Karen Ross on Ag Innovation

CDFA Secretary Karen Ross on Ag Innovation

The next big thing is always right around the corner. Karen Ross, secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture, said while that may be so, farmers should be consulted to help with ag innovation–the creation of the next big thing–so both farmers and innovators will benefit.

“Here’s what we need to go to the next generation of innovation, so come talk to us early; don’t just come and say ‘we’ve got your solution,’” Ross said. “We manage a vast biological system, a complex system on the farming side, that responds to fast-moving markets on the consumer side. So don’t divorce yourself from us in the industry. Truly understand what we need and how we put together all these complex moving parts to meet consumer needs and expectations in the marketplace.”

Ross said while farmers are always willing to listen to a new way of doing things, involving them in the process and providing access to the data that demonstrates the need for a new product would be more beneficial.

“Farmers are always open to ‘is there a better way?’” Ross said. “But they want the data. They like to see some demonstration of that data—which comes back to partnering with our academic institutions and Cooperative Extension. Don’t just come out and sell me something; show me the data; show me the demonstration projects. Let me kick the tires. Maybe, I’ll put in a few acres of that this year. It’s not just a sales job. You’ve got to partner with the farmer. And if you do, you’re going to come up with a much better product.”

California Ag Today2016-05-31T19:28:05-07:00September 3rd, 2015|

No-tillage Grows in California

The list of crops that have been successfully grown using no-tillage in California continues to increase with garbanzo beans being the latest addition, according to Jeffrey P. Mitchell, CE cropping systems specialist, University of California, Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

Harvest data from the Conservation Tillage Workgroup are now in for a 2015 garbanzo crop that was no-till seeded in January in the longstanding conservation agriculture systems study field in Five Points, CA, and these data indicate no difference in yield between the no-till with and without cover crop treatments and the standard till with and without cover crop systems. Garbanzo yields for the four systems averaged about 3,600 lbs / acre with no statistical differences seen between the four experimental treatments.

Other than an herbicide spraying in the fall of 2014 to knock down weeds, the no-tillage systems relied on zero tillage prior to seeding that was done with a John Deere 1730 6-row 30” planter. Conventional tillage consisting of several passes of a Wilcox Performer bed-shaping tillage implement was done to prepare planting beds in the standard tillage plots as would be commonly done in the region.

There is now a growing list of several crops, including processing tomatoes, cotton and dairy forage that have been successfully produced, both in research studies and on California farms, with economically viable yields using no-tillage seeding.

Additional information about this study is available at the Conservation Agriculture Systems Innovation Center (CASI) website and by contacting Jeff Mitchell at jpmitchell@ucdavis.edu.

Established in 1998, the Conservation Cropping Systems Workgroup is a diverse group of more than 1,500 farmer, University of California, California State University, USDA – NRCS, Resource Conservation District, public agency, private sector and environmental group members that have come together to promote conservation cropping systems in California.

Featured Photo Soure: Source: CASI (Conservation Agriculture Systems Innovation) Center, University of California, Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources

California Ag Today2016-05-31T19:28:05-07:00September 2nd, 2015|

Super PAC Needed to Save Forests, Wildlife, Ag, Part 1

Rachel Martin on Need for Super PAC to Save Forests, Wildlife, Ag

By Charmayne Hefley, Associate Editor

Part 1:

This is part one of a three-part series with Rachel Martin, the national chairperson of Homeland Security for the National Federation of Republican Women (NFRW), on the importance of creating a political action committee (super PAC) to save forests, wildlife, and ag suffering from limited water allocations during this extensive drought.

Martin said a super PAC must be created to combat the environmentalists who have been lobbying in Washington and Sacramento for years and to improve conditions for all constituencies. The resulting environmental regulations have prevented forest maintenance, such as logging, thinning of the forests, and controlled burns, which has increased the likelihood and severity of wildfires that burn thousands of acres each year and kill the animals environmentalists are trying to protect.

“I’ve been working with public safety as well as a lot of animal activists since ’99,” Martin said, “and I know that with ag, it’s been a fight for the last 30-plus years with the environmentalists and the Environmental Protection Act. Ag alone is not the only affected group of agencies or businesses. People don’t often think about how the lack of water significantly affects California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), the U.S. Forest Service, and law enforcement agencies as well. We need to come together.”

