. Beef, pork and chicken farmers are paying a huge price. "Those folks are in trouble because they've got big supplies that can't get processed," said Sumner. As closed plants slowly reopen to workers, it will not be business as usual.
"You give them their social distance at work, that means you have to slow down everything. You have fewer people on the line. It all goes slower," said Sumner.
To assure a reliable supply, much of the nation's wholesale meat is purchased far in advance of delivery at a price determined by the futures market. With tens of millions of layoffs, supply and demand are uncertain.
"So the slaughter people are saying, 'We're not gonna pay much for those pigs three or four months from now.' And the farmer says, 'Well, in that case, it's not worth putting a whole bunch of corn and soybeans in them,'" said Sumner.
… For now, this problem seems to be short-lived. "I certainly wouldn't encourage anyone to say, 'Well, we're running out of meat.' because we're not." said Professor Sumner.
https://www.ktvu.com/news/potential-for-meat-shortages-may-go-away-sooner-than-later
COVID-19 exposes U.S. meat supply's dependence on a few large plants
(Marketplace) Mitchell Hartman, May 6
…We've got plenty of cattle and hogs, but there's a hold-up slaughtering and butchering them with big plants shut down, says University of California, Davis, agricultural economist Dan Sumner.
“We're processing 20% or 30% less meat than we would have done a year ago,” Sumner said.
…But Sumner says industry consolidation hasn't made meat supplies more vulnerable to the virus.
“There's no particular reason to think that it's more likely to hit a large plant outside of Sioux Falls than 20 or 30 small plants circled around Sioux Falls,” he said.
https://www.marketplace.org/2020/05/06/covid-19-meat-shortages-processing-plants-grocery-stores/
Food Availability is ‘Not the Thing to Worry About' During Pandemic
(AgnetWest) Brian German, May 4, 2020
Of all the issues that have arisen related to the coronavirus pandemic, food availability should not be a concern. Domestic agricultural production continues to progress, despite complications within the supply chain while it adjusts to market changes. However, Agricultural Economist at UC Davis Dan Sumner explained there may be concerns moving forward as it relates to consumer purchasing power and eating trends.
“Higher-end items will struggle. The ones that people eat as sort of a splurge, well there will be less of that going on. Whether that's eating out, food away from home, more people packing a sandwich rather than eating at the café, going out to dinner less often, those sorts of things,” Sumner told AgNet West. “Then on food at home; ‘less steak and more hamburger,' if I can put it that way.”
http://agnetwest.com/food-availability-is-not-the-thing-to-worry-about-during-pandemic/
Is Integrated Pest Management the future of Agriculture?
(Fresh Fruit Portal) Thomas Grandperrin, May 5
Since its formalization as a term in the late 1960s, Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is a strategy that has been adopted in most parts of the world. Surendra Dara, who is an entomologist with a specialization in microbial control and IPM currently working as a University of California Cooperative Extension Advisor, is one of its most active promoters.
Coronavirus and Agriculture
Food Chain Radio) Michael Olson, May 2,
Guest: Doug Fine – Dr. Ellen Bruno Cooperative Extension Specialist, UC Department of Agriculture and Resource Economics & Co-author: “The Coronavirus and The Food Supply Chain”
https://metrofarm.com/michael-olson/coronavirus-and-agriculture/
Farm City Newsday Friday, 05-01-20
(Farm City Newsday) Brian German, May 1
…DANIEL SUMNER: If you think of middle-income people where one of two earners in a family are out of a job, well, that really takes a hit. It doesn't mean you don't eat, but what it does do is change what you eat. Higher end items will struggle. The ones that people eat as a splurge, well, there will be less of that going on. Whether that's eating out or more people packing a sandwich rather than eating at a café or going out to dinner less often. On food at home, less steak and more hamburger. All of this will shake out into farm prices, as it always does, and no one has strong projections yet.
- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
Coronavirus's next victim: Big Meat
(Grist) Nathanael Johnson, April 30
“It's going to cause price spikes somewhere downstream,” said Rich Sexton, an agricultural economist at the University of California, Davis. But the average shopper might only notice empty shelves rather than higher prices, because “big grocery chains don't like to jack up prices, especially in times like this.”
…“There is going to be even more of a rush to automate farmwork and slaughterhouses,” Sexton said.
https://grist.org/food/coronaviruss-next-victim-big-meat/
As meat plants idle, California has no shortage of fish, dairy
(NBC News) Dennis Romero, April 29
…California produces about 20 percent of the nation's milk and has a large poultry processor in Foster Farms, but is otherwise dependent on the Midwest for pork and much of its beef, according to Daniel Sumner, director of the University of California's Agricultural Issues Center.
