- Author: Jeffrey P Mitchell
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
- Author: Anil Shrestha
- Author: Wyatt Brown
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Universities adopted UCCE agriculture production innovation and technology video series, contributing to workforce competency.
The Issue
Projections for near-future retirements of people working in California's agricultural production, marketing and post-harvest handling sectors indicate severe re-staffing needs in the coming years. Technological advances have reduced manual labor in agriculture, but increased the need for skilled labor to maintain the sustainability of the vegetable industry. Maintaining California's leading role in producing abundant, safe vegetables is critical not only to Americans' health, but also to the state's economy.
How UC Delivers
UC ANR's Cropping Systems Cooperative Extension Specialist, Jeff Mitchell assembled a team of professors from California's public universities with agricultural programs – UC Davis, Chico State, Fresno State and CalPoly San Luis Obispo - to pull together the series of videos designed to spark the interest and begin training future farmers and agriculture workers in sound agronomic, economic and environmental stewardship skills. The team received financial support from the California Department of Food and Agriculture Specialty Crops Block Grant Program. The video series is offered on the UC Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR) YouTube page on a playlist titled “Training of a New Generation of California Vegetable Producers.”
The videos depict state-of-the-art technologies and techniques that are in use in many production regions of California today, vegetable farming systems used in other parts of the world, and increasingly popular cottage farming systems that are popping up in urban areas for easy access to healthful foods. A key feature of the videos is their showcasing leading vegetable farmers and industry leaders and having them speak directly to students about their work and how they manage the complex dimensions of today's vegetable crop production systems.
“We know that maintaining California's leading role in producing abundant, safe vegetables is critical not only to Americans' health, but also to the state's economy,” UC ANR's Mitchell says. “These videos have greatly increased knowledge and awareness of production practices.”
The Impact
The video-series has been adopted by four universities, used in courses to provide real-world information on state-of-the-art production practices and technologies to over 200 students each year. Pre- and post-video viewing surveys indicate student knowledge of production innovation and technology provided by an example video on “urban agriculture” increased from 0% being very knowledgeable to extremely knowledgeable to 67% after viewing the video. Because many of today's students in agriculture-related courses do not have practical experience with crop production, the videos have provided a critically important means for learning and increasing the practical knowledge of this next generation of production workers. In addition, the video series has had broad interest beyond the classrooms. The agricultural industry, students in other parts of the United States and the world, and the broader public all have an interest in understanding how the vegetables we eat are produced at the ever-increasing scale at which they are needed. Importantly, the California Agricultural Vision statement of CDFA (https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/agvision/docs/AgVision_2017.pdf(2017) strongly recognizes the critical need to equip the next generation of workers in the field and throughout the packing and processing chain. A World Bank study (2007) determined effects of agricultural education and training on agricultural productivity, including enhanced worker productivity; increased grower abilities to choose prime combinations of inputs and outputs, and increased grower capacity to innovate and adapt new technologies. In this way, UC ANR contributes to increasing workforce competency and the public value of developing a qualified workforce in California.
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- Author: Anne E Schellman
As weather cools, you may notice ants coming indoors. Large numbers of ants may invade your kitchen, bathroom, garage, bedrooms, or even your living room! Spraying the offending ants with a pesticide or household cleaner (not recommended) may kill the ants you see, but it won't stop more from invading.
Why do ants invade?
Ants are looking for food, water, and sometimes shelter. They live in colonies composed of worker ants and reproductive ants. The workers leave the nest to “scout” for resources. As they travel, they leave a scent trail for other ants to follow. Once food or water is found and that information is communicated to the colony, more ants arrive to help gather the resource.
Prevention
Your first step is to find out where the ants are coming from. Follow their trail until you find where they are entering. Then, use a caulking gun to seal up the cracks.
