AgCareers.com is on the Rise

With AgCareers.com, it’s a Job Seeker Market

By Jessica Theisman, Associate Editor

A great resource for finding agricultural jobs is AgCareers.com. Jessica Bartow is the new talent solution specialist with AgCareers.com, and recruiting and retaining employees in the agricultural field is what they are focused on.

“The ag industry is incredible because you give food to the world we provide for their needs, and so to be able to help employers that are doing that is quite an honor,” Bartow said.

Jessica Bartow

Bartow also works closely with the universities to help get students internships. They provide a lot of internships through their website.

AgCareers.com helps provide employment to job seekers along with helping employers as they are looking for talent.

“It is a job seekers market right now, so our employers are looking for candidates that have experience in the ag industry that want to go into the ag industry,” Bartow said.

Information is available for all types of job opportunities on AgCareers.com. There are a lot of resources to help place interested job seekers considering agriculture as a career.

Job seekers and employers are encouraged to go to AgCareers.com to look at the resources available.

“We can search for whatever job it is and whatever field location. It is an awesome resource. I definitely recommend it,” Bartow said.

California Ag Today2019-03-29T17:29:11-07:00March 29th, 2019|

New Series of Nitrogen Management Advice Available

UC ANR Publishes Nitrogen Management Advice for Fruit, Nuts, and Other Crops

By Pam Kan-Rice UC Agriculture & Natural Resources

California growers can download a new series of publications summarizing efficient nitrogen management practices from UC Agriculture and Natural Resources. The publications are designed to assist growers in complying with state regulations for tracking and reporting nitrogen fertilizer applied to crops, in an effort to prevent nitrogen from leaching into groundwater.

The science-based publications are associated with a series of trainings for growers and Certified Crop Advisers to develop efficient nitrogen management practices, an effort coordinated by UC ANR’s California Institute for Water Resources.

“Our role is to provide farmers, agricultural consultants and policymakers the best science possible for making decisions on managing and protecting California groundwater,” said Doug Parker, director of the water institute.

The free publications—created from training materials, lessons learned from the training sessions and from additional UC research—can be downloaded at http://ucanr.edu/nmgmtpublications.

The following publications are now available for download:

· Principles of Nitrogen Cycling and Management

· Irrigation and Nitrogen Management

· Nitrogen Management for Nut Crops

· Nitrogen Management for Deciduous Fruit and Grapes

· Nitrogen Management for Citrus and Avocado

· Nitrogen Management for Cool-Season Vegetables

· Nitrogen Management for Strawberry Production

· Nitrogen Management for Processing Tomato

· Nitrogen Management for Corn on California Dairies

The publications were authored by Parker of California Institute for Water Resources; Patrick Brown, professor in the UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences; Allan Fulton, UC Cooperative Extension advisor, Tehama County; Tim Hartz, UC Cooperative Extension specialist emeritus, UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences; Dan Munk, UC Cooperative Extension advisor, Fresno County; Daniel Geisseler, UC Cooperative Extension specialist, UC Davis Department of Land, Air & Water Resources; Michael Cahn, UC Cooperative Extension advisor, Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito counties; Richard Smith, UC Cooperative Extension advisor, Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito counties; Marsha Campbell, UC Cooperative Extension advisor emeritus, Stanislaus County; Sat Darshan Khalsa, UC Davis project scientist; and Saiful Muhammad, UC Davis graduate student.

Developed in 2014, the training program has been offered at 11 different locations around the state, most recently in Fresno. More than 1,000 Certified Crop Advisers have taken the training.

“Based on course evaluations, the percentage of participants with good-to-complete understanding of nitrogen management increased after the training,” Parker said. “In addition, the participants found the presenters very knowledgeable and informative. Most importantly, the majority of participants felt they were better prepared to address nitrogen mitigation regulatory requirements after the training.”

The nitrogen management training curriculum was developed by a group of UC ANR faculty, specialists and advisors. The first day focuses on the nitrogen cycle in crop production systems, nitrogen sources, irrigation and nitrogen management, and nitrogen budgeting. The second morning covers annual and permanent crops and nitrogen planning practices.

For more information on the nitrogen management training materials, visit http://ciwr.ucanr.edu/NitrogenManagement.

The Nitrogen Management Training and Certification Program is a joint effort between the California Department of Food and Agriculture, UC Agriculture and Natural Resources, California Association of Pest Control Advisers’ Certified Crop Adviser Program and the Regional Water Boards.

University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources researchers and educators draw on local expertise to conduct agricultural, environmental, economic, youth development and nutrition research that helps California thrive. Learn more at ucanr.edu.

