Donations Needed For Displaced Animals From Kincaid Fire

Donations Help Fund Livestock Pens for Emergency Use Due to Kincaid Fire

To help house displaced farm animals during times of disaster, portable livestock pens have been deployed to seven fairgrounds around California. The pens, purchased through a partnership between the California Farm Bureau Federation’s charitable foundation and the California Department of Food and Agriculture, were formally dedicated during a ceremony today at the Yuba-Sutter Fairgrounds in Yuba City.

“During wildfires, floods and other emergencies, farmers and ranchers take great care to be sure their animals can be safely evacuated, often to nearby fairgrounds,” CFBF President Jamie Johansson said. “These portable livestock pens will make it easier for fairgrounds to fulfill their role as shelters during disasters.”

After the Camp Fire ravaged part of rural California last year, the California Bountiful Foundation—a charitable foundation established by CFBF—created a Farm and Rural Disaster Fund. Donations from 50 individuals and companies allowed the foundation to contribute $75,000 toward purchase of the portable livestock pens.

With additional funds from CDFA, a total of 280 pens were acquired. CDFA has distributed 40 pens apiece to fairgrounds in Anderson, Auburn, Lakeport, Merced, San Mateo, Ventura and Yuba City. Manufactured by Plymouth Industries of Nebraska, the panels to create the pens are stored on racks so they can be quickly mobilized and transported during a disaster.

“Already this fall, we’ve seen the pens used to help livestock during the Kincade Fire in Sonoma County,” Johansson said. “We also look forward to having them used for happier occasions, such as ongoing events at county fairgrounds around the state.”

For more information about the Farm and Rural Disaster Fund, see the CFBF website atwww.cfbf.com.

California Ag Today2021-05-12T11:17:08-07:00December 4th, 2019|

Superior Farms is Big with Solar and Wind Energy

The American Lamb’s Dixon Facility’s Wind and Solar offsets 95 percent of Energy Use

Superior Farms, the leading purveyor of farm-to-table American lamb in the United States, has activated a state-of-the-art solar panel system at its Dixon, Calif. facility. Now, combined with its wind turbine, 95 percent of the energy requirements for its facility will be from clean energy sources.

The solar panel system is the latest initiative in the company’s overall commitment to providing sustainably raised lamb. In addition to reducing its energy use in recent years and running on clean energy, Superior Farms has also reduced its use of water, diesel fuel and plastics as part of its dedication to the environment, animal care, food quality and people.

“Our employee owned company is proud to be making significant strides in our commitment to providing sustainably raised American lamb, though clean energy solutions and careful considerations regarding water use, transportation, packaging, and more,” said Anders Hemphill, vice president of marketing and brand strategy at Superior Farms. “We lead the industry in our sustainability efforts while supporting local, rural communities and American farming families, and providing a homegrown alternative to imported lamb which must be shipped thousands of miles.”

In addition to its wind and solar clean energy initiatives, Superior Farms’ sustainability efforts have resulted in:

A reduced use of water by 33 percent at its Dixon facility. That savings equals the amount of water used by more than 130 households annually.
A reduced use of diesel fuel since 2015 by more over 140,000 gallons per year.
Less food waste and less plastic packaging. Transitioning its case ready packaging to a vacuum skin package reduced Superior Farms use of plastics by a third. It also eliminates the need for retailers to repackage the product when it arrives in store and keeps the lamb meat fresh for a longer period, reducing food waste.

A 100 percent employee owned company, Superior Farms partners with over 1,000 American family ranchers to provide high-quality lamb with a strong commitment to animal wellbeing and sustainability. The lambs graze mainly on open pasture lands, sustaining on the natural vegetation of vast grasslands as they have for centuries while providing benefits to the land through fertilization, erosion mitigation and wildfire suppression.

Many sheep producers also work with crop farms to coordinate regenerative grazing and bring sheep onto fields after crops have been harvested. These lambs eat naturally enriched crops while boosting the level of organic matter in the soil, making it more fertile, and lowering carbon emissions by reducing the amount of tractor time on the field. Lambs receive excellent care and nutrition as well as proper handling to consistently provide the highest quality products to consumers.

