- Author: Saoimanu Sope
Agriculture generates $59 billion and employs nearly 400,000 individuals in California. The industry, however, is often threatened by challenges like climate change, land conversion and water scarcity. Motivated to act, Sustain Southern California – an organization associated with UC Irvine Beall Applied Innovation – hosted a roundtable discussion on Feb. 20 featuring subject matter experts including Darren Haver, director of UC Agriculture and Natural Resources' Research and Extension Center System.
During his keynote address, Jose Arriaga, Orange County Agricultural Commissioner, defined sustainability as food and...
- Author: Michael Hsu
Automatic milking systems increasingly used in California amid labor challenges
When third-generation dairy farmer Shonda Reid first saw a milking robot at a farm show 13 years ago, she immediately recognized that the technology represented the future. Her father, however, took a bit more convincing.
“I came home and showed him and said, ‘This is what we need to do.' And...
/h3>- Author: Jessica Heath, UC Davis College of Engineering
When flown at the right times, drones can help farmers adapt to a changing climate
Researchers at the University of California, Davis, have developed a web application to help farmers and industry workers use drones and other uncrewed aerial vehicles, or UAVs, to generate the best possible data. By helping farmers use resources more efficiently, this advancement could help them adapt to a world with a changing climate that needs to feed billions.
Associate Professor Alireza Pourreza, director of the UC Davis Digital Agriculture Lab and...
/h3>- Author: Mike Hsu
Atef Swelam begins as director of Kearney and West Side Research and Extension Centers
In the fields around the Egyptian city of Minya Al-Qamh, “port of wheat” in Arabic, a boy rubbed his eyes wearily as he helped his father irrigate their crops at 2 a.m. – when they could access the scarce water that reached their farm, located at the tail end of the canal. The family, which had been farming the land around the village of Sharqia for many generations, barely had enough water to sustain their wheat and vegetables.
Swatting in the darkness at the incessantly biting mosquitoes, a young
/h3>- Author: Saoimanu Sope
A new avocado, one that complements the widely known ‘Hass,' will hit the world market soon. The ‘Luna UCR' variety (trademarked and patent pending) has several characteristics that should be of interest to both growers and consumers, said Mary Lu Arpaia, University of California Cooperative Extension subtropical horticulture specialist based at UC Riverside.
From the grower perspective, the tree is about half the size of the leading variety while producing approximately the same yield per tree as ‘Hass,' meaning that growers could plant more trees per acre, therefore increasing yield. It also makes...