4-H Learning Model Helps Two Lost children Survive
Thankfully, Children Were Found
The joyful reunion of two 4-H children, Leia and Caroline Carrico, with their parents after spending 44 hours lost in the Humboldt County wilderness in early March has raised awareness about the benefits to youth involved in the UC Cooperative Extension 4-H Youth Development Program. Established more than 100 years ago, UC Cooperative Extension launched 4-H to teach children research-based agriculture and rural living skills. Over time, it has evolved dramatically, reaching children in urban centers, inner cities, suburbs as well as rural communities with leadership opportunities, life skills, nutrition education and other information to help them grow into resilient adults. The Carrico children, ages 5 and 8, had participated in a 4-H outdoor training training program. They lived in a rural area and were well acquainted with the redwood forest surrounding their home. Recalling lessons they learned, the sisters stayed in place when they realized they were lost – a key survival skill, said Yana Valachovic, director of UC Cooperative Extension in Humboldt and Del Norte counties. There were more things they learned from 4-H project leader Justin Lehnert’s teaching that helped them survive unscathed. “Justin told them to leave signs. Searchers found granola bar wrappers and deep boot marks. They knew that they should shelter in a dry place,” Valachovic said. “They knew to keep positive and how to find safe drinking water without endangering themselves by drinking from a creek.” The 4-H program in Humboldt County has been inundated with calls for a curriculum that can be used elsewhere to teach these valuable skills. The UC 4-H Youth Development advisor for Humboldt and Del Norte counties, Dorina Espinoza, is working with Lehnert to develop a project sheet so the survival skills used by the Carrico sisters can be made available in 4-H and other settings to young people throughout the U.S. The sisters’ odyssey and its happy conclusion shows the hoped-for result of the research-based 4-H learning model, Espinoza said. “The sisters are smart girls,” Espinoza said “They attribute their application of survival skills to family camping trips, movies about people who get lost and 4-H adventures. 4-H reinforced new or existing skills. We know kids learn with multiple exposures. 4-H is a hands-on approach to learning that other settings don’t offer.” In 4-H, children choose “projects” they are interested in. The projects are led by adult volunteers from the community. “What’s different about 4-H is we have adult volunteers who develop partnerships with youth. They partner in learning, leadership and decision making,” Espinoza said. “That’s a beautiful part of 4-H.” Lehnert is a 4-H parent and volunteer who operates a business in Humboldt centered on enjoying the outdoors. “Justin brings years of personal and professional experience, having completed a Wilderness First Responder Course of the National Outdoor Leadership School. He studied outdoor recreation at Feather River College and has been an outdoor recreation enthusiast for years,” Espinoza said. “We are so very grateful to Justin for sharing his expertise with our 4-H community.” Californians can find UC Cooperative Extension 4-H projects near them at http://4h.ucanr.edu.
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Modesto Irrigation District Offers Agreement Package in Lieu of Unimpaired Flows
Major Milestone Achieved in Continued Effort to advance Voluntary Agreements
Districts applaud Governor Newsom’s commitment to Voluntary Agreements
Today, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and California Department of Water Resources submitted a package of voluntary agreements to the State Water Resources Control Board. The package
– supported by the Modesto Irrigation District, Turlock Irrigation District, City and County of San Francisco and more than 40 other water agencies, resource agencies and non-governmental environmental groups – is being offered as an alternative to the unimpaired flow paradigm adopted by the State Water Resources Control Board last December.
This historic step forward is the result Governor’s Newsom’s commitment to “cross the finish line on real agreements to save the Sacramento-San Joaquin Bay Delta” (State of the State, February 12, 2019). Under the leadership of Cal-EPA Secretary Blumenfeld and Natural Resources Agency Secretary Crowfoot, MID, TID, Sacramento Valley water users and non-governmental organizations finalized river-specific project descriptions and a planning agreement.
“Governor Newsom’s commitment to the voluntary agreement concept has been evident since the day he took office,” TID General Manager Casey Hashimoto said. “He’s dedicated significant amounts of his administration’s time and resources to work collaboratively with water users and environmental communities to advance the voluntary agreement framework that will serve as a durable and beneficial solution for all – our environment, our rivers, our water supply, and our communities.”
