Rangelands

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Doctoral student Trevor Fowles and major professor Christian Nansen are breeding insects to convert agricultural waste into usable products: 1) insect biomass, that can be fed to animals as a feed additive, used by the pharmaceutical industry, or used to produce biofuel, 2) insect frass and fragments from the bioconversion process can be used as soil amendment in high-value cropping systems, and 3) mushrooms can be grown on what the insects are unable to bioconvert.
Entomology & Nematology News: Article

Trevor Fowles and Christian Nansen: Imagine Food Production Without Waste

May 14, 2019
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Imagine food production without waste Insects, such as darkling beetles and black soldier flies, can and should be bred to convert organic agricultural waste into usable products--like animal feed, pharmaceutical products, and biofuel, say UC Davis agricultural entomologist Christian Nansen, an asso...
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Entomologist Jeff Smith (left) shows insect displays from the Bohart Museum of Entomology to fairgoers last Saturday at the Dixon May Fair. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Bohart Bugs Grab Interest of Fairgoers

May 13, 2019
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Bugs from the Bohart Museum of Entomology, UC Davis, grabbed the interest of fairgoers at the 144th annual Dixon May Fair, held May 9 through May 12.
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Petty Ranch Cover Crops and Mulching
UC Cooperative Extension, Ventura County: Article

Ventura Grown Cover Crops

May 13, 2019
Petty Ranch, a story of cover crops in Ventura County. All of the lemon trees were dying. Sigh. Another distressing story about agriculture in the face of climate change, rising land values, difficult economies, and soil degradation.
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Little Carpenter Bee

Carpenter Bees

May 13, 2019
Advice for the Home Gardener from the Help Desk of the UC Master Gardener Program of Contra Costa County Gardener's Request I've discovered that carpenter bees are nesting in holes they've created in my roof beams. I'd like to get rid of them, but I don't want to harm them when I repair the holes.
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Dixon 4-H'er Ryan Anenson of the Tremont 4-H Club created this award-winning educational display, "None of Your Beeswax" for the Dixon May Fair. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

'Bee-ing' There at the Dixon May Fair

May 10, 2019
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
"You can learn a lot from these displays," a fairgoer at the 144th annual Dixon May Fair commented. She was looking at an educational display with the catchy title, "None of Your Beeswax," the work of Ryan Anenson of the Tremont 4-H Club, Dixon, whose projects include beekeeping.
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Climate Smart Agriculture: Article

Introduction

May 10, 2019
By Valerie Perez
Hello, My name is Valerie Perez and I was hired by the Santa Cruz UC Cooperative Extension office as a Community Education Specialist (CES). I recently graduated from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, where I received my bachelors in Agricultural Business.
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