- Author: Luis Espino
The Migratory Bird Conservation Partnership (Audubon California, The Nature Conservancy, and Point Blue Conservation Science), in collaboration with the California Rice Commission and the Delta Conservancy, and funding from the California Dept. of Fish and Wildlife, is now accepting online bids for the BirdReturns-Late Summer Farmlands Habitat Program. This program offers farmers and landowners in the Sacramento Valley an opportunity to receive financial compensation for providing a few weeks ofponded or shallow flooded habitat for migratory birds. Please see website for details on eligible crop types: BirdReturns
Applications are being accepted from now through June 17 at noon. To apply, complete a one-page bid form with your bid price per acre and a map for each proposed field.
For more information, please visit the BirdReturns website or join us for lunch and giveaways at one of the following in-person workshops!
Sacramento Valley:
Yuba-Sutter Farm Bureau
475 Palora Ave STE A. Yuba City, CA 95991
5/23 or 6/13 at noon
North Delta:
Staten Island House
23319 N. Staten Island Rd. Thornton, CA 95686
5/21 or 6/11 at noon
South Delta:
San Joaquin Farm Bureau Federation
3290 Ad Art Rd. Stockton, CA 95215
5/22 or 6/12 at noon
We are looking for rice growers who would like to collaborate with UCCE on a drip-tape irrigated rice and tomato rotation project. The project, if funded, would start in 2025 and run for 3 years (until 2028). We are applying for funding through the Western Sustainable Agricultural Research and Education grant program.
If you are interested, please reach out to Whitney Brim-DeForest at wbrimdeforest@ucanr.edu or call at (530)822-7515.
Thank you!
- Author: Bruce A Linquist
As I write this in early April, the weather is shifting back and forth between being warm and cold and there is the occasional rainfall. Many of you have started or are thinking about starting ground work in preparation for planting. With all this going on, I ask you to imagine what it would be like for your farming operations if you could plant a rice field in mid-April. Later this week, we are planning to plant our first research plots on a summer stale-seedbed (fallowed last year and worked in the summer into a seedbed) using a no-till planter. The ground is firm enough to support equipment, we have taken care of our winter weeds and the seed will be planted into moisture. On top of that, we have rain in the forecast for the weekend. Once planted, these rainfall events are helpful.
If the soil is dry, how early one can plant really depends on temperature. Daily average temperature (average of daily minimum and maximum) should be 60oF. Historically, this average falls between April 10 and 15 in the Sacramento Valley. The other consideration if you are planting early is the availability of water. The seeds need to have water to germinate. You cannot always rely on rainfall. Sometimes it may be hard to plant to moisture. In these cases, you need irrigation water. If you have an irrigation pump, you are free to decide when to plant and irrigate your field. If you have to rely on district water, you will be more restricted in your planning.
- Author: Michelle Leinfelder-Miles
With funding from the CDFA Healthy Soils Program and CA Rice Research Board, we are evaluating how well different cover crop species establish, provide soil coverage, affect soil carbon and nitrogen dynamics, and/or impact rice yield in subsequent growing seasons. Since rice may be grown over multiple seasons without rotation, cover crops may provide an opportunity to introduce plant diversity, including nitrogen-fixing legumes. Other potential benefits include increasing soil organic matter, reducing nitrogen loss in the winter, reducing nitrogen inputs during the rice season, and improving rice straw decomposition. While evaluating winter cover crops in the rice system is the primary purpose of the trial, the project has relevance for other annual systems where winter cover cropping may be employed.
This article describes one of the three trial locations, which was on Staten Island in the San Joaquin Delta Region. We planted the cover crops on November 13th by hand-broadcasting seed over 200-ft2 plots and then gently raking it in. We planted 10 single species and two mixes (Tables 1-2). Each treatment was replicated four times, and the graphs below illustrate cover crop stands over the season (Figs. 1-4).
Table 1. Cover crop species and seeding rates. Table 2. Cover crop mixes and seeding rates.
- Timing of operations is critical. Growers should strive to plant winter cover crops as early as conditions allow (e.g. early to mid-November). Drill seeding is more effective (i.e. better stand establishment) than flying on and harrowing in seed.
- Stand establishment is impacted by conditions outside the control of the manager (i.e. weather, herbivory). If neighboring fields will be winter-flooded, having drainage ditches between fields will help cover crop growth.