The agreement includes a proposed schedule and procedures for assisting the State Water Resources Control Board as it updates the Bay-Delta Plan. This includes the parties to the agreement – in coordination with the State Water Resources Control Board – conducting further analyses of the benefits and other effects of the project description. Work will continue throughout the year with a request that the State Water Board consider adoption of a comprehensive plan and proposed amendments consistent with the voluntary agreements by the end of this year.
The project descriptions and planning agreement submitted today integrate river flow and non-flow measures to establish water quality conditions that support the viability of native fisheries and achieve related objectives in the State Water Board’s Bay-Delta Plan.
The Tuolumne River project description included in the package will ensure water security and reliability, includes environmental improvements, are projected to enhance fish populations beyond what is projected in the State’s current plan and provides for timely implementation.
“We’ve done the science on the Tuolumne River; we’ve negotiated in good faith and now we’ve memorialized all of our work and progress to date,” MID General Manager Scott Furgerson said. “The Districts remain committed to advancing this historic water agreement as it is key to balancing the needs of our communities and our environmental resources.”
The full project descriptions and planning agreement can be viewed here.
Strawberries Need Protection From Mites
New Predatory Species May Help Manage the Pest
By Patrick Cavanaugh, Editor
Two-spotted mites in strawberries continue to be one of the biggest problems every year.
“We see more of it coming from the nurseries, and this year is no exception,” explained David Peck, COO and Farmer of Manzanita Berry Farms in Santa Maria.
“What’s interesting to me is that in the years that we’ve been using persimilis predator mite, and that has been since the early ’80s, we don’t see the persimilis taking over two-spot populations as early in the season as we used to,” Peck continued. “Whether that’s weather-related, humidity-related, or if there’s a change in the genetics of the commercially available persimilis, I don’t know.”
David Peck
Peck said growers need to be aware of another trouble mite, the Lewis mite. Lewis mites have been seen on strawberries and raspberries in the Ventura area for some time, but growers appear to be noticing increased infestations in the recent years. Some growers have also seen them in Santa Maria in recent years, but they have so far not been reported from the Watsonville area. Considering the recent trend, growers might keep them in mind while scouting for pests.
“They’re out there, some places greater than others. Persimilis don’t like to eat Lewis mite. They are susceptible to all the same miticides. However, if you are relying heavily, on biologicals, you got to know if you have Lewis mite,” Peck said.
“I add fallacis predatory mites early in the season as a preventative for Lewis mite. The fallacis will eat two-spot or Lewis mite equally well and have done a pretty good job of keeping that initial early-season population of both mite species under control,” he explained.
Peck said that if there are mites in the strawberry nurseries, and the nurseries do not want to spray miticides, he understands that due to the possible development of pesticide-resistant mites showing up with plants.
“That’s a valid reason not to spray miticides at the nursery level. But there’s good data that fallacis will exist in those Northern California strawberry nursery areas, and they’re actually less expensive to procure than persimilis, and they survive through a wider environmental range than persimilis. They can handle colder, dryer, and hotter,” Peck said.
Some of the best data on strawberries and raspberries come out of Oregon State. It shows numerical data on how to put out the predatory mites, including how few you can put out.
“Personally, I’d be willing to spend an extra 50 cents or a dollar a thousand if the nurseries would inoculate their fields with fallacis. You might get a few predators coming in with your plants,” he said.
There is additional research on fallacis versus another predatory mite known as andersoni. Data shows that andersoni may be stronger than fallacis, thus doing a better job at controlling two-spotted mites.
Peck said that he has used andersoni on a test basis.
“I did not have enough of the predator to thoroughly complete a test in our organic fields, but I’m thinking that I will use that species for early season mite control.”
Gar Tootelian Has Big Annual Appreciation Lunch in Dinuba
AG Retailer Appreciates its Customers
By Patrick Cavanaugh, Editor
Farmers, PCAs and other stakeholders in Ag packed the Veterans Memorial Building In Dinuba, and all had something in common: They were being appreciated by Reedley based Gar Tootelian, which for 70 years has been serving the Central San Joaquin Valley including Fresno, Kings, Kern, Madera, and Tulare Counties.