For more information about Superior Farms and its sustainability efforts, including its four pillars of sustainability, visit www.superiorfarms.com. For sales inquiries, please contact sfsales@superiorfarms.com.

California Ag Today2021-05-12T11:17:08-07:00November 26th, 2019|

Robotic Dairies Saves on Labor

Robotics Slowly Coming Into California Dairy Barns

By Patrick Cavanaugh, Editor

It’s all associated with labor shortages, and skills and dairies aim to do something about it by bringing in robotics into the milking parlor

“If you have 3,000 cows, robotics will be a huge investment; however, most of the data collected is for robots in smaller operations,” said Daniela Bruno, who earned a Veterinary Medicine degree in Brazil and then went to grad school at UC Davis. She is a UCANR Dairy Advisor for Fresno County. “Many dairies are interested in how the robots will work in their operation because of major labor shortages,” she said.

The robotic milking machines are stationary in the milking barn, and cows will walk in at an assigned amount of times per day. “I talk about large versus small operations, because each robot, can milk between 65 and 70 cows so that you would need a lot of robots for a 3,000 cow dairy,” Bruno said.

Robotic arm milks a cow.

As far as installing robots, the manufacturer has to come up with a plan. Sometimes they need to build a new barn.

Bruno noted that smaller dairies on the East Coast or Midwest have many robots, but they’re smaller operations. “They have two or three robots per dairy, while the largest one, to my knowledge, is in Chile, which has 64 milking robots,” noted Bruno.

“But it’s growing in California, due to labor regulations and the number of hours that the workers can milk cows. Dairies are now thinking if they had robots, then they will have to worry less about all the labor issues,” she said.

Bruno described how these robots work, how the cows get to the robots for milking.

“The cows have a collar, and there are several sorting gates that lead to the robot. So let’s say the cow feels the urge to be milked, but the last time she was milked was less than four hours ago. She does not have the permission to be milked again,” noted Bruno. “The dairy can decide if they want the cows milked two, three, or four times a day,” she noted.

The permissions are based on the lactation stage or if she’s a heifer if she’s a first, a second lactation cow. They’re going to control it, and everything is stored in software. And when she approaches the gate, the gate is going to open for the cow if she’s allowed to go, or if she’s not going to be able to be milked yet, the cow is sent to a waiting place where she can rest and eat.

When a cow gets the permission, she walks into the robot milking machines, which will do everything that a dairy employee would do. “It prepares the cow, cleans the cow, and stimulates the cow, then the milking equipment is automatically put on the udders,” Bruno said. “And once the cow is done milking, it applies the post dipping sanitizer on the teat, and the cow is released to go back to its bedding area.”

Bruno said that the robots have many cameras, so they know exactly what they’re doing when they’re pre-treating the cow before milking and milking the cow and post treating the cow after the milking with sanitizer.

And while dairies will need less labor in the milking barn, there will still require employees to maintain the equipment, and there are several companies that offer that service, and prices vary.

“In California, I know of two dairies that have robots already. They’re both in Stanislaus County, and one of the dairies is planning to expand to 10 robots,” she said.

“The dairy operators are pleased to have the robots in place and feel that they could pay for themselves in short order,” Bruno said.

Bruno said she is working with dairy economic specialist Fernanda Ferreira at the UC Davis research center in Tulare, where there is a project focused on the financial analysis of robots.

California Ag Today2021-05-12T11:17:08-07:00November 6th, 2019|

Consumers Prefer Dairy Milk over Other Plant Based Choices

Survey Says 86% of US Adults Prefer Dairy Milk

A new Morning Consult national tracking poll of 2,200 Americans points to a number of revealing consumer preferences for milk and related beverages. When given the option to choose among whole, reduced fat 2%, low fat 1%, skim, other (almond, soy, oat, other plant-based, lactose-free), or “do not consume” milk, respondents overwhelmingly chose 2% and whole milks because they believe they are most nutritious for themselves and their families. Further, 86% of U.S. adults prefer dairy milk over “other” beverages, including plant-based beverages.

