Agriculture

A Rancher’s Guide to Understanding the Economics of Direct MarketingWhen the live cattle market isn’t at record high levels (as it is currently), direct marketing beef from your ranch seems like an attractive (and profitable!) option. Even during these record prices, most of us remember the difficult years…

Keeping honey bees requires planning, knowledge and an investment of time and money to be successful. Honey bees (Apis mellifera) will pollinate the fruits and vegetables in your garden and increase production of your fruit trees. Since they fly as far as five miles, you will also be helping your neighbors…

  Where does the time go? Cover cropping season is upon us, again. After three years of running a cover trial in a walnut orchard in eastern Contra Costa County (at the northwestern reach of the San Joaquin Valley), there are some exciting results to share that could be helpful if you are deciding…

Two worms and one idea (monitoring):     One of the main challenges to growing tree fruits are pests that can destroy the fruit or make it unmarketable. Some pests can injure the trees directly, affecting their growth.  The oriental fruit moth (scientific name, Grapholita molesta)…

 As we enter the fall season and begin preparing fields for the winter, this is the time to think about planting cover crops.   Typically, most growers plant less than 5% of the vegetable ground with fall and winter cover crops.   Cover crops can potentially help with many challenges…