- Author: Conor McCabe, Global Food Initiative fellow
In recent years, there has been a rise in the number of backyard poultry farms as people have taken an increased interest in farming. With raising these animals comes new challenges in taking care of them and ensuring they stay healthy.
However, there is a gap between the needs of these small avian communities in Californians' backyards and the current services available that generally work for service large-scale poultry operations alone.
This is where Beatriz Martinez Lopez, professor of infectious disease epidemiology, and Alda Pires, associate professor for Cooperative Extension and agronomist, come into play. Both in UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, the...
- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
The International Conference on Digital Technologies for Sustainable Crop Production (DIGICROP) will be held March 28-30. The conference is a fully remote event with presentations in video format followed by discussions.
DIGICROP 2022 is organized by the German Cluster of Excellence “PhenoRob – Robotics and Phenotyping for Sustainable Crop Production” at the University of Bonn and the AI Institute for Next Generation Food Systems. It brings together researchers across disciplines who develop, propose, use or evaluate new digital technologies to enhance the sustainability of crop...
- Author: Kat Kerlin, UC Davis
Natural habitat maximizes the benefits of birds for farmers, food safety and conservation
A supportive environment can bring out the best in an individual — even for a bird.
After an E.coli outbreak in 2006 devastated the spinach industry, farmers were pressured to remove natural habitat to keep wildlife — and the foodborne pathogens they can sometimes carry — from visiting crops. A study published today from the University of California, Davis, shows that farms with surrounding natural habitat experience the most benefits from birds, including less crop damage and lower food-safety risks.
- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
Grape growers and other industry members interested in grape production and water management in vineyards are invited to UC Cooperative Extension's Grapevine Drought Preparedness Workshops.
The workshops will be held in person on Friday, March 4, in San Luis Obispo and Friday, April 1, in Hopland.
Registration is $50 and includes a full day of live instruction from UC Cooperative Extension viticulture and grapevine experts. Lunch will be provided.
For more information and to register, visit https://ucanr.edu/sites/ShortCourse17.
UC Davis Grapevine Red Blotch Disease...
- Author: Mike Hsu
CDFA grant supports research to optimize water use for iconic California crop
California growers, who account for more than 90% of avocado production in the U.S., will soon be getting some help in weathering the extreme fluctuations of climate change.
Ali Montazar, a University of California Cooperative Extension irrigation and water management advisor, recently received a grant to develop tools and strategies that optimize growers' irrigation practices across Southern California – the state's avocado belt. California avocados are valued at more than $411 million, according to the