Additionally, by a margin of more than 2-1, U.S. adults say it’s important to offer low-fat flavored milks with school meals; and by a 3-1 margin, U.S. adults say it’s important to offer 2% and whole milk with school meals. The poll was conducted by Morning Consult in partnership with the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA).

Poll Results

Here are 8 key findings:

1. A whopping 67% of adults across key demographics believe 2% and whole milk are the most nutritious types of milk. Thirty-six percent of adults believe 2% milk is the most nutritious, while 31% believe whole milk is the most nutritious.
2. At least 86% of adults prefer dairy milk compared to 10% who prefer “other” including plant-based beverages and lactose-free milk.
3. Strong opinions about offering flavored milk in schools vastly outweigh strong opinions against. Half of the adults believe it is important that the public school their child attends offers low-fat flavored milk with school meals, while just 22% believe it is unimportant. Twenty-nine percent have no opinion.
4. Adults feel similarly about fuller-fat milk with school meals—by a 3-1 margin, U.S. adults say it’s important to offer 2% and whole milk with school meals: 53% believe it is important that milks like 2% and whole are offered in schools, while just 18% feel it is unimportant. Currently, only low fat 1% and skim milks are allowed in schools.
5. Overall, more women than men believe it is more important that their children have access to fuller-fat and flavored milks in school.
6. Forty-two percent of SNAP participants prefer whole milk for themselves or their families. SNAP participants also report that they believe whole milk is the most nutritious (46%), the only demographic to do so. Of the 2,200 respondents, 336 self-identified as SNAP participants.
7. Respondents with incomes under $50,000 (inclusive of 336 SNAP and 115 WIC participants, respectively, who self-identified) believe more strongly than those with higher incomes (above $50,000) that fuller-fat milks are most nutritious and prefer offering these options as well as low-fat flavored milks in schools for their children.
8. Variety is key: More than three-quarters (77%) of adults found it important to have a variety of options to choose from when purchasing types of milk.

California Ag Today2021-05-12T11:17:08-07:00September 6th, 2019|

Cheese From CA Bring Home Awards

They Earn 50 Awards at American Cheese Society Competition in Richmond, VA

Cow’s milk cheese and dairy processors that use the Real California Milk seal brought home 50 awards from the 2019 annual cheese competition held by the American Cheese Society (ACS), July 31-August 3, 2019 in Richmond, Va.

The American Cheese Society recognizes the finest cheeses and dairy products made in the Americas. A total of 1742 cheese and cultured dairy products were entered the competition. Cheeses made with 100% California cow’s milk had another strong showing this year in a field of 257 processors representing the United States, Canada, Columbia and Venezuela.

California cheesemakers won a total of 81 awards – the second largest showing in the competition – with Real California cow’s milk cheeses bringing home 50 prizes: 19 first-place, 20 second-place and 11 third-place awards in this year’s judging. Highlights from these wins include:

