Test PB Collection: FTE

By Jeff Mitchell Whether its called high residue farming or conservation agriculture, theres very little of it currently done in California. For decades, the dominant production paradigm throughout California has been just the opposite - intense tillage, clean cultivation and residue-free fields.

One of the highlights of Susan Cobey's class on "The Art of Queen Bee Rearing" is a visit to commercial queen bee breeders in Northern California. Cobey is a bee breeder-geneticist at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility at UC Davis, and Washington State University.

Today I wanted to follow up on my post from a few weeks ago about volatile organic compounds (VOC) from herbicides and other non-fumigant pesticides.

Diners know that a napkin serves a good purpose: touch the lips with it or protect the lap. Well, honey bees occasionally use a napkin, too. A recent sun break--blue skies, 70-degree temperatures, no rain--resulted in honey bees foraging for water on a rain-soaked napkin on the patio.

His topic is enticing: "The Irritable Insect." We've all found a few species of insects irritable; some more than others. (Apiculturists know how grumpy bees are when they open a hive on a cold, rainy day.

**EVENT DATE CHANGE** Event: Weed Science School 2011 Date: Sept. 6-8, 2011 (not Sept. 19-21, 2011) Location: UC Davis More information will be posted on the UC Weed Research & Information Center website (http://wric.ucdavis.edu.

2011 Spring Sac Valley Valley Walnut News from Janine Hasey, UC Farm Advisor, Sutter & Yuba Counties. Contains meeting announcements and very useful information on walnuts.

When honey bees make the transition from egg to larva to pupa to adult, it's magical. Today we watched bees chew through their cell cappings, flex their antennae, crawl out, and immediately look around for work to do.

Last week I visited one of my favorite experimental sites: the SMUD wind farm in the Montezuma Hills, at the south edge of Solano County. The site overlooks the Sacramento River where its a half-mile wide.

If you head over to the California State Capitol tomorrow (Tuesday, March 23) don't be too surprised if there's a John Deere tractor on the west steps. March 23 is Ag Day when the state's urban and rural folks come out in force to celebrate the state's $34.8 billion ag industry.