- (Public Value) UCANR: Promoting healthy people and communities
- Author: Stacey AMPARANO
Read with a Farmer Recording Available
Did you miss the live Read with a Farmer event?
We now have a pre-recorded session available. Brent Ashurst, a local beekeeper, reads The Beeman by Laurie Krebs.
Visit our website to view the recording and the supplemental educator's guide. http://ucanr.edu/Readwithafarmer/
**Recordings of the live Zoom sessions will be available soon**
About our reader: Brent Ashurst is a 4th generation beekeeper in the Imperial Valley who's family has been in the industry for over 100 years. Brent graduated from Brawley Union High School in 2001 and went to work in the family business immediately after. In 2004 Brent purchased 900 of his own bees from a local beekeeper in the Imperial Valley and started Ashurst Apiaries. Since then he has grown his bees from 900 up to 2500-3000 colonies. Brent is active in the California State Beekeepers Association where he is currently finishing his 2nd term as President. While serving as President he also currently holds a board position on the California Apiary Board and was appointed by Karen Ross, Secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA). Ashurst Apiaries' goal is to provide strong bees for pollination of crops in the Imperial Valley, San Diego, Riverside, Kern, and Tulare counties for seasonal crops requiring bees. My fondest memory of working with the bees is either catching swarms with my Grandpa, Delvin Ashurst, or working with our employees; many of which have been with us for 40+ years. I have always enjoyed their knowledge and love for the bees.
- Author: Stacey AMPARANO
Click here to view our latest newsletter
(Below is the newsletter at a glance)
AG in the Classroom
Grant Deadline: Friday, October 30, 2020
Don't forget to submit your grant applications by October 30, 2020.
Send all applications to scwills@ucanr.edu
or
APPLY ONLINE HERE
KID WISE
DESIGN AN AD PROGRAM
View Kid Wise Flyer
What is Kid Wise?
Each quarter IID's Environmental Mitigation Section teams up with Imperial Valley Alive! Magazine to get into a 3rd-grade classroom to implement the Kid Wise –Design an Ad Program. An environmental specialist from IID and an advertisement specialist from Alive! Magazine will come into the classroom and speak about a local environmental topic or issue, advertisements and how to design an ad. Each student then designs their own ad to submit and 4 winners are selected and featured in the next issue of Imperial Valley Alive! Magazine.
IID is now offering a virtual Kid Wise- Design an Ad Program. Please contact Jessica Humes at JLLHUMES@iid.com or 760-427-6190 for more information.
October 26th is National Pumpkin Day!
Celebrate the season with this delicious pumpkin recipe
View the Recipe Online
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 2 cans (14-1/2 ounces each) chicken broth
- 1 can (15 ounces) solid-pack pumpkin
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
Directions: In a large saucepan, saute onion in butter until tender. Remove from the heat; stir in flour until smooth. Gradually stir in the broth, pumpkin, brown sugar, salt, pepper and nutmeg; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Add cream; cook until heated through, about 2 minutes.
Nutrition Facts
1 cup: 212 calories, 19g fat (12g saturated fat), 65mg cholesterol, 427mg sodium, 10g carbohydrate (5g sugars, 3g fiber), 3g protein.
- Author: Stacey AMPARANO
Due to its mild winter temperatures and access to water, Desert REC is the primary site for developing and testing USDA carrot breeding stock. The work of Dr. Phillip Simon, who holds a joint position with USDA's Agriculture Research Service (ARS) and the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Horticulture Department, has contributed to today's carrot providing 50% more vitamin A to US consumers than in 1990.
While the orange carrot is a standard in carrot varieties, it is actually a more recent carrotvarietal. The purple and yellow carrots were the original carrot colors and these novel colored carrots (ie purple, yellow, and red) are becoming increasingly popular among consumers and chefs again. Each color has a different health benefit and nutritional value. Dr. Simon's research includes the development of novel colored carrot strains with increased nutritional values, such as carotenoids and anthocyanins.
Dr. Simon has partnered with the UC DREC Farm Smart program to offer outreach and educational program focused on expanded awareness of carrots and carrot diversity. Starting in 2016, the Farm Smart outreach has included presentations to teachers and classrooms, taste testing of the novel colored carrots, curriculum and seed distribution to educators, and carrot harvesting and tours for youth and adult participants.
Click here to read more about the carrot outreach at Farm Smart
For more information on DREC and its educational program, please contact our Center Director, Jairo Diaz at jdiazr@ucanr.edu or our Farm Smart Program Manager, Stacey Amparano, at scwills@ucanr.edu. You can also reach us at (760)356-3060
For further reading:
DREC Carrot Trial Results Since 1998:
CalAg Journal: Desert REC: Educational outreach and crop breeding by Jim Downing
- Author: Stacey AMPARANO
Our June 2020 newsletter is now available!
- Author: Stacey AMPARANO
For most of us, our work, social, and academic lives look much different this month in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Desert Research and Extension Center – DREC is committed to continuing to work and available to assist our partners and stakeholders in our desert region. Critical research projects are being maintained and program delivery is taking place online. Farm Smart is dedicated to teaching learners of all ages about where their food comes from, including the nutrition we get from that food. Since 2001, we have offered this outreach through community events and K-12 field trips. To continue our outreach to the community during this time of ‘social distancing' and ‘shelter at home', DREC and Farm Smart will be active on Facebook and Twitter and available by phone or email to answer any of your questions. While all face-to-face events/meetings are cancelled, we are still available to help! Please follow us on facebook and twitter for ideas on activities and lessons plans for your “home-schooling” and adventures with your children as well as wellness tips for those self-quarantining.
Take a moment to fill out this survey so we may hear about your concerns, resources, and needs you have during these unprecedented times: https://ucanr.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_8uLur6jQjVRnvOl
UCANR DREC on Twitter: https://twitter.com/UCANRDREC
Farm Smart on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UCfarmsmart
Farm Smart on Twitter: https://twitter.com/UCFarmSmart
DREC contact: Jairo Diaz (760)791-0521 or jdiazr@ucanr.edu
Farm Smart Contact: Stacey Amparano (769)356-3067 or scwills@ucanr.edu