“Law enforcement agencies and the U.S. Forest Service have told me the environmentalists are actually hurting and killing a lot of the creatures they stand to protect,” Martin said. “Other animals die during those fires, and they’re dying the most horrible deaths—which is death by fire.”

California Ag Today2016-05-31T19:28:06-07:00August 31st, 2015|

2014 Fresno County Crop Report Sets Record Production

2014 Fresno County Crop Report Sets Record Production — $7 billion+

Les Wright, Agricultural Commissioner/Sealer submitted the following information to Karen Ross, California Department of Food and Agriculture Secretary, TODAY accompanied by the 2014 Fresno County Crop Report showing record production.

It is my pleasure to submit the 2014 Fresno County Agricultural Crop and Livestock Report. This report is produced in accordance with Sections 2272 and 2279 of the California Food and Agriculture Code, and summarizes the acreage, production, and value of Fresno County’s agricultural products. The figures contained herein represent gross returns to the producer, and do not reflect actual net profit.

Photo, from left, Ryan Jacobson, Fresno County Farm Bureau CEO, Les Wright, Fresno County Ag Commissioner and Richard Matoian, American Pistachio Growers Executive Director

This report is a testament to the resiliency and determination of the Fresno County agricultural industry. For the first time ever, the gross value of Fresno County agriculture exceeds seven billion dollars. Almonds remain the number one crop at a value of 1.3 billion dollars with grapes a close second at $905 million.

The total gross production value of Fresno County agricultural commodities in 2014 was $ 7,039,861,000, a 9.26 percent increase from the 2013 production value of $6,443,236,500.

Increases were seen in:

vegetable crops (0.47% = $5,599,000)
fruit and nut crops (13.16%= $422,664,000)
nursery products (46.89%= $20,022,000)
livestock and poultry (31.48% = $301,144,000)
livestock and poultry products (22.09% = $116,299,000
apiary (17.39% = $10,738,000)
industrial crops (107.05% = $3,795,500).

Decreases in:

field crops (-36.20%= -$149,822,000)
seed crops (-14.67%= -$5,823,000).

I would like to express my appreciation to the many producers, processors, and agencies, both private and public, who supported our efforts in producing this report. I would also like to thank all my staff, especially Fred Rinder, Scotti Walker, Angel Gibson, Vera Scott-Slater, and Billy Hopper. Without their hard work and valuable input this report would not be possible.

Pistachios, featured on the cover of the 2014 Fresno County Crop Report, were Fresno County’s seventh top crop last year, with a value of nearly $380 million dollars.

The top nut—and crop, for that matter—was almonds, followed by grapes, poultry, milk, cattle and calves, tomatoes, pistachios, garlic, peaches and cotton.

Also included in the report was this quote from President John F. Kennedy:

Our farmers deserve praise, not condemnation; and their efficiency should be cause for gratitude, not something for which they are penalized.

California Ag Today2016-05-31T19:28:06-07:00August 25th, 2015|

Trinity Reservoir Releases Water

U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Releases Shared Water From Trinity Reservoir Despite Making Claims Of “California’s Historic Drought”

The San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority (Authority) along with Westlands Water District, according to their press release, has filed a lawsuit in federal court to stop the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) from releasing Central Valley Project (CVP) water from the Trinity Division to the Klamath River.

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation said releases started Friday from Lewiston Dam on the Trinity River, the Klamath’s primary tributary, and would continue into late September.

Yesterday, Reclamation announced the release of up to 88,000 acre-feet of CVP water from Trinity Reservoir in the hope of aiding returning non-listed Chinook salmon with the optimism of diminishing the effect of a naturally-occurring disease endemic known as “Ich” (pronounced “ick”) to the Klamath River system to which the Trinity River is connected. This action, which is outside of Reclamation’s authorized place of use, is a repeat of a similar action taken last year with the intention to help avoid an outbreak which has only been documented to have occurred once in 2002. Since 2000, a significant supply of water has been set aside each year from the Trinity Reservoir for fishery protection purposes. Specifically, over the past four years, this has equated to more than 200,000 acre-feet of water lost that was literally flushed down the Lower Klamath River.