The state slaughters dairy cows for hamburger and raises calves for beef. But the 1-year-old livestock is sent to the Midwest for corn and soy feeding before being processed for beef there, he said. "We've never produced any hogs to speak of," Sumner added.
California producers fill nearly half the state's chicken and egg demand, he said.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/meat-plants-idle-california-has-no-shortage-fish-dairy-n1194906
1-In-4 San Diegans Unemployed From Pandemic, North County Wants Businesses To Reopen, San Diego Sees Drop In Homelessness, And Online Learning Nightmare For Vets
(KPBS Midday Edition) Maureen Cavanaugh and Jade Hindmon, April 29
An estimated 25% of San Diegans are out of work because of the pandemic, according to a new SANDAG report. Plus, a handful of North County mayors want businesses in their towns to reopen sooner rather than later. Also, homelessness in San Diego is seeing a decline, according to the latest homeless count. Also, it's not just young students who are having a hard time with distance learning, veteran students are also dealing with the challenges of virtual classrooms. ... Finally, growing your own veggies? Some gardening tips from a master gardener. [UC Master Gardener Sommer Cartier discusses a new website to help gardeners https://www.mastergardenersd.org/lets-grow-together-san-diego/.]
https://www.kpbs.org/news/midday-edition/
Virus-related food shortages will be temporary in U.S., experts say
(Farm Press) Tim Hearden, April 29
…“Every economist agrees that the massive hit to the world economy and trade will likely cause millions of very poor people to be out of work and with no income,” said agricultural economist Daniel Sumner, director of the University of California's Agricultural Issues Center. “This is a consequence of the disease, but also of the policy of shutting down the economy.
“In poor countries, when the economy is shut down, the poorest people get even more hungry and people die, especially the kids,” Sumner said in an email.
'We're in pretty good shape' | Northern California unlikely to see meat shortage
(ABC10) Lena Howland, April 29
… Despite the ad Tyson Foods released over the weekend, saying the food supply chain in America is breaking, UC Davis Professor Daniel Sumner said we could expect to see some higher prices, but he doesn't expect to see shelves being wiped out anytime soon.
"If you want to have some very specialized meat product, you may find that in short supply in your local market on the day you're shopping, if you went back the next day, it may be there, but I don't think anybody has to worry about the supply chain in America, we're in pretty good shape," Sumner said.
And he said the only way we will see a shortage is if people panic buy, just like they did with toilet paper.
"As we've learned in the past month or two, you could certainly create a shortage in the sense that consumers can altogether if we all ran out and decided to stock up every freezer space that we have with steaks and pork chops," Summer said.
Nature And The Coronavirus: As Humans Continue Lockdown, Wildlife Creeps Back In
(On Point NPR) Brittany Knotts and Meghna Chakrabarti, April 29
Humanity in lockdown. Wildlife creeps back into cities around the world. We look at the pandemic from the animal kingdom's point of view.
Guests: Niamh Quinn, human-wildlife interactions advisor for the University of California Cooperative's South Coast Research and Extension Center. (@niamhnichuinn)
https://www.wbur.org/onpoint/2020/04/29/wildlife-coronavirus-animals-climate
Scientist at work: Trapping urban coyotes to see if they can be 'hazed' away from human neighborhoods
(Conversation) Niamh Quinn, April 29
After weeks of sleepless nights spent scrutinizing grainy images relayed from our remote cameras, mostly of waving grass and tumbling leaves, finally, there it is. A live coyote with a loop around its neck. On October 8, 2019, my colleagues and I caught the first member of the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources pack, #19CU001.
Coronavirus: Should California brace for a meat shortage? Not exactly, say industry experts
(SF Chronicle) Esther Mobley, April 28
… There's not a shortage, exactly, say industry experts, though interruptions to the supply chain mean that it's taking a little longer than usual for meat to get from a farm to your grocery store shelf.
“We will have a short period where we have fewer packages of meat in the case,” said Daniel A. Sumner, director of the University of California Agricultural Issues Center. It will be an inconvenience, he said: “Let's say you like thin-cut pork chops, I like thick-cut pork chops. Well, one of us will be disappointed if we shop late in the day.”