Marquez Brothers International, Inc., San Jose – 15 awards: 1st place each for Panela (Hispanic and Portuguese Style Cheeses), Crema Agria, Plain Stir Yogurt (Cultured Milk and Cream Products), Guava Drinkable Yogurt, Mango Drinkable Yogurt, Strawberry Banana Drinkable Yogurt, and Strawberry Drinkable Yogurt (Flavored Cheeses/Yogurts & Cultured Products with Flavor Added); 2^nd place each for Jocoque (Cultured Milk and Cream Products), Queso Fresco Casero Cheese, Queso Fresco Cremoso Cheese (Hispanic and Portuguese Style Cheeses), Peach Drinkable Yogurt, Piña Colada Drinkable Yogurt, and Strawberry Banana Cereal Smoothie (Flavored Cheeses/Yogurts & Cultured Products with Flavor Added); and 3^rd place each for Queso Cotija (Hispanic and Portuguese Style Cheeses) and Guava Stir Yogurt (Flavored Cheeses/Yogurts & Cultured Products with Flavor Added),
Karoun Dairies, Inc., Turlock – five awards: 1^st place each for Brinza Feta (Feta – Cow’s Milk) and Masala Yogurt Dip (Flavored Cheeses/Yogurts & Cultured Products with Flavor Added); 2^nd for Bulgarian Yogurt (Cultured Milk and Cream Products); and 3^rd each for Whole Milk Yogurt and Armenian Yogurt (Cultured Milk and Cream Products).
Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Co., Pt. Reyes – five awards: 1^st place each for Point Reyes Bay Blue (Blue Mold Cheeses), The Fork Pimento Cheese and The Fork Original Blue & Date Spread (Flavored Cheeses); and 3^rd each for Point Reyes Toma (American Originals) and Point Reyes Tomaprovence (Flavored Cheeses).
Cowgirl Creamery, Petaluma – four awards: 2^nd place each for Fromage Blanc (Fresh Unripened Cheeses), Pierce Point (Flavored Cheeses) and Mt. Tam (Soft Ripened Cheeses); and 3^rd for Cottage Cheese (Fresh Unripened Cheeses).
Rizo-Lopez Foods Inc., Modesto – four awards: 1^st place each for RBCC Oaxaca (Hispanic & Portuguese Style Cheeses) and RBCC Queso Cotija (Hispanic & Portuguese Style Cheeses – Ripened, Aged > 90 Days); and 2^nd each for Cotija (Hispanic & Portuguese Style Cheese – Ripened, Aged > 90 Days) and RBCC Grilling Cheese (Hispanic & Portuguese Style Cheeses, Cooking Hispanic – Cheeses).
Sierra Nevada Cheese Company, Willows – four awards*: 1^st place for Heroes Greek Yogurt (Cultured Milk and Cream Products); 2^nd each for Crème Fraîche (Cultured Milk and Cream) and Russian-Style Fresh Farmer Cheese (Fresh Unripened Cheeses); and 3^rd for Organic Traditional Jack (American Originals).
Oakdale Cheese & Specialties, Oakdale – three awards: 1^st place for Aged Gouda (American Made/International Style); and 2^nd each for Mild Gouda (American Made/International Style) and Cumin Gouda (Flavored Cheeses).
Bellwether Farms, Petaluma – two awards*: 1^st place for Fromage Blanc (Fresh Unripened Cheeses) and 2^nd for Plain Organic Cow Yogurt (Cultured Milk and Cream Products).
Cal Poly Creamery, San Luis Obispo – two awards: 1^st place for Smoked Grand Gouda (Smoked Cheeses) and 3^rd for Grand Gouda (American Made/International Style).
Nicasio Valley Cheese Company, Nicasio – two awards: 2^nd place for San Geronimo (Washed Rind Cheeses) and 3^rd for Foggy Morning with Garlic and Basil (Flavored Cheeses).
Central Coast Creamery*, Paso Robles: 2^nd place Holey Cow (American Made/International Style).
Marin French Cheese Company, Petaluma – one award: 3^rd place for Triple Crème Brie (Soft Ripened Cheeses).
Rogue Creamery*, Oregon: 2^nd place for Organic Smokey Blue Cheese (Smoked Cheeses).
Rumiano Cheese Company, Crescent City – one award: 1^st place for Dry Jack (American Originals).

In total, 14 cow’s milk cheese and dairy companies won awards for products made with 100% Real California milk from the state’s more than 1200 family dairy farms. California is the second largest cheese producing state in the nation, responsible for more than 2.5 billion pounds of cheese in 2017. Real California cheeses and dairy products can be found at retailers throughout the U.S., Mexico and Asia. For more information, visit: RealCaliforniaMilk.com. For more information on ACS competition winners and the ACS Conference, go to: cheesesociety.org.

* Bellwether Farms, Central Coast Creamery, Rogue Creamery and Sierra Nevada Cheese Company also received awards for cow’s milk and non-cow’s milk cheeses that do not carry the Real California Milk seal.

California Ag Today2019-08-05T21:40:27-07:00August 5th, 2019|

Calif. Dairy Organizations Collaborate Regarding Quota Program

Groups Launch Exploratory Effort to Solicit and Analyze Proposals

News Release

Recently, the United Dairy Families of California, California Dairies, Inc., Land O’Lakes, Inc., Dairy Farmers of America, and the STOP QIP organization announced a multi-phase process aimed at soliciting and analyzing industry input on California’s historic quota program.

