- Author: Taylor Nelsen
- Author: Gabriel Rosa
- Author: Justin Merz
- Author: Mark Lundy
![Figure 1. Historical (10-year, left) and current (right) seasonal precipitation between 10/1/2020 and 1/31/2021 for California.](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/smallgrains/blogfiles/77805small.jpg)
Weather patterns are highly variable across the state of California. They change from year to year and across locations. While parts of the state may be experiencing drought conditions this year (Figure 1), each location can have dramatically different weather. For growers and agronomists, location-specific weather information is essential to understand plant growth and water use. It is also important for planning field management activities such as fertilization and irrigation.
We have created a new interactive website where users can access their location-specific precipitation and temperature data:
- Author: Caroline Brady, Waterfowl Programs Supervisor, California Waterfowl
- Contributor: Mark Lundy
![A wheat farmer searches for a duck nest in a wheat field after seeing a hen flush ahead of his advancing harvester.](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/smallgrains/blogfiles/66247small.jpg)
Winter grains like wheat and triticale are incredibly attractive to nesting ducks. Winter grains are seeded in the fall and grow throughout the winter; by nesting season, a dense stand of winter grains near a planted rice field looks like a great nesting location with brood-rearing habitat just a waddle away. Several studies have found ducks may favor winter planted grains over natural uplands when they're available, and winter grains in rice country can produce far higher mallard nest densities and nest survival than anything in the Prairie Pothole Region.
Unfortunately, some winter grains like wheat have been declining along with its poor market price, and the Sacramento Valley's once robust mallard population is declining...