Carbon Sequestration in Vineyards
(AgInfo) Tim Hammerich, April 27
...However, Extension Specialist Kaan Kurtural and his team at the Oakville Experiment Station are currently evaluating the impact cover crops can have on carbon sequestration in vineyards.
Kurtural…”Growers came to us. A couple of the questions they had was how can we sequester the carbon and how can we mitigate the amount of greenhouse gases we emit from the vineyards? So that was some background work done on it. Cover crops do sequester carbon and will store it in the soil. But as you till them, if you till the row middles, all this stuff is release back into the atmosphere. So we worked with a couple of private companies and we were able to get this new type of cover crop using a perennial system. Meaning that it doesn't have to be tilled or mowed, it just goes dormant. So we're comparing now till versus no-till systems using perennial and annual cover crops. So that's how that began.”
https://www.aginfo.net/report/45829/California-Ag-Today/Carbon-Sequestration-in-Vineyards
Covid-19 has forced large-scale farms that supply institutions to dump produce they can't sell. Why can't it just feed hungry people ? We've got answers.
(Counter) Lela Nargi, April 27
… To get a clearer understanding of where institutional food comes from, why kinks at the center of the supply chain make rerouting a challenge, and what's being done to change that, I talked to a variety of agriculture experts.
…Dr. Gail Feenstra, deputy director, Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program, University of California Davis: Our food system generally is built for global distribution. Now that's suddenly cracked, people are going back to more local food systems, where [important middle-tier components] like storage facilities [for meat and grain] aren't available.
…Feenstra: In California, some new food hubs are starting up to make the connection between small- and mid-scale famers with excess, and consumers who use CalFresh/SNAP. There's also work being done to figure out how to change CSAs to direct delivery or drop-off. Who is making these connections are co-op extension service agents, in every county in the U.S. They can share resources and research, and have access to grant monies. One agent told me she worked with county board supervisors to keep farmers' markets open, then with market managers to reorganize to keep the markets safe.
https://thecounter.org/covid-19-produce-dumping-food-banks/
COVID-19 outbreak causing possible meat shortage across US
(KRON4) Dan Thorn, April 26
…“That doesn't seem to be on the horizon yet… but we have had some disruptions,” Daniel Summer said.
Those disruptions, says Daniel Sumner — a U.C. Davis agricultural economist — will not create a shortage of meat.
Even after the country's largest meat producers including Tyson, along Smithfield and JBS have recently shuttered processing plants.
“You and I may see our favorite supermarket low on something but there will be plenty of meat –beef, pork and chicken that we all like there will be plenty of meat in the supermarkets,” Summer said.
https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/covid-19-outbreak-causing-possible-meat-shortage-across-us/
Marin farm sector struggles as virus cripples food services
(Marin IJ) Richard Halstead, April 26
… Randi Black, a University of California Cooperative Extension dairy adviser for Marin County, said, “We're kind of lucky where we are. We haven't been impacted quite as much as some of the eastern U.S. dairies have been. That's where we're seeing a lot of milk dumping.”
Black said that is because processors who buy Marin dairy farmers' milk sell most of their milk to grocery stores, while processors in the east rely more heavily on the food-services industry, which includes restaurants, hotels and airlines.
https://www.marinij.com/2020/04/26/marin-farm-sector-struggles-as-virus-cripples-food-services/
Want to save your citrus trees? Start a full-fledged insect war
(Los Angeles Times) Jeanette Marantos, April 25
…In citrus-loving California, some 60% of homes already have one or more citrus trees in their yard, said UC Riverside entomologist Elizabeth Grafton-Cardwell, director of the Lindcove Research and Extension Center in Exeter. (That's a statewide average, with fewer in Northern California and more in Southern California, she said.)
…But Mark Hoddle, a biological control specialist at UC Riverside, sees things differently. Hoddle and his entomologist wife, Christina Hoddle, also at UC Riverside, went to Pakistan in 2010 looking for natural enemies of the Asian citrus psyllid, and there they found Tamarixia radiata, tiny parasitoid wasps that lay their eggs on the backs of psyllid toddlers (a.k.a. nymphs).
https://www.latimes.com/lifestyle/story/2020-04-24/how-to-save-your-citrus-from-hlb-disease
Even as new technologies revolutionize farming, not everyone has access
(Sac Biz Journal) Emily Hamann, April 24
Technology could hold the key to solving growers' issues both around labor and water.