Included in this process is a series of meetings, starting later this month, open to all dairy producers and interested parties. These meetings are intended to solicit various pathways for the state’s quota program.

1) This multi-phase process includes three key parts: The Think Tank, Producer Feedback, and Analysis.

2) The Think Tank phase is for information-gathering from various segments of the dairy industry. This will include the meetings identified below, where producers will be able to voice their opinion and contribute ideas or concepts.

3) The Producer Feedback phase will allow producers to comment and challenge the ideas developed in the Think Tank phase.

In the Analysis phase, dominant ideas from the Producer Feedback phase will be analyzed for economic impacts, and legal pathways to adoption will be determined.

This process will be implemented with the assistance of dairy industry economist Dr. Marin Bozic and dairy market analyst Matt Gould. Dr. Bozic and Mr. Gould will be conducting an economic analysis of the proposed ideas.

The first series of meetings associated with the Think Tank phase are as follows:

● Tuesday, July 30 – 2 pm to 4 pm – Embassy Suites, Ontario

● Wednesday, July 31 – 9 am to 11 am – Heritage Complex, Tulare

● Wednesday, July 31 – 2 pm to 4 pm – Turlock Ballroom

● Thursday, August 1 – 9 am to 11 am – Washoe House, Petaluma

Meeting space is limited. All participants are strongly encouraged to register at

www.dairyfamilies.org/events

California Ag Today2021-05-12T11:17:08-07:00July 24th, 2019|

Four Students Selected to Represent Real California Milk in Asia, Mexico

Student Ambassadors Share California Dairy Message with International Audiences

News Release

The California Milk Advisory Board (CMAB) has selected four students to serve as interns in the second year of the international dairy leadership program. Jessica Brown, Stefani Christieson, KayCee Hartwig-Dittman and Makayla Toste will serve as dairy representatives, working with marketing teams representing CMAB during the summer in Mexico, South Korea and Taiwan.

The interns, selected from students enrolled in agriculture-related programs at colleges and universities throughout the state, were chosen based on academic achievement, connection to the dairy industry, and a willingness to travel abroad and learn more about international dairy sales and marketing as well as a plan to work in the California dairy industry in the future.

Over the six-week period, each intern will spend time with in-country CMAB marketing organizations—Brown in Taiwan, Christieson and Hartwig-Dittman in South Korea and Toste in Mexico—to gain a better understanding of these markets, consumer buying habits, and promotional efforts on behalf of California’s dairy industry.

Brown is currently enrolled at Fresno State, majoring in agriculture business. She was raised on her family’s vineyard in Tracy and has always had a passion for agriculture. Her desire to learn about agriculture outside of the U.S. has provided her with opportunities to study abroad, most recently in Spain. Because of her love of travel and learning about other cultures, Jessica is focusing on international marketing at college, with plans to work in this field of study upon graduation in 2020. Brown is a member of the agriculture marketing team at Fresno State and will be working with Steven Chu and Associates in Taipei, Taiwan.

Christieson is a recent graduate of the UC Davis, where she received her B.S. in Political Science and minors in economics and French. She will be attending graduate school in the fall at Sciences Po in Paris, France, for a year and then will complete the program at Fudan University in Shanghai, China in year two. Christieson plans to complete her master’s degree in international economic policy and pursue a career as agriculture economic policy advisor for an agriculture export market organization to help California farmers continue to expand into emerging and established markets overseas. Christieson will be working with Sohn’s Market Makers, Ltd. in S. Korea.

Hartwig-Dittman is currently enrolled at Fresno State, where she is majoring in dairy science and is employed at the dairy unit on campus. She has a culinary arts degree from Diablo Valley Community College and has experience working in the restaurant industry in California. Her love of travel and food has allowed her to travel outside of the U.S., where she has learned to use dairy products in new and creative ways with hopes to find innovative ways to introduce dairy to consumers around the world. Hartwig-Dittman will also be working with Sohn’s Market Makers, Ltd. in South Korea.