Big Crowd at Lunch during Gar Tootelian Customer Appreciation Day
“It’s all about cultivating and nurturing our small communities for the next generation. A lot of us grew up together. A lot of us went to school together. Our children, our grandchildren are growing up in those same communities.,” said Karen Musson, a partner with Gar Tootelian. “We share the same values and morals. It’s about nurturing for the next generation. Our legacy is the preservation of those legacy farmers that are continuing to farm and do the work to feed the world, and we’re just so pleased to be their partners.”
Musson noted that it’s just such an exciting time in agriculture in general. There is a growing population, more significant needs, more conscientious consumers, more than ever before. “They’re worried about their health and nutrition, about the health and nutrition of their children and grandchildren, so it’s a very exciting time to be a part of an industry that provides such a vital commodity to the world,” Musson said.
Of course, California farmers produce the food that people love to eat and should be in more abundance. “We do it the most sustainable, the most environmentally way. All of our of practices, of course, are with the consumer in mind at every step of the way, whether it be about the preservation of the land or the recycling or the water or just the nutritional commodity that we’re producing,” noted Musson. “We’re always more conscious about producing more with less and having less of an impact.”
Greg Musson, President and CEO of Gar Tootelian, hands out cookies during the Company’s Customer Appreciation Day Nov. 1 2018 in Dinuba
Gar is celebrating its 70th Anniversary as a chemical and fertilizer retailer. “We have the next generation. We’re already cultivating them. I can tell you that both generations love to eat as much as I do, and they love those fresh fruits and vegetables that we bring home in the evening.
California farmers are sustainable. They take care of the land and are very conscientious of what they do every day.
“The fact that somebody would think that they would purposely use unsustainable practices when their investment, everything they have in their legacy is in their land, there is nothing more valuable to them than preserving that for the next generation and the next generation and the next generation,” Musson said.
“For somebody in California to enter farming today is quite an undertaking, so the preservation of the land, the sustainability practices, the conscientious practices of conservation of the soil or water or whatever the inputs are, the plant nutrition of the commodity, and the inputs. That their legacy. Their land is part of their legacy. Family, land, and legacy are all connected for the next generation,” said Musson.
The company has been honored several times on the national scale.
In 2017 GAR was recognized for the Change Award, presented by Habitat for Humanity for its distinguished record of decisive leadership, entrepreneurship and service to the agricultural industry and the community.
In 2016 GAR was Honored by its national peers for the National Ag Retailer of the Year.
In 2015, GAR received the top honor for the Best North America for its environmentally safe facility and community outreach efforts.
In 2013 GAR received the Fresno Chamber and Baker, Peterson and Franklin Ag Business Award.
In 2009 it was recognized at the Top Employer in Central California.
Wonderful Day for California Farmers Due To President Trump Executive Order
From the White House
President Trump is Working to Promote Reliable Water in California and Other Western States.
REDUCING REGULATORY BURDENS: President Donald J. Trump’s Administration is reducing regulatory burdens that harm reliable water access in the West.
- President Trump is signing a memorandum to reduce regulatory burdens and promote more efficient environmental reviews of water infrastructure projects in the West.
- Decades of uncoordinated regulatory actions have diminished the ability of Federal infrastructure to deliver needed water and have increased costs in the West.
- Court actions dictating water operations have further complicated the regulatory environment.
- The President is directing the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Commerce to:
- Streamline regulatory processes and remove unnecessary burdens.
- Develop a timeline for completing compliance requirements for major water projects.
- Responsibly expedite ongoing environmental reviews.
- Convene water experts and resource managers to develop an action plan for improving seasonal forecasts of water availability.
- Expand the use of technologies to improve the delivery of water and power.
- Consider the views of local operators during hydroelectric relicensing proceedings.
IMPROVING WATER RELIABILITY: President Trump is working to increase water reliability for families, farmers, and cities across the West.