“As our state is faced with a water supply crisis affecting every sector of people, businesses, and communities, an action like this is unthinkable. This will cause irreparable damage to drought-stricken communities already facing water restrictions,” said Dan Nelson, executive director of the San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority.

The CVP and State Water Project (SWP) provide water for more than 25 million Californians who depend upon a reliable water supply. In the 50-year history of the Projects, water deliveries have never been lower–the CVP is experiencing its second year of a zero water allocation and the SWP sits at a mere 20 percent water allocation.

Reclamation is once again choosing to ignore the harms of its actions through the issuance of a “Finding of No Significant Environmental Impact” (FONSI) that hasn’t been properly analyzed. Further, Reclamation’s decision to release 88,000 acre-feet of CVP water for the Klamath River is a sad irony given that Reclamation is currently unable to meet its legally-mandated obligations within the CVP and SWP.

“The hardworking people of the State of California have been directed by state and federal agencies to conserve water in the form of dying lawns, fewer showers, unplanted fields, trees uprooted or turning brown, and community wells drying up. Yet Reclamation, which has been unable to deliver any water to farmers, has decided to release tens of thousands of acre feet in an arbitrary manner that the courts have previously held to be unlawful.” said Tom Birmingham, general manager of the Westlands Water District. “The fact that 88,000 acre-feet can be casually released without regard to the potential impacts on the environment, including at risk-species in the Sacramento River and the Delta, is a gross mismanagement of the state’s water supplies. The action filed today is intended to compel Reclamation to comply with its mandatory duties,” said Birmingham.

“During a time when we are experiencing the worst water management challenges in decades, when communities and agriculture throughout the state are suffering severe impacts that have negatively affected our economy, the labor force and the environment, the decision by the Bureau of Reclamation to repurpose precious Central Valley Project water resources to augment Klamath flows for non-endangered fish, an action that is of questionable benefit, is both irresponsible and incomprehensible. While the needs of cities, family farms, and endangered species that rely on CVP resources continue to go unmet, the reallocation of the Project’s limited supply of water defies all logic,” said Jeff Sutton, general manager of the Tehama-Colusa Canal Authority, an organization that represents seventeen Sacramento Valley water districts that hold CVP water service contracts, that are also highly critical of the action being undertaken by the Bureau of Reclamation.

The water planned for release is enough to farm 31,000 acres of food, or to serve the domestic needs of more than 175,000 families for an entire year. The devastating effects of the drought will be felt for decades to come especially if arbitrary decisions like these continue.

California Ag Today2016-05-31T19:28:06-07:00August 21st, 2015|

New Medfly Quarantine

A portion of San Diego County was placed under Medfly quarantine earlier this week following the detection of 4 adult Mediterranean fruit flies (Medflies) in the La Mesa area. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the San Diego County Agricultural Commissioner, and CDFA are working collaboratively on this project.

The quarantine area in San Diego County measures 93 square miles, bordered on the north by Prospect Avenue; on the south by Mount Miguel Road; on the west by Fairmount Avenue; and on the east by Vista Grande Road. A link to the quarantine map may be found here: www.cdfa.ca.gov/plant/medfly/regulation.html.

To eradicate the infestation, the release of sterile male Medflies began on August 10, at a rate of 250,000 flies per square mile per week. The new release area is approximately 59 square miles. In addition, properties within 200 meters of detections are being treated with an organic formulation of Spinosad, which originates from naturally-occurring bacteria in soil, in order to eliminate any mated females and reduce the density of the population. Finally, fruit removal will occur within 100 meters of detection properties in order to remove any fruit infested with eggs and larvae.

The quarantine will affect any growers, wholesalers, and retailers of susceptible fruit in the area as well as local residents. Home gardeners are urged to consume homegrown produce on site and not move it from their property. These actions protect against the artificial spread of the infestation to nearby regions where it could affect California’s food supply and our backyard gardens and landscapes.

