http://ucanr.org/blogs/anrnews/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed The past, present and future of ANR news en-us UC ANR http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/rss/ Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:58:38 PST Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:58:38 PST An article in the agribusiness newspaper Capital Press about how much money is being spent on research around California to develop alternatives to fossil fuels was picked up from a UC ANR news release touting the most recent issue of California Agriculture journal.Writer Tim Hearden's story, however, refers in the third paragraph to "the study," when in fact the release reported that more than two-thirds of a billion dollars coming from corporate and government sources are funding dozens of......
]]> Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:58:37 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1960&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1960 When 250 people climbed aboard buses for an annual tour of North Sacramento Valley agricultural operations this week, among them was Chico Enterprise reporter Heather Hacking to document the trip for the newspaper's readers who couldn't attend. The tour's five stops included a Mediterranean food producer, a pistachio orchard, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.'s new rail shipment yard, a prune orchard and a walnut farm. At the latter two stops, UC Cooperative Extension researchers explained their...... Thu, 05 Nov 2009 10:40:49 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1954&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1954 San Diego County officials are calling on a UC Cooperative Extension farm advisor once again to help solve a pesky problem with gnats, according to an article in today's San Diego Union-Tribune. Last year, residents of the north San Diego County community of Jacumba were plagued by gnats and believed their source was a local organic farm. UCCE farm advisor Jim Bethke confirmed their suspicions and began working with the farmer to find an environmentally sound way to control the pests. Now the......
]]> Wed, 04 Nov 2009 10:55:30 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1949&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1949 UC Cooperative Extension viticulture and plant science farm advisor Glenn McGourty has been appointed to the Ukiah Unified School District Board of Trustees, according to The Willits News. One of the reasons McGourty applied for the position, he explained in his written application, was because UC President Mark Yudof encouraged all UC faculty to reach out to K-12 education, "as the future depends on quality public schools in the state."McGourty was also asked in the application about his......
]]> Tue, 03 Nov 2009 09:53:49 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1945&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1945 UC ANR's Web Action Team has added new features to the blog system that now appear on the ANR News Blog. On the upper right, you will see icons for "share," "e-mail," and "print."Clicking on the "share" icon allows readers to quickly and easily add the post to their favorite social media outlets, including Facebook, Twitter, Digg and many others. Print and e-mail also simplify the sharing of information from the blog using more traditional communications approaches. Note: The ANR News Blog...... Mon, 02 Nov 2009 12:41:36 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1939&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1939 It may be a little confusing for readers to tease out the truth from a story in today's Modesto Bee, but the article still raises awareness about two new programs that involve UC Cooperative Extension. Farmers are being sought to participate in both, but not both at the same time. The story is based on an announcement from the non-profit organization "Sustainable Conservation," based in San Francisco. Sustainable Conservation is providing funding to implement two new "Best Management Practices......
]]> Mon, 02 Nov 2009 12:32:51 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1938&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1938 A fun-to-read column in the Berkeley Daily Planet this week combines tradition-busting language with practical information that will help homeowners combat Sudden Oak Death. I'll guess writer Ron Sullivan