- President Trump is committed to ensuring Western communities have the water supplies they need to maintain our economic prosperity.
- Federal water projects in the West irrigate millions of acres of farmland, provide water and power to millions, and support more than $48 billion in economic activity.
- The President’s memorandum will benefit major water infrastructure projects in order to more effectively meet the demands of water users in California, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington.
- The Administration will expedite biological opinions for the Central Valley Project and the California State Water Project in California, Klamath Irrigation Project in Oregon, and the Federal Columbia River System in the Pacific Northwest.
- Expedited regulatory processes will provide certainty for California farmers who need more water to restore farmlands crippled by drought and regulation.
PROTECTING ENDANGERED SPECIES: The President’s memorandum will ensure a timely review process without compromising environmental protections under the Endangered Species Act.
- The memorandum establishes timelines for environmental reviews of infrastructure projects, allowing the best information to guide conservation of endangered or threatened species.
- The timelines allow for robust environmental review processes.
- Agencies will make determinations regarding endangered and threatened species based on the best available scientific and commercial data.
Pick Justice Stands By Courageous Gerawan Farm Employees
Pick Justice’s Jesse Rojas and Gerawan Employees Will Never Give Up
By Laurie Greene, Founding Editor
For nearly five full years, Gerawan Farming Inc. employees have fought a legal battle for the State of California to count their votes cast in the November 2013 election to decertify the United Farm Workers (UFW) as their bargaining representative. According to Jesse Rojas, a farm worker rights activist and spokesperson for Pick Justice, “Anything the UFW does, the California Agricultural Labor Relations Board (ALRB) is right next to them; and anything the ALRB does, the UFW is right next to them. They are one single entity for the most part; they are a partnership.”
Rojas said the ALRB and UFW filed an appeal to the state Supreme Court this week of the Fifth District Court of Appeal decision to count the votes. “We would not be surprised if the state Supreme Court accepts the appeal because Governor Brown appointees and friendly judges would always be likely to take the case,” said Rojas.
“This is where the UFW and the ALRB have failed to mention to the public the fact that we are just asking for the votes to be counted,” Rojas explained. “We are not saying, ‘Certify the results.’ We are not saying, ‘Once you open them and count them, let that be the final choice.’”
“We are saying, ‘You can still litigate it,’” Rojas continued. “‘You can still appeal it. You can still destroy [the ballots] if you want but count them. So why are you so afraid to simply count them?’”
Gerawan Farm Workers Protest against UFW at California Supreme Court.
‘This is the perfect question for the UFW, the ALRB, and our California legislators: Why are you so afraid? Employees deserve to know what the choice was, even if you choose to destroy [the ballots] afterward,” Rojas said.
Rojas explained how Governor Brown appointed people to the ALRB who are UFW sympathizers or people who have worked for the UFW.
“It is not only corrupt, it is also very sad and unfair to see over the last years how many companies and jobs have been lost. How many employees and families have been affected? I am not talking just about Gerawan Farming Inc. workers. We can go on and on in McFarland, Delano, Bakersfield, Salinas and Santa Maria for similar examples of how the ALRB has failed to protect farm workers.”
“Launching Pick Justice was great because it started with thousands of Gerawan farm employees who have been very courageous and have not given up,” Rojas explained. “Pick Justice expanded when other workers started reaching out to us from different companies, perhaps dealing with different issues. For example, we have a lot of workers from the Monterey and Salinas area that have been under a UFW contract for decades, but the UFW fails to protect them.”
“The UFW neglects its members by not reporting certain things to them, by segregating those employees who are unhappy with [the UFW] as well as keeping them away from information or meetings,” Rojas said. “Also, by being on the side of the employer—whatever the employer wants to force upon the workers, even if it’s not in their best interests—and forcing it down their throats.”