California Ag Today2021-05-12T11:05:04-07:00March 28th, 2019|

When it Comes to Drones, No Limit with Aerobotics

Aerobotics Drones Detects Disease Early in Orchards

By Mikenzi Meyers, Associate Editor

Drones are continuing to make a big appearance in the agriculture industry, and with new technology from Aerobotics, they’re not leaving the sky any time soon. James Paterson, co-founder and CEO of Aerobotics, has news of a fully automatic solution for collecting aerial data fields to help maintain healthier trees.

“It’s to detect disease problems in the orchard, and the reason that’s such a difficult problem is that it’s done as a manual process at the moment, called scouting,” Paterson said.

Although scouting has always been a go-to method, it only guarantees certain points of the field to be checked. Paterson said that the new Aerobotics system will allow the entire farm to be monitored down to each individual tree.

“So what our system does is it tracks each tree, and if it identifies that a tree is under stress, it sends a scouting route to the user’s smartphone for them to go and investigate,” Paterson explained.

Aerobotics has a network of accessible drones available for those farmers who do not have their own. All they need is the software system, and to visit aerobotics.com to get started.

California Ag Today2021-05-12T11:05:04-07:00March 27th, 2019|

More Facts About the “Dirty Dozen” List

New So-called “Dirty Dozen” List is Baseless

News Release

To everyone that has read about the “Dirty Dozen” list and is now confused and conflicted about buying the more affordable and accessible fruits and veggies, this blog is for you. Keep in mind that the “Dirty Dozen” list is designed to make you worry and be fearful. After all, fear is a very powerful motivator, and the list authors attempt to increase safety fears to motivate and influence consumers’ produce buying decisions.

So here are some facts about the “Dirty Dozen” list that underscore you can consume either conventional or organic produce with confidence. Both are safe, and the right choice is to eat more every day.

Arbitrary Methodology: According to Dr. Carl Winter, toxicologist, University of California, Davis.: “This year’s EWG list is produced using the same arbitrary methodology the EWG has used in the past. Most importantly, the EWG focuses upon the presence (or absence) of pesticide residues in its methodology and public statements rather than on the actual amounts of pesticides detected, which are extremely low. To accurately assess consumer risks from pesticides, one needs to consider three major factors – 1) the amount of residue on the foods, 2) the amount of food consumed, and 3) the toxicity of the pesticides. The methodology used by EWG ignores all three.”
Meet Organic Standard: Did you know that the vast majority of conventionally grown produce tested by United States Department of Agriculture could qualify to be labeled “organic,” specific to their residue levels? It’s true. The USDA allows organic produce to have residues that are “less than 5% of EPA tolerances” and the majority of residues found on conventionally grown produce are below this level. This nicely illustrates how low residues are, if present at all.
You Can Eat A Lot of Kale: If you are concerned about residues on kale, you would have to eat a lot more each day to see any health effects. In fact, a man would have to eat 26,061 servings in a day.. Click here to continue reading and to like and share this blog post.

California Ag Today2021-05-12T11:05:05-07:00March 26th, 2019|

Nomad Technology Consulting: Digital Technology For Ag

There are Ag Tech Providers Around the World

By Patrick Cavanaugh, Editor

Looking beyond borders is helping find technology for agriculture, according to Adrian Percy, formerly with Bayer Crop Science and now the owner of Nomad Technology Consulting. And he is excited to bring new solutions to agriculture.

“One of the things that were apparent to me working at Bayer is that there was so much beyond our borders, a lot of exciting ag tech out of there, a lot of passionate entrepreneurs trying to make a difference and bring new solutions to agriculture,” Percy said. “However, when I left Bayer a few months ago, I dived in and began working with many new technology providers across the globe who are looking to bring new solutions to various areas of ag tech. I desire to help and advise them.”

AgTech Experts At Recent AgTechx Event at Bayer Crop Science’s West Sacramento Research Facility, sponsored by Western Growers Association.

Digitalization is clearly going to be one of those new areas in agriculture, and basically, it’s going to help ag in many ways.

“I think our growers make more informed decisions about how to manage their crop, and so whatever type of crop that will be, whether it comes to time for harvesting and other areas, I think this is all going to be enabled by digital tools,” Percy explained.

The use of drones and high-resolution cameras will be aiding in combating pests.

“Do you take the use of drones with high-resolution visualization cameras? There are companies now that can detect insects that are less than half a millimeter,” Percy said.

“You may be able to detect the arrival of early disease pressure in a field or early insect infestations and perhaps send out another drone to zap those critters and protect fields with minimum use of crop protection chemistry,” Percy continued.

Building trust will help data sharing at some level.

“They may have to share their data to trust in that process, and a lot of companies are working on how they can build that trust with growers,” Percy explained.

Percy said the need to farm sustainably would help farms in the future.

