News & Information Outreach

General background We are a little slow getting off the mark with our updates this year.  The UC ANR web platform was changed in the last month and we're having some issues migrating the old website and blogs over to the new platform.  In the meantime we're using this web hosting platform…

Hantavirus has been in the news a lot lately. Betsy Arakawa, wife of the late actor Gene Hackman, recently passed away in New Mexico due to the disease and California has already seen 3 hantavirus-related deaths this year. In this article we share information to help you understand hantavirus and what you…

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On March 18, 2025, the United States Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency (USDA-FSA) announced that it will provide $10 billion in direct payments to eligible agricultural producers of qualifying commodities. Passed under the American Relief Act of 2025, the economic relief will be delivered…

Bug Squad BlogBy Kathy Keatley Garvey When the Bohart Museum of Entomology erected its pop-up tent on the Briggs Hall lawn during the recent campuswide UC Davis Picnic Day, insects popped up.They included walking sticks (stick insects) and a few specimens from the Bohart Museum's global collection of…

This year, with high input costs and low rice prices, a lot of growers are testing their soil to determine if they need to apply P and K fertilizer.  I have received a number of calls this week asking about interpreting their soil P test for rice soils. I have recommended using the Olsen-P test (or a…

 We hope you enjoy our Spotlight series. Learn more about who we are and what we do by hearing directly from our program volunteers! This is the second in our Spotlight series. If you missed last month's, you can read it at https://ucanr.edu/blog/stanislaus-sprout/article/get-know-terry-pellegrini…

Producers that have pastureland or rangeland that also have grazing livestock (Cattle, sheep, goats…) should develop good grazing management practices. Stellar grazing management allows for a pasture to be grazed in a sustainable way that will prevent damage to the pasture and provide ample nutrition to the…

 Bug Squad BlogBy Kathy Keatley GarveyThere she was,  a mining bee (genus Andrena) sunning herself on a Passiflora (passionflower vine). She did not notice me.Such a tiny bee, about the size of a grain of rice. It's a solitary ground-nesting bee known as "an early spring bee" and it lives only a…

Vice President Glenda Humiston announces the launch of the new UC ANR Policy Institute. This institute will be transformative in delivering the UC ANR mission by increasing science-based communications and community engagement to inform policy decisions and implementation. The new UC ANR Policy Institute…

By Carmen Kappos Inyo-Mono Master Gardener Volunteer While the words soil and dirt are often used interchangeably there are differences between them. Recently, Dustin Blakey, our local UCCE Farm Advisor, gave a talk called “Preparing Garden Soil on the East Side.” During this discussion Dustin…

Bermuda buttercup (Oxalis pes-caprae), also called buttercup oxalis or sourgrass, might be a familiar sight in winter and spring, particularly to those who live in coastal regions or the Sacramento Valley. Some people enjoy seeing this plant’s cheerful yellow flowers pop up in their spring gardens, but for…

Blog article by Brenda AltmanOne overlooked feature of John F Kennedy Library in Vallejo is the free garden seed station. It is located on the wall just before the restrooms.  Anyone can take seeds for their own use. Seeds are donated by library patrons and the Seed Barn.  The seeds are separated…

Bug Squad BlogBy Kathy Keatley GarveyFlameskimmers bring great joy.Today we saw our first dragonfly of the season in our Vacaville garden.  The flameskimmer, a female Libellula saturata, perched on a stick and allowed me to take a few images. It was just a couple of weeks ago that I reviewed a book…

UC scientists are working with growers in Tehama, Butte, Lake, Amador, Contra Costa, Stanislaus and Yolo counties to test a new way of measuring the irrigation needs of walnut trees. Shackel and team think this new method will allow growers to use less water by not irrigating early in the season, and trees…

Blog article by Karen Metz, UC Master GardenerMany of us have plants in our gardens or yards that remind us of people or places.  Sometimes trees or shrubs are planted to honor the birth of a child, a milestone birthday, or in memory of a loved one.  We might have plants that we have grown from…

Agritourism plays in important role in diversifying income and developing new markets for products. Statewide agritourism coordinator, Rachael Callahan, weighs in on the potential for agritourism to serve as a safety net, supporting the resiliency of California agriculture after disaster.

General situationThe oldest tomatoes have been in ground for more than a month, and planting is progressing rapidly. The warm weather in the past two weeks has pushed thrips population projections forward by a few days compared to the last report. Thrips populationFirst-generation adults are still…