“After I reached out to Silvia Lopez, we started to meet over the following months. Many of the workers reached out to me. I have spoken to them on my phone. I’ve gone to their houses. I know their spouses. I know their children. I’ve eaten with them, and that’s where I became even more passionate. I said, ‘Look, you guys are the face of this. Your courage is what makes this effort great over so many years; you just don’t give up. You know what you want, and you know what is right.’ ”
Jesse Rojas, spokesperson for PickJustice.com
“All I have to do,” Rojas continued, “is help you with communication media using techniques that I know, which is so simple. Social media, digital marketing, things that I grew up with and that I’m very good at. Pick Justice is not about me; it’s about them. If they weren’t still fighting, if they weren’t as strong and courageous as they are, we would not have Pick Justice today.”
“In this fight, we’ve gone up against almost all odds. We are going against the state government. We are going against a three- to four-decade-old system, with views, opinions, and decades-long teachings of the UFW and its leaders—its idols, per se—who have parks, schools, and streets named after them.”
“We’ve been attacked, and we continue to be attacked. But we know what we’re doing is right, and we have the numbers. If I didn’t have thousands of workers standing behind me, I wouldn’t be able to do this.”
Rojas said the Gerawan farm workers absolutely knew if they kept fighting, they would be vindicated.
“They did not give up; they are so motivated. And now, we’re in a waiting game for the most of accounting, but the stakes are high.”
Silvia Lopez, Gerawan Employee
“Think about Silvia Lopez,” he said. “You don’t think she’s going to be attacked by the UFW after attending Ivanka Trump’s recent Central Valley event? You don’t think I’m going to be attacked? I’ll give you an example. When Silvia met Tim Donnelly, a 2014 gubernatorial candidate who cared about her story, the UFW circulated a flyer of that picture and called her a racist towards all employees. Why? Because she’s searching for help for farm workers.”
“The UFW is weak; they represent less than one percent of the farm workers. California has an estimated average of 800,000 farm workers in the state—could be more, could be less,” Rojas said. “Current UFW membership fluctuates around 5,000 active members—less than one percent of farm workers. So for them to continue to be quoted as ‘the champions for farm workers and for Latino workers’ is absolutely wrong.”
“Specifically, their words and their actions do not go with one another,” he continued, “including their stance on immigration. If people simply looked up some of the legislation opposed by the UFW, they would see that the UFW is actually not for immigration. It is ironic and hypocritical to keep quoting and portraying the current UFW leadership as pro-employee and pro-Latino.”
“I know I will never give up and I know that thousands of workers behind me will never give up.”
Safe Food Alliance Shines in Food Safety
CDFA Awards Contract to Safe Food Alliance for Grower Produce Safety Training
The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) has contracted with Safe Food Alliance, a division of DFA of California, to host 25 Produce Safety Training classes between January and June of 2018. The contract covers central and southern California counties beginning at Madera, Fresno, San Benito and Monterey counties along the north, to the border counties of San Diego and Imperial along the south.
CDFA received $450,000 from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), to provide farmers with affordable access to food safety training courses which meet the requirements under the new Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Produce Safety rule for growers, whose first compliance dates are January of 2018.
The Safe Food Alliance offers technical food safety services to assist growers, packers, processors, and manufacturers in meeting customer and regulatory requirements by understanding and applying recognized best practices for food safety and quality control management. Safe Food Alliance has approved trainers who are able to conduct the classes on behalf of the Produce Safety Alliance. The food safety team includes four Produce Safety Lead Trainers and four Produce Safety trainers, making them the largest Produce Safety training facility in California.
Safe Food Alliance conducted 17 Produce Safety trainings for 662 growers in 2017, including 250 walnut growers as part of a partnership with the California Walnut Board. Safe Food Alliance will be partnering with the California Walnut Board to host six trainings in the spring of 2018 to train 500 additional walnut growers.
Over 50,000 produce farms in California are expected to be covered under the Produce Safety Rule, one of several sections of the new FSMA law. As part of this Rule, these 50,000 farms must employ at least one individual who has completed a food safety training course which meets requirements laid out in the new regulation.
Attendees of this course are eligible to receive a certificate from the Association of Food and Drug Officials (AFDO) which verifies that they have completed the recognized training course. Along with the standard curriculum, Safe Food Alliance will provide additional resources to attendees such as materials to help determine how the regulation applies to their farm; templates for creating required records; a calculation tool to determine if a small farm is exempt; a list of allowable water treatment compounds; and tools for conducting water analysis calculations.