George Zhuang, a farm adviser with the UC Cooperative Extension, works with wine grape growers in the Fresno region, where machines have largely taken over the job of growing grapes.
“Most newly established vineyards go to 100% mechanization,” Zhuang said.
Amid rising costs and limited availability, farmers struggle to find enough workers
(Sac Biz Journal) Emily Hamann, April 24
…Wine grapes are known for being especially labor intensive. Grape harvesters have been commonplace in vineyards in the San Joaquin Valley for decades, but vines still needed maintenance, including pulling leaves and trimming shoots, by hand. Now that's changing as well, said Kaan Kurtural, viticulture specialist at the UC Davis.
…“We have a lot of consolidation in our business,” Kurtural said. “Vineyards are getting larger as farmers are getting old and their kids don't want to do this anymore, so they're selling their holdings.”
A Strained Food Chain
(Health in all Matters) Michael Joyce, April 24
COVID-19 has drastically disrupted the way food is produced, distributed, and available in the U.S. and around the world. The toll of the virus on those who plant, pick, buy, sell, and, at times, go hungry, is increasing. In this episode, we explore the vulnerabilities of a complex and interconnected food system and the inevitable bright spots along the way.
Guest: Daniel Sumner
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a-strained-food-chain/id1503590411?i=1000472557618
Farmers face new challenges in their ongoing quest for water
(Sac Biz Journal) Emily Hamann, April 24
…“Almond trees are actually pretty resilient,” said Katherine Jarvis-Shean, a Sacramento-area orchard farm advisor with the University of California Cooperative Extension.
While the trees themselves can live through a drought year, insufficient water will reduce yields for the present season and seasons into the future, Jarvis-Shean said.
But this year growers can also rely on groundwater pumped from wells drilled into a patchwork of underground aquifers.
“One year with low precipitation is not a problem with groundwater,” Jarvis-Shean said. “The problem is if we continue to have dry winters.”
Protecting The Valley's Vulnerable Populations From COVID-19
(KVPR) Kathleen Schock, April 24
COVID-19 is disproportionately hurting vulnerable communities like seniors, ag workers and the homeless. To learn about efforts to protect these at-risk populations, FM89's Kathleen Schock spoke with Lisa Blecker, pesticide safety education program coordinator for the UC Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Laura Moreno, chair of the Fresno Madera Continuum of Care, and Kristen Beall Watson, CEO of the Kern Community Foundation.
https://www.kvpr.org/post/protecting-valleys-vulnerable-populations-covid-19
Too celebratory for a pandemic, California's farmed oysters and caviar lose their markets
(San Francisco Chronicle) Janelle Bitker, April 24
…California's aquaculture industry, which includes farmed trout, clams and mussels in addition to higher-end abalone and oysters, represents about $200 million in annual sales, according to Jackson Gross, an aquaculture specialist at UC Davis.
…“Are people willing to pay for a premium local product?,” Gross said. “They're doing that at restaurants, but they're getting the frozen stuff from the big chain stores.”
Stop stable flies from biting into profits
(Progressive Dairy) Julia Hollister, April 23
It only takes five stable flies biting on the front legs of a cow to reduce weight gains and milk yields, according to Alec Gerry, a University of California – Davis veterinary entomology specialist.
Gerry, who spoke at the 2020 Golden State Management Conference in Modesto, California, has been researching flies for over 25 years. His most recent studies are in collaboration with researchers at the Veterinary Medicine Teaching and Research Center in Tulare, California.
https://www.progressivedairy.com/topics/herd-health/stop-stable-flies-from-biting-into-profits
In The Quiet Of Sheltering In Place, Have You Encountered Wildlife Differently?
(KPCC ) Larry Mantle, April 23
As the quarantine continues, residents surrounding Griffith Park have shared that they're noticing more wildlife activity - hawk nests, deer in the hills, opossums on the roads.
According to the Los Angeles Times, some wildlife biologists are saying what's changed isn't animal behavior but our own. We finally have the time and the patience to notice the wildlife around us.
GUEST: Niamh Quinn, human-wildlife interactions advisor with the University of California's Cooperative Extension, a branch of the UC system which researches local issues; she tweets @niamhnichuinn
Oakland Schools Use Gardening to Help Families
(KCBS radio) Matt Biglar, April 23
Canned food... diapers... tomato plants?
As KCBS Radio's Matt Bigler reports, Oakland schools are helping families get food and supplies and also get into gardening.
The plant giveaway came out of the Contra Costa Master Gardeners spring fundraiser, which unfortunately withered and died this season.