Toste, a second-generation dairy farmer from Newman, received her B.S. degree in Animal Science with an emphasis in dairy science. During her last year at Fresno State, Toste served as the assistant herdsman for the Fresno State dairy unit, where she was responsible for the day-to-day operations of the dairy and an officer for the Fresno State Dairy Club. After the internship, she plans to work in the California dairy industry in promotion and marketing to help keep the industry viable for the next generation of farmers. Toste will serve as an intern with the team at Imalinx in Cuernavaca, Mexico.

“California accounts for more than 33 percent of all U.S. dairy exports so international trade is essential for our continued growth. Over the last decade, the CMAB has worked closely with partners in Asia and Mexico to develop markets for California dairy products. This program is focused on providing insight into international dairy marketing for future leaders like Jessica, Stefani, KayCee, and Makayla, who will work in the dairy business and one day serve on dairy industry boards and lead industry groups,” said Glenn Millar, Director of International Business Development for the CMAB.

The goal of the CMAB International Internship program is to provide agriculture/dairy college students an opportunity to learn about dairy foods and marketing in the international marketplace. The program looks to develop leaders who will serve on dairy industry boards and work in dairy foods production, processing, or sales/marketing.

California Ag Today2021-05-12T11:17:08-07:00July 12th, 2019|

FFA Student Anna Kelly Experimenting with Garlic Eggs

Anna Kelly Feeds Her Chickens Garlic to Flavor Their Eggs with Garlic

By Patrick Cavanaugh, Editor

It’s a very interesting concept, garlic eggs. Flavoring freshly-laid eggs with garlic. How to do it is very simple, according to Anna Kelly with the West Sacramento FFA at River City High School, who is working with a Blue Ameraucana chicken. She had the idea of replicating what your grandparents may have done. They just fed their laying hens some garlic.

Blue Ameraucana Chicken

They wanted to try to change their chickens’ diets cause their chickens were not eating much

And low and behold, the eggs started tasting as if they were seasoned with garlic.

Kelly got the idea of feeding her chicken garlic as a research project.

“I took one garlic clove, and I fed it to my chicken, whose name is Monster, and she loved it,” said Kelly. “And every time when I gave her daily garlic, she would meet me up at her bedding, and it was so cute.”

She found that her chicken wanted the garlic, and sure enough, the eggs had a garlic taste. She asked her culinary arts teacher, Cheryle Sutton to see if she could cook one of her chicken’s garlic eggs. The teacher said okay.

“I cut it up, and I asked several of my teachers to try it,” Kelly said. “And it was amazing; the teachers said it tasted like an actual garlic egg. No salt and pepper, no other additional seasonings.”

“What I’m hoping is to grow my project more. I am incubating more chickens, and I’m going to put them on the same diet. I want to test different varieties of chickens to see which one’s eggs taste more like garlic eggs,” Kelly explained.

Eventually, she may grow the project into a wholesale operation supplying grocery stores with garlic-tasting eggs.

To hear a podcast with Anna Kelly on her garlic eggs experiment, click here.

California Ag Today2021-05-12T11:17:08-07:00May 3rd, 2019|

Tulare Center Trains UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine Students

UC Vet Students Learn About Livestock Animals in Tulare

By Patrick Cavanaugh, Editor

VMRTC is the Veterinarian Medicine Training and Research Center located in Tulare. The facility is an extension of the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. The site offers education and training to veterinarians by offering senior veterinary students and residents on-the-farm clinical medical training and residencies in dairy production medicine.

Nathan Brown, a UC Davis veterinary student, is working on practicals in and out of a hospital setting.

“We do rotations in the hospital and outside of the hospital. We have a teaching center and, in addition, we have our California Animal Health and Safety Laboratory System (CAHFS), which is involved with diagnosing foreign animal diseases,” Brown said. “That is sort of the main mission.”

