- Author: Konrad Mathesius
For those of you who were not able to make the meeting earlier this month, please feel free to check out the presentations below. Some of the audio for the slides was cut short due to a few technical difficulties, but most of the presentations are intact. You can move through the videos to just get a look at the slides as well.
Preventing Rodent Damage in Shrink Swell Clays, Konrad Mathesius, Agronomy Advisor, UC Cooperative Extension, Yolo, Sacramento, and Solano Counties.
Several ideas for preventing rodent damage associated with shrink-swell clays opening up when soils dry down after wheat. These are hypothetical ideas but that will be tested out in the coming season.
Pump Efficiency Monitoring with Wexus Technologies
Aric Saunders presents some of the methods that Wexus brings to growers to monitor pump efficiency, thereby reducing energy consumption and overall operating costs. Growers with questions for Aric can contact him directly at: asaunders at wexusapp.com. Many thanks to Wexus for providing refreshments for our growers and PCAs.
Integrated Approach to Controlling Pocket Gophers, Roger Baldwin, UC Cooperative Extension Wildlife Specialist
Roger Baldwin presents an overview of recent research related to controlling gophers in alfalfa and orchards.
Winter Annual Oilseed with Nic George, UC Cooperative Extension Plant Science Specialist
Nic presents an update on new canola and camelina varieties that have been developed in Australia in the last 30 years as well as cultural recommendations to deal with them. These crops largely fell out of favor in California in the 80s, but in the face of falling commodity prices, improved varieties with higher yields and improved tolerance may make them a viable alternative option once again.
Yolo County Pesticide Use and Regulation Update, Yolo County Ag Department
The Yolo County Ag Department provides an update on new regulations (2016) and recommendations including: buffer zones, personal protective equipment, container disposal, and the use of phenoxy herbicides around certain perennial crops.
Opportunities in Precision Agriculture, Konrad Mathesius, Agronomy Advisor, UC Cooperative Extension, Yolo, Sacramento, and Solano Counties.
A discussion of some possible uses of drones in agriculture, a crash course in soil mapping, and an overview of several useful tools created by UC, ANR, and CDFA.
- Author: Brenda Dawson
Harvesting jet fuel
Kathy Johnston, (San Luis Obispo) New Times
Reporter Kathy Johnston examined both government and grower interest in camelina sativa, an oilseed crop that can be used in jet fuel. Growers interested in camelina can sign up for USDA's Biomass Crop Assistance Program, the deadline for which has been extended. The reporter talked with Steve Kaffka, UC Cooperative Extension agronimist in Davis and director of the California Biomass Collaborative, who is seeking cooperating growers for trial plantings of camelina under local conditions this winter. “It hasn’t been adapted specifically for California. We’re trying to figure out what conditions it likes, the range of rainfall and soil types where it might be suitable in San Luis Obispo County,” Kaffka told the reporter.
She also talked to Royce Larsen, UC Cooperative Extension natural resources advisor in San Luis Obispo county, who explained that though meetings about the crop have been well attended, no San Luis Obispo growers have signed up for the program yet. “A lot of people showed up [at a meeting about camelina in Templeton] with great interest, but they left, I think, a little downhearted,” Larsen told the reporter. “The bottom line is it’s too new, with too many unknowns for people to want to jump on board and give this a try."
(Though this article is about San Luis Obispo county, other California counties included in this project area are Butte, Colusa, Fresno, Glenn, Kern, Kings, Madera, Merced, Riverside, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Solano, Stanislaus, Riverside, Tehama, Tulare and Yolo, according to an article on the California Ag Network website.)