“But with the shelter in place order, we were unable to hold our plant sale.” Dawn Kooyumjian said, they decided to donate their seedlings to nearly 50 organizations, including Oakland Unified.
“People are able to come, pick up their necessities that the school district is providing, and also take home a vegetable plant that will allow them to have a little bit of food security in their home.
https://kcbsradio.radio.com/media/audio-channel/oakland-schools-use-gardening-to-help-families
The Great Potato Giveaway
(NPR) Stacey Vanek Smith, April 23
…Daniel Sumner is an agricultural economist at the University of California, Davis. He says the problem boils down to two things.
DANIEL SUMNER: How streamlined and specialized things are.
...SUMNER: The farmer will be linked directly to the restaurant customers and grow for that restaurant in San Francisco or New York City or somebody growing exactly the kind of lettuce that McDonald's needs for their hamburgers. That's been a great system.
https://www.npr.org/2020/04/23/843437140/the-great-potato-giveaway
Lockdown silver linings: For a Sacramento family, baby chickens bring meaning, solace
(Sac Bee) Diana Williams, April 22
…Imagine my delight in stumbling across a backyard chicken census online. It's overseen by Maurice Pitesky, a veterinarian and epidemiologist at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine-Cooperative Extension.
Pitesky's best guess is there are about 100,000 backyard flocks in California. Sacramento probably has about 11 percent of them, making ours the third-highest backyard chicken region in the state, behind Los Angeles and San Francisco.
https://www.sacbee.com/entertainment/living/article242190746.html
Volunteer program donates over 30,000 plants to community gardens in Contra Costa
(KRON4) Omar Perez, April 21
A volunteer program donates thousands of vegetable plants to local undeserved communities in the Bay Area free of charge. Over the last few weeks volunteers for The Contra Costa Master Gardeners Program donated more than 30,000 plants to local school and community gardens.
…“Because of COVID-19 they were not able to have the sale so they quickly decided they would distribute the plants for free to local communities, elderly and schools,” Bay Area Program Director Frank McPherson said.
Coyotes, falcons, deer and other wildlife are reclaiming L.A. territory as humans stay at home
(LA Times) Louis Sahagun, April 21
Similarly, research scientist Niamh Quinn, who serves as human-wildlife interactions advisor for UC Cooperative Extension, said none of the five collared coyotes she is studying in the cities of Hacienda Heights, Roland Heights, La Verne and Chino Hills “have changed their behavior yet.”
“I do believe, however, that human behavior has been altered significantly by the lockdown in ways that are closing the gap between us and what's wild around our own homes — and that's great, up to a point,” she said.
She worries that animals may be pushed into closer conflicts with humans. “We have to interact with wildlife from a distance. That is because we still do not know all the diseases that, say, coyotes and rats carry with them.”
https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2020-04-21/wildlife-thrives-amid-coronavirus-lockdown
A century later, victory gardens connect Americans again
(AP) Kristin M, Hall, April 21
… Creating a victory garden now can be, as it was during World Wars I and II, a shared experience during hardship and uncertainty.
“World War I, to me, is a pretty stark parallel,” said Rose Hayden-Smith, a historian and author of “Sowing the Seeds of Victory: American Gardening Programs of World War I.” “Not only was there a war, but there was an influenza pandemic.”
… “So these gardening posters and food preservation posters would appear in literally dozens of languages,” said Hayden-Smith....“We don't have poster art, but we have Instagram,” she said.
Empty Grocery Shelves and Rotting, Wasted Vegetables: Two Sides of a Supply Chain Problem
(Inside Climate News) Georgina Gustin, April 19
"In terms of resilience and nimbleness, they seem to be able to pivot and figure out new supply chains quickly," said Gail Feenstra, deputy director of the University of California-Davis Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (SAREP). "They're always struggling because of the competition that comes from the global food system. It puts many of them at a disadvantage. But now that system is in complete disarray. It allows these regional food systems to emerge. They're the ones that are bringing relief to communities."
… "This is more than a dress rehearsal. This is it," said Feenstra, of UC-Davis, referring to the disruptions caused by the pandemic. "This is going to be here for a while and it isn't the last time this will happen. This is an opportunity for our policy makers to invest in small and mid-scale businesses."