Sanitation
Is someone in your household inviting the ants? They may unknowingly do so by leaving sandwich crumbs or other foods on your kitchen counters. Pet food is also enticing to ants. Consider feeding your pets and then removing the food. Or, place your pet's food bowl in a larger bowl of water to create a “moat” that ants can't cross.
Management
Wipe up invading ants and their trails with soapy water. This destroys the scent trail left behind that helps attract more ants and kills the ants that are present.
If you've followed all the directions above but ants continue to invade, you may need to use bait to manage the infestation. Baits are a combination of insecticides mixed with a material to attract ants. When ants take the bait, they taste it and pass it along. The insecticide builds up in the system of the worker ants and the queen, eventually killing them. The bait is slow-acting, so it may take a while to see a reduction in ants. If you choose to use a bait, make sure to follow the directions on the label for best results.
For more information about ant management, visit the UC IPM website to read the Ants Quick Tips card from UC IPM. You can also call the Master Gardener helpline at 525-6802 or send us a message at ucmgstanislaus@ucanr.edu.
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The University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) Stanislaus County Master Gardeners are available to answer questions on Wednesdays from 9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. Drop off a pest or gardening problem sample anytime during business hours to the Stanislaus Agricultural Center at 3800 Cornucopia Way Suite A in Modesto, 95358, and we will get back to you.
- Author: Ben Faber
Registration is now open for Pesticide Safety Instructor Training workshops
UC IPM, with support from the Western Center for Agricultural Health and Safety (WCAHS), is offering up-to-date instructor training programs that are approved and co-funded by the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR). The classes will run 8 am to 5 pm and we offer 6.5 hours of DPR continuing education units. They are designed for anyone who has employees – primarily in agriculture – that need to receive the required annual pesticide safety training. Date and location details are below.
October 1, 2019 (ENGLISH)
October 2, 2019 (SPANISH)
UCCE Ventura
669 County Square Drive, Suite 100
Updates to the Federal Worker Protection Standard (WPS) that will have the most impact on pesticide users in California include:
- Annual pesticide safety training for all fieldworkers
- Instructors in agriculture must attend an updated and approved Train-the-Trainer course, and
- Expanded training content for fieldworkers and handlers
Participants who complete this training will become qualified to provide pesticide safety training to fieldworkers and pesticide handlers, as required by California state regulations and the revised Federal Worker Protection Standard (WPS). Visit the workshop website for specific date/location information and to register. 2019 Pesticide Safety Instructor Workshops
(English above)
Se Abrió la Registración para 2019 Capacitaciones de Instructores de Seguridad de Pesticidas
UC IPM en conjunto WCAHS, ofrece un programa actualizado de capacitación para instructores que es aprobado y co-patrocinado por el Departamento de Regulaciones de Pesticidas de California (DPR). Las clases serán de 8 am a 5 pm y ofrecemos 6.5 horas de unidades de educación continua de DPR. Están diseñados para cualquier persona que tenga empleados, principalmente en agricultura, que necesiten recibir la capacitación anual requerida en seguridad de pesticidas. Los detalles de fecha y ubicación están a continuación.
October 1, 2019 (INGLES)
October 2, 2019 (ESPAÑOL)
UCCE Ventura
669 County Square Drive, Suite 100
Las actualizaciones en el Estándar de Protección del Trabajador (WPS) que tendrán más impacto sobre los que usan pesticidas en California incluyen:
- Entrenamiento anual de seguridad de pesticidas para los trabajadores
- Instructores en agricultura deben asistir a un curso actualizado y aprobado (Train-the-Trainer), y
- Contenido de capacitación ampliado para trabajadores de campo y manipuladores de pesticidas
Los participantes en este programa serán calificados para entrenar a los trabajadores de campo y a los manipuladores de pesticidas, como es requerido por las regulaciones del estado de California, he incluso el Estándar de Protección del Trabajador revisado por EPA.
Visite el sitio web de capacitaciones para obtener información sobre fechas/localidades y para inscribirse. 2019 Capacitaciones de Instructores de Seguridad de Pesticidas