In the eradication program, sterile male Medflies are brought to San Diego County from the joint CDFA/USDA sterile insect rearing facility in Los Alamitos, which prepares sterile files for release everyday over the Los Angeles basin. The sterile release program has a proven track record of eradication in southern California. Sterile male flies mate with fertile female flies in the environment but produce no offspring. The Medfly population decreases as the wild flies reach the end of their natural life span with no offspring to replace them, ultimately resulting in the eradication of the pest.

The Medfly can infest more than 250 types of fruits and vegetables, causing severe impacts on California agricultural exports and backyard gardens alike. Residents who believe their fruits and vegetables are infested with fruit fly larvae are encouraged to call the state’s toll-free Pest Hotline at 1-800-491-1899.

California Ag Today2016-05-31T19:28:06-07:00August 21st, 2015|

A Thought on Sustainability

Scott Steinmaus on Getting the Sustainability Message Out

By Charmayne Hefley, Producer and Associate Broadcaster

When considering the longevity of a farmer’s land, the question of the sustainability of modern day farming practices is often raised. Scott Steinmaus, professor and department head of the Horticulture and Crop Science Department at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, said that it is important to get the message out to consumers that farmers are sustainable because their land is the future for their own children.

“Farmers are sustainable,” Steinmaus said, “even when the general public might say that unsustainable activities might include pesticide applications. There’s no farmer out there who wants to spray pesticides—it costs money. And they don’t want to hand off their land having exposed it to something that’s not sustainable. They have a piece of land, something they value and cherish, and they want to hand it off to their sons or daughters.”

Steinmaus said it is important for consumers to realize that farmers are humans too, and they care about the health of the planet in a way that more directly relates to their careers.

Steinmaus believes it is important for consumers “to understand that direct connection farmers have with the earth, to realize that farmers are humans too, with kids of their own, and to acknowledge that farmers care about the planet more than a lot of urbanites might do themselves. There’s nothing more important than sustainability—minimizing all farm inputs for safe, acceptable food production.”

California Ag Today2016-05-31T19:28:06-07:00August 20th, 2015|

ALRB Pushes Worksite Access

ALRB Pushes Worksite Access in Upcoming Public Hearings

By Laurie Greene, Editor

Announced TODAY, The Agricultural Labor Relations Board ( ALRB) will be traveling to key agricultural areas in the state next month to hear comments from farmworkers, employers and the public on the ALRB’s proposed rule to permit ALRB staff worksite access to educate farmworkers and field supervisors about the rights and responsibilities provided by the Agricultural Labor Relations Act (Act).

The public hearings will be held in Fresno, Salinas, Santa Maria and Oxnard, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. or until such time that all public testimony has been received.

Further information about the hearings appears at the end of this article.

THE PURPOSE OF THE ACT

The ALRB reports:

In 1975, the California State Legislature passed the Agricultural Labor Relations Act guaranteeing certain rights to California farm workers. The purpose of the Act is to “ensure peace in the agricultural fields by guaranteeing justice for all agricultural workers and stability in labor relations.” The Act states that it is the policy of the State of California to encourage and protect the right of farm workers to act together to help themselves, to engage in union organizational activity and to select their own representatives for the purpose of bargaining with their employer for a contract covering their wages, hours, and working conditions. The law prohibits the employers from interfering with these rights, protects the rights of workers to be free from restraint or coercion by unions or employers, and it prohibits unions from engaging in certain types of strikes and picketing.

The Agricultural Labor Relations Board is the agency which administers the Act and protects the rights of agricultural employees in various ways. For example, the Act creates a method by which workers may select a union or other representative to bargain with their employer if they wish. Agents of the Board conduct secret ballot elections to determine whether workers wish to be represented and if so, by whom. Also, the Act gives authority to the ALRB to investigate, process and take to trial employers or unions who engage in actions which the Act describes as “unfair labor practices” (ULPs). When Board employees conduct an investigation and obtain enough evidence to show that an unfair labor practice has been committed, a “complaint” is issued and a hearing is held at which each party has a right to present its side of the case. The Act guarantees the rights of employees to engage in, or to refrain from, union activities or “concerted activities,” such as acting together to help or protect each other in matters related to their employment.

