Posts Tagged: education

UCCE teaching the next generation of farmers

Students accepted into a new farming and ranching education program being offered by UC Cooperative Extension in Sonoma County and other institutions will have their first of nine monthly meetings March 30, wrote Michael Shufro in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat.

“We recognize that the current population of farmers is aging, and that we need to get our younger farmers prepared and ranching,” said Stephanie Larson, UC Cooperative Extension advisor in Sonoma County and director of the new training program. “We’re really hoping to not only get more farmers and ranchers trained, but to increase food access and food production in Sonoma County, and also to teach more people about where their food comes from.”

Students in the program will split their time between classwork with ag teachers, field work with local farmers and business plan development with small business experts. The program will expand to include the broader farming community, connecting students with restaurants and grocers that buy local produce and the slew of farmers’ markets around the county.

“Programs like this strengthen the parts we already have and bring farmers together,” Larson said. “We used to work mainly in silos, but we’ve been breaking those silos down, and finding it works much better together than separately.”

Another blessing for Napa
Paul Franson, Napa Valley Register

On top of wine, food, arts and culture that some large cities might envy, Napa Valley has an invaluable, little-recognized asset: an uncommonly cooperative and educated wine industry.

Young Family Ranch is a UCCE teaching ground

Thanks to the generous spirit of late brothers Allen and Robert Young, the 3-acre Young Family Ranch in Weaverville is the setting for community workshops on soils, gardening, food preservation and more, reported Laura Christman in the Redding Record Searchlight. The farmhouse basement has been turned into a community classroom. Carol Fall, program specialist with Trinity County UC Cooperative Extension, has office space in the basement. Upstairs, two bedrooms are offices for the extension's nutrition staff. Being at the ranch allows the UC experts to tap into the gardens and orchard for workshops and classes. "We really use this as a teaching facility," Fall said.

Other news:

Modesto olive oil producer celebrates its 75th anniversary
John Holland, Modesto Bee

Nick Sciabica & Sons, in business for 75 years, is the state's oldest, and one of its leading, olive oil producers. Dan Flynn, executive director of the Olive Center at the University of California at Davis, told the Modesto Bee that California companies produced about 1.2 million gallons from the last crop but could soon reach 5 million. The Modesto company is a key part of this. "A lot of people have a high regard for the Sciabica family and all they have done in the industry," Flynn said.

Weather takes olive crop 'from bad to worse'
Tim Heardon, Capitol Press

California olive growers were expecting a lighter crop this season after last year's record yields, but not this light. This year's olive crop estimate is 65,000 tons -- a 67 percent drop from last year's record 195,000 tons, according to a probability survey from the National Agricultural Statistics Service. Adverse weather during the bloom affected the crop as orchards were already stressed from last year's heavy load. In Northern California, an early-winter frost affected many orchards, said UC Cooperative Extension farm advisor Rick Buchner.

A scene at the Young Family Ranch.

UC educator is better known as the 'Carrot Lady'

Sometimes, it's all in the name. A garden variety story about nutrition education seems to have gotten lots of pickup in the media, perhaps because of the catchy moniker attached to the teacher - the Carrot Lady.

Sutter-Yuba UC Cooperative Extension youth nutrition educator Angela O'Rourke visits local schools and teaches children about healthy eating by guiding educational activities and offering samples of carrots and other vegetables, according to a story in the Appeal-Democrat.

"You can call her the 'Carrot Lady,'" wrote reporter Ryan McCarthy in the article's opening paragraph.

O'Rourke said she wears a bright green apron with a big carrot logo to schools and tells the children her memorable nickname to reinforce her reason for visiting.

"It reminds the kids that we're talking about something healthy today, about how to make healthy choices," O'Rourke said.

Schools are working to make sure what they serve in cafeterias is good for kids — and parents can assist by providing their children with healthy foods. The lure of processed foods, carefully marketed to be tasty, is strong.

"If you put chips next to carrots, what do you think they're going to eat?" O'Rourke was quoted in the story. She tells the children her own favorite snack is orange juice and toasted bread.

The story was also picked up in the Orland Press-Register, the Willows Journal and the Colusa County Sun Herald.

Angela O'Rourke is the Carrot Lady.

Read more