Is your tree on death's door? Here's how to tell
(LA Times) Jeanette Marantos, April 19
Climate change, invasive species and even international trade are taking a serious toll on California trees. An estimated 150 million trees died during the drought that started in December 2011, according to Smithsonian Magazine, and the stressed trees that survived became more vulnerable to attack by a host of newcomer pests, said Philippe Rolshausen, subtropical tree specialist for the Cooperative Extension office at UC Riverside.
"There are lots of invasive pests everywhere because of global warming and the movement of plant materials in general," he said.
Fresh Produce and Milk Go to Waste Even as People Need Food Amid Coronavirus Pandemic
(KQED Forum) Michael Krasny, April 16
Even as food banks are seeing more demand than ever, some California farmers are dumping milk and letting produce rot. The coronavirus pandemic has disrupted how we eat and in turn, how food is distributed. The closure of many restaurants, venues, and schools is leaving many food suppliers with excess perishables. Meanwhile, retailers and food banks are scrambling to keep food in stock. We talk with experts about how California's food supply chain has been disrupted, how it's adapting, and what to expect in the months to come.
Guests: Dan Sumner, professor of agricultural and resource economics, UC Davis
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
National Public Radio highlighted a growing concern for San Joaquin Valley tree fruit and nut farmers - diminishing winter chill in an age of climate change. "Warm winters mess with nut trees' sex lives," reported Lauren Summer on Morning Edition.
For example, adequate winter chill allows female and male pistachio trees to wake up simultaneously, which is ideal for pollen to be available for wind to carry it to blooms on female trees.
Fresno State agriculture professor Gurreet Brar, a former UC Cooperative Extension advisor, is testing whether horticultural spray application at different chill-hour intervals will trick trees into thinking they've been colder. Normally, the spray is used on fruit and nut trees to control insects, but it's also known to alter the tree's dormancy period.
"It's supposed to help the tree and buds wake up normally and have a normal bloom," Brar said.
Summer also spoke to Katherine Jarvis-Shean, UC Cooperative Extension orchard systems advisor in Yolo County.
"We're on this (climate change) march and it's really just a matter of how bad it's going to be, not whether it's happening or not," Jarvis-Shean said. "Threatening those crops is really threatening the livelihoods of a lot of Californians."
Fruit and nut trees that require the most winter chill will run into trouble by mid-century, when experts predict consistently warmer weather, Summer reported.
"Bing cherries, which is really the marquee variety in California, won't get enough chill," Jarvis-Shean said. "We'll need to be breeding new varieties that still have that rich ruby flesh and that juicy flavor that can do well under those low chill conditions."
Better-adapted trees may be the only strategy in the long-run, she said. Efforts are already underway to breed new varieties of pistachios that can handle warmer winters.
- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources joined in the California Farm Bureau Federation's Centennial Celebration at the State Capitol on June 26.
State legislators visited booths where county farm bureaus displayed products from local growers and ranchers and discussed the benefits of agriculture in their county.
4-H volunteer Julie Farnham and Nicole Jansen and members of the Esparto/Capay Valley 4-H Club brought a small petting zoo consisting of three dairy calves and two exotic sheep and talked with legislators about the benefits of participating in 4-H.
“The California Farm Bureau Federation's Centennial at the Capitol was a great opportunity to talk with legislators about how UC is present in their districts and helping their constituents,” said Anne Megaro, director of government and community relations, who coordinated ANR's participation in the event.
UC Cooperative Extension has partnered with the Farm Bureau for more than a century. As UC Cooperative Extension was being organized in 1913, UC leaders required each county government that wanted to participate in the partnership to allocate funding to help support extension work in that community. It was also required that a group of farmers in participating counties organize into a “farm bureau” to help guide the UCCE farm advisor on the local agriculture issues. These grassroots groups later evolved into the California Farm Bureau Federation.
![Michelle Leinfelder-Miles and Anne Megaro greeted Assembly Agriculture Committee Chair Susan Eggman of Stockton. Michelle Leinfelder-Miles and Anne Megaro greeted Assembly Agriculture Committee Chair Susan Eggman of Stockton.](http://ucanr.edu/blogs/ANRReport/blogfiles/62118.jpg)
![Assemblymember Jim Cooper of Elk Grove chatted with 4-Hers about their calves and the woolly Navajo churro sheep before meeting the farm advisors. Assemblymember Jim Cooper of Elk Grove chatted with 4-Hers about their calves and the woolly Navajo churro sheep before meeting the farm advisors.](http://ucanr.edu/blogs/ANRReport/blogfiles/62119.jpg)