ALRB HEARINGS AND LOCATIONS

Each facility will accommodate between 150-200 persons.
Spanish, Mixtec, Trique and Hmong interpreters will be available for language assistance. Other language services are available upon request.
The hearings will be recorded and an electronic copy of the transcript will be available.

FRESNO

Wednesday, September 9th

Doubletree by Hilton Fresno Convention Center 2233 Ventura Street, Salon C, Fresno (559) 268-1000

SALINAS

Monday, September 14th

Elks Lodge, 614 Airport Boulevard, Salinas (831) 424-8039

SANTA MARIA

Tuesday, September 15^th

Santa Maria Inn, 801 South Broadway Santa Maria (805) 628-7777

OXNARD

Wednesday, September 16th

Courtyard by Marriott, 600 E. Esplanade Drive Oxnard (805) 988-3600

You may contact the ALRB Executive Secretary’s Office at (916) 653-3741 or jbarbosa@alrb.ca.gov with any questions.

California Ag Today2016-05-31T19:28:07-07:00August 14th, 2015|

Bountiful Plant Transpiration

Guy Kyser on Plant Transpiration, Phytoremediation

By Patrick Cavanaugh, Deputy Editor

When plants get irrigated, not only do they provide food, but all plants transpire. Guy Kyser, a specialist at the UC Davis Plant Sciences Department, explained how plant transpiration transforms carbon dioxide into “food” for plants to grow.

“Water in the shallow soil is either going to evaporate, or it’s going to be transpired,” Kyser said, “which means it’s going to pass through a plant from the soil to the atmosphere. The transpiration process helps the plant fix CO₂ and convert it into food or plant material. The plant is really a little solar powered machine that catches CO₂ out of the atmosphere and turns it into something solid so it’s not a greenhouse gas anymore.”

Kyser also explained the phytoremediation* process that occurs in plants grown in less-than-ideal soil and water conditions, in which these plants take up polluted water from its roots while removing impurities from the soil, retain the impurities, and release pure water into the atmosphere. Kyser said, “So, with phytoremediation, you can use the plants to purify poor soil or water situations, then mow off the plant material when the process is done. All the toxins stay in the plant, and only the pure water goes through.” Despite being a slow process, phytoremediation is effective in toxin removal, environmentally friendly, and does not harm soil health.

*Phytoremediation: Ancient Greek for “plant” and Latin for “restoring balance”

California Ag Today2016-05-31T19:28:07-07:00August 13th, 2015|

European Farmland Under Pressure

European Farmland under Pressure Due to Regulation and Diversion

By Laurie Greene, Editor

Jose Gomez Carrasco, executive sales manager for AGQ Labs and Technological Services based in Oxnard, is in charge of covering a large area that includes the U.S., Mexico and Central America. Noting global concern regarding how farmland is being used, particularly European farmland, Carrasco said, “There’s a growing population of around 150,000 or 170,000 new mouths every day to feed.” Carrasco said agricultural production on land designated for agricultural use in every country, worldwide, is being diverted to bio-ethanol, or bio-mass, or different renewable energy use, so the availability of agricultural products for food is diminishing.

Carrasco stated this progression needs to be moving in the opposite direction, “especially because there are other issues that are making production more challenging, such as water scarcity, soil erosion and the use and price of agro-chemicals, inputs and fertilizers, all of which are being controlled and monitored more and more.”

“The regulation of crop protection materials is intended to help everyone in the food supply chain,” he continued, “all the way from the grower to the consumer; however, sometimes these regulations can be quite burdensome.”

“In some cases regulations are not for the benefit of all,” Carrasco explained; “just for some. So in markets such as the European Union where the [maximum threshold] number of molecules registered has diminished from 1,000 to 300 or 400 in the last decade, we’re finding a lot of this regulation comes from Germany.” Carrasco said they are leaving a lot of farmers with no agro-chemicals in their arsenal, especially in Spain, Portugal, and Greece, all in southern Europe.

California Ag Today2016-05-31T19:28:07-07:00August 11th, 2015|