“I think the fundamentals have always been strong. I know we go through periods of difficulty with low margins and commodity prices, for example, which are not strong right now, but the need for the future and the need for sustainable farming is always going to be there.”

California Ag Today2021-05-12T11:05:05-07:00March 25th, 2019|

Honor Cesar Chavez’s Legacy by Confronting UFW Corruption

Chavez Spent His life Trying to Improve Farm Worker’s Lives, Instead of Threatening Their Lives

By Jesse Rojas, Spokesperson for Pick Justice

Cesar Chavez spent his life trying to improve life for farmworkers, fighting for changes he felt would bring about civil rights and justice for workers. At the end of this month, California state legislators plan to honor Cesar Chavez’s birthday as a day of public service.

The work Cesar Chavez did organizing farmworkers is credited with spurring better working conditions and increased wages, putting people who perform difficult work but still struggle to provide for their families a step closer to achieving the American Dream in California.

Jesse Rojas, CEO, The Redd Group

Cesar Chavez has been portrayed as the founder of The United Farm Workers union to help struggling farm workers achieve a better life.
Growing up in the fields in the Central Valley town of Delano, this fight begun by Cesar Chavez is personal to me. I too come from an immigrant background, I’ve eaten with the farmworkers who fought alongside Cesar Chavez and heard their stories.

Today, however, Cesar Chavez would be saddened to see what the UFW has become.

After voting overwhelmingly to leave the UFW, Gerawan farmworkers spent five long years in court fighting the UFW and the ALRB, who refused to count their votes until they were ordered to by a judge.
The Gerawan workers, just like the farmworker activists before they were fighting for a better life – and against a UFW contract that would have lowered their pay.

While in Cesar Chavez’s time the UFW gave farmworkers a voice, today’s UFW instead seeks to silence the workers.

When Gerawan farmworker activist Silvia Lopez, one of the leaders of the fight to leave the UFW, tried to speak with former Governor Jerry Brown, a top UFW leader physically blocked her way. The whole incident was captured on video and reported by the Sacramento Bee.

Cesar Chavez spoke out against humiliation and oppression, such as the methods of today’s UFW bosses.

The Gerawan farmworkers are far from alone. Today, the UFW represents just 1 percent of farmworkers, and more petition the ALRB to leave all the time. As reported by the Los Angeles Times, former ALRB Chairman William B. Gould IV, who resigned from the agency in disgust, stated the ALRB now spends more time on petitions from workers trying to leave the union than those trying to join.

In fact, the UFW even abuses its own workers, who the Los Angeles Times reported had to take the union to court to force the union to pay almost $2 million in unpaid wages and penalties.

Cesar Chavez devoted his life to fighting for workers rights. He supported workers right to choose whether or not to join a union. Civil rights for farmworkers cannot be achieved when the government looks the other way when workers are abused, regardless of who is committing the acts of oppression.

That’s why we cannot honor Cesar Chavez’s legacy without speaking out against the abuses of today’s UFW.

Jesse Rojas is a farm worker rights activist, spokesperson for Pick Justice, and founder of California Farm Workers & Families PAC. Rojas is a tireless advocate for liberty and civil rights and often provides news commentary on issues such as entrepreneurship, labor relations, and politics.

Rojas also launched Mi America En La Radio, the first conservative Spanish-language radio show in the Central Valley. As CEO of The Redd Group, LLC, his organization offers labor relations, human resources consulting, public relations and political consulting.

California Ag Today2019-03-24T12:52:59-07:00March 22nd, 2019|

Alkaliweed Alert! Your Help is Needed!

Information Needed on A New Plant Called Alkaliweed

By James Schaeffer, Kurt Hembree, and Anil Shrestha, Graduate Student CSU, Fresno, UCCE, Fresno County, and Professor, CSU, Fresno

Pistachio growers and consultants in the southern San Joaquin Valley have recently reported an invasion of a new plant (alkaliweed) along irrigation ditches, roadsides, and into their orchards. Alkaliweed is a California native perennial plant that seems to be rapidly spreading throughout the region.

In some cases, this weed has completely taken over pistachio orchards in a matter of a couple of years after first being spotted. Thus far, repeated applications of postemergence herbicides have only yielded minimal control effects.

Alkaliweed in the field.

Unfortunately, little information is known to date about specific biological and ecological characteristics of this weedy plant, so we are asking for your assistance to help us identify where specifically it has become a problem for you. With this information, we will better be able to understand its growth characteristics and hopefully develop control measures to mitigate the problem.

Studies are currently under way to look at some of these growth characteristics (such as response to salinity, light, and moisture). Your input of where it has become a problem for you and your growers is critical for us to be successful.