“In the mornings, we do herd checks, we go out to different dairies. We palpate cows for diagnosis of pregnancy, and we’re under the supervision of some of the veterinarians that work at our center,” Brown explained. “In the afternoons, we work on a variety of different projects. One of the projects that we’re working on currently is milking frequency. We are looking at different variables that go into whether or not it’s profitable to move from either two to three times a day or three times a day to two times a day.”

Brown said that the students at the Tulare center are doing their livestock track through UC Davis. “We’re all in our fourth year. It’s been a wonderful experience. Tulare is a great place, and it’s good to see a different part of California.”

Students studying at the center decide which direction they will take regarding animal type or other medical pursuits.

“After our second year, we make a decision about whether we do small animals or large animals,” Brown said. “Some people do equines, other focus on zoo animals—there is a variety of options in our profession and that our school offers.

Brown is pursuing livestock medicine, but he has a commitment to the Air Force to do public health epidemiology for them.

Army veterinarians do clinical medicine for animals on the base. They focus on German shepherd dogs and horses, and they also do some food safety.

“As as a veterinarian in the Air Force, it’s essentially veterinary public health, and my role will be epidemiology on a base, so that’s actually more human focus, and food safety,” Brown said.

“If you kind of think about the historical roots of veterinary medicine, much of the role of veterinarians has been ensuring that food is safe for humans to consume, meaning that the animals are healthy before they get ready for human consumption,” Brown explained. “We must ensure that there’s no points of contamination so that all the food that people eat in this country is healthy and nutritious, and we don’t have to worry about disease.”

Most bases have a veterinary clinic, primarily staffed with army veterinarians.

“My hope is to do some amount of clinical practice at these clinics to sort of keep my veterinary skills relevant. And I’ve had some good advice from some epidemiologists who works at the CDC,” Brown said. “He told me that at least for him, it’s made him a better epidemiologist by keeping his clinical skills relevant because thinking about that differential diagnosis is really a big part of trying to find the cause of a disease.”

California Ag Today2021-05-12T11:17:08-07:00May 2nd, 2019|

California Crop Values for 2017 Released by CDFA

Full Statistics Now Available For the Crop Year 2017

News Release

The California Agricultural Statistics Review for crop year 2017 has been released. It reports that California’s farms and ranches received more than $50 billion in cash receipts for their output. This represents an increase of almost 6 percent in crop values compared to 2016.

California’s agricultural abundance includes more than 400 commodities. Over a third of the country’s vegetables and two-thirds of the country’s fruits and nuts are grown in California. California is the leading U.S. state for cash farm receipts, accounting for over 13 percent of the nation’s total agricultural value. The top producing commodities for 2017 include:

Dairy Products, Milk — $6.56 billion

Grapes— $5.79 billion

Almonds— $5.60 billion

Strawberries— $3.10 billion

Cattle and Calves — $2.53 billion

Lettuce— $2.41 billion

Walnuts— $1.59 billion

Tomatoes— $1.05 billion

Pistachios— $1.01 billion

Broilers— $939 million

Complete Report at this Link:

https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/Statistics/PDFs/2017-18AgReport.pdf

California Ag Today2019-01-10T15:52:42-08:00January 10th, 2019|

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California Ag News…
At Your Fingertips!

Donations Help Fund Livestock Pens for Emergency Use Due to Kincaid Fire

The American Lamb’s Dixon Facility’s Wind and Solar offsets 95 percent of Energy Use

Robotics Slowly Coming Into California Dairy Barns

Survey Says 86% of US Adults Prefer Dairy Milk

Poll Results

They Earn 50 Awards at American Cheese Society Competition in Richmond, VA

Groups Launch Exploratory Effort to Solicit and Analyze Proposals

News Release

Student Ambassadors Share California Dairy Message with International Audiences

News Release

Anna Kelly Feeds Her Chickens Garlic to Flavor Their Eggs with Garlic

By Patrick Cavanaugh, Editor

UC Vet Students Learn About Livestock Animals in Tulare

By Patrick Cavanaugh, Editor

Full Statistics Now Available For the Crop Year 2017

News Release

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California Ag News… At Your Fingertips!

California Ag News…
At Your Fingertips!