For more information about scheduled Produce Safety Grower Training Courses please contact foodsafety@safefoodalliance.com. More FSMA resources are available at https://safefoodalliance.com/resources/food-safety-resources/what-is-fsma/
Lunch To be Provided
San Joaquin County and Delta Field Crops Meeting this Friday Jan. 12
By Patrick Cavanaugh, Farm News Director
Cooperative Extension of San Joaquin County will host the San Joaquin County and Delta field Crops meeting this Friday, January 12 8:00 AM to noon. The meeting location will be at the Cabral Agricultural Center in Stockton. Lunch will be provided.
Among some of the items to be discussed at that meeting will be a Regulatory Update, with Tim Pelican, the San Joaquin County agricultural commissioner; Alfalfa Weevil Management, with Rachel Long UCCE Farm Advisor; California Farmer Voices on Nitrogen Management with Jessica Rudnick, UC Davis; Managing Weeds and Agronomic Crop Rotations, with Kurt Hembree UCCE Farm Advisor: and Tools for Selecting Small Grain Varieties.
There will also be a discussion on Sorghum Seeding Rates for optimum productivity. Michelle Leinfelder-Miles UCCE Farm Advisor has been running some trials
“So we tested five, six, nine, twelve and fifteen pounds per acre,” Leinfelder-Miles said. “I think growers in my region were recommended to plant on that higher side, maybe 12-15 pounds per acre. Feedback that I was getting from researchers including our UC Specialist is that we should probably be planting on the lower end, more like five or six pounds per acre—targeting a plant population of, maybe 85,000 plants per acre up to 100,000 plants per acre. But not overshooting 100,000.”
“The real take home message is that we didn’t see the higher seating rates yielding better. We saw basically even yield across the different treatments,” noted Leinfelder-Miles. “So what does this mean? It means that if you’re planting these larger seeding rates, you’re spending more money on more seed, but you’re not seeing a yield benefit from that extra cost of planting more seed.”
Find out more about these seeding rates and other items at that field day. Please RSVP for a Lunch count. (209) 953-6100.
Spray Regs Update
Spray Regs Providing Extra Measure of Protection to Schools
By Patrick Cavanaugh, Farm News Director
New regulations went into effect January 1, regarding the timing of applications or crop protection materials near school sites and licensed daycare facilities. The regulation provides an extra measure of protection to public K through 12 school sites and the daycare centers from the risk of short term pesticide exposure and help increase communication between grower and school and day care sites.
It prohibits many pesticide applications within a quarter mile of the school sites and daycare centers during school hours, Monday through Friday between 6:00 AM and 6:00 PM. This includes all applications by aircraft sprinklers, air blast sprayers, and all fume again, applications. In addition, most dust and powder pesticide applications such as sulfur will also be prohibited during this time.
Wayne Zipser is president of the Stanislaus County Farm Bureau. California Ag Today spoke with him concerning these new regulations. “Sometimes timing of applications is more critical for certain times, specifically fungicides, but also insecticides and herbicides applications, and these new regulations are going to effect the timing of these crop protection materials,” Zipser said.
Zipser said that growers have always been extremely careful around schools, but they do understand these new regulations. “It’s going to cause a bigger burden for them, but they understand it and as long as it’s clear along that’s as clear and understanding regulation, there’ll be able to deal with it,” Zipser said. “They’re going to be able to to a spray on weekends and they’re going to be able to spray between six and six, six at night and six in the morning, and so they can work through those as long as they understand what they are.”
The new regulation will affect about 3500 public K through 12 schools and licensed daycare facilities and involve approximately 2500 growers in California. While many counties in California currently have varying requirements for notifications of certain pesticide applications near schools. That proposed regulation is the first statewide standard.
Some commercial spray companies such as Hawk Ag Aviation, of Oakdale, Calif., which does aerial applications of materials, have even a higher standard. “We don’t apply material within a half-mile of schools,” said Shane Sperry with Hawk Ag. “That’s always been our policy.”