Please follow the link _{https://survey123.arcgis.com/share/1f4753edfd7347ce84cc81f35e65dc02} to take a quick survey on alkaliweed in your area. Your help on this important weed issue is greatly appreciated!

California Ag Today2021-05-12T11:05:05-07:00March 22nd, 2019|

Madera County Ag Economy is Booming

Madera County Has Big Ag Job Base

By Jessica Theisman, Associate Editor

Madera County’s financial future is booming. David Rogers, a Madera County supervisor, is excited to know that Madera County is the fastest and number one growing ag economy in the United States.

“I represent most of the farming, and Madera County, which is the fastest growing our economy in the U.S. and has been for the last three and a half, four years,” Rogers said.

David Rogers, Madera County Supervisor

Madera is a business-friendly county.

“We’ve been number one in small jobs, manufacturing growth for the last nine years in a row, and all of that is ancillary to agriculture,” he said.

Pistachios and almonds have aided in Madera County’s financial growth.

“Some of those orchards that were planted five years ago are going to mean big revenue,” Rogers said.

Expansions to the Triangle T System have aided in the conveyance.

“The expansions were in wide areas, and conveyance is so critical to that,” Rogers explained.

There is also a new tunnel system that goes under the river for delivery.

“There was a lot of money that went into developing their system, and it’s paying off big time. I believe it’s almost 50,000 acres. It was 30,000 originally, I think, and it’s expanding more all the time,” Rogers said.

He also commented on the need for proper forest management that will allow more water into the system.

“One of the most important things that we can do right now is continue to emphasize forest management because that is a source of more water,” he said. “The better the management, the faster the forests can return to a healthy state. With a healthier forest, that means more water in the system and more water in our ground.”

California Ag Today2019-03-21T15:46:01-07:00March 21st, 2019|

California Ag Today2019-03-21T19:56:24-07:00March 20th, 2019|

CAPCA Gets to the Capitol To Work for PCAs

PCAs Are in Every Legislative District

By Jessica Theisman, Associate Editor

CAPCA has recently become more active in the capitol. Ruthann Anderson, CEO and president of California Association of Pest Control Advisors (CAPCA), said the association has PCAs in every legislative district all over the state of California.

“Whether it’s in turf and ornamental or in production agriculture, you know, we have a voice, and we have a lot of ability to influence some of the decisions or at least advise on some of the decisions that might be happening.,” she said.

Anderson said that CAPCA’s capitol visits have been positive.

“We’re on a first name basis with a lot more people than we have been,” she explained.

CAPCA is working with both urban and agricultural legislators.

“I am trying to prioritize both. I think that it wouldn’t be fair for us to neglect our local legislators just because we know that the urbans are a little bit more of our moderate Dems that we’re trying to pursue relationships with,” she said.

CAPCA would like to balance both and continue educating them on the field.

“Our Northern California Chapter is meeting with Senator Nielsen’s office from time to time, just letting them know exactly what’s happening in the field and making sure that they are in the loop,” Anderson said.

This way, if any questions arise, there is open communication between the office and the local CAPCA chapter.

“I know that they are asking a lot of questions about specific crop protection materials, and I think that is important for us to be able to tell the story,” Anderson said.

Sometimes, there is not an alternative, and CAPCA is there to explain.

“When controlling the Asian Citrus Psyllid that can spread the Huanglongbing disease in citrus, sometimes there is not an alternative; sometimes we’re quarantined and forced to do scheduled spraying. That is just a part of protecting the industry,” Anderson explained.

California Ag Today2021-05-12T11:01:50-07:00March 20th, 2019|

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California Ag News…
At Your Fingertips!

About California Ag Today

With AgCareers.com, it’s a Job Seeker Market

By Jessica Theisman, Associate Editor

UC ANR Publishes Nitrogen Management Advice for Fruit, Nuts, and Other Crops

By Pam Kan-Rice UC Agriculture & Natural Resources

Aerobotics Drones Detects Disease Early in Orchards

By Mikenzi Meyers, Associate Editor

New So-called “Dirty Dozen” List is Baseless

News Release

There are Ag Tech Providers Around the World

By Patrick Cavanaugh, Editor

Chavez Spent His life Trying to Improve Farm Worker’s Lives, Instead of Threatening Their Lives

By Jesse Rojas, Spokesperson for Pick Justice

Information Needed on A New Plant Called Alkaliweed

By James Schaeffer, Kurt Hembree, and Anil Shrestha, Graduate Student CSU, Fresno, UCCE, Fresno County, and Professor, CSU, Fresno

Madera County Has Big Ag Job Base

By Jessica Theisman, Associate Editor

PCAs Are in Every Legislative District

By Jessica Theisman, Associate Editor

Sign Up For Our Newsletter!

California Ag News… At Your Fingertips!

California Ag News…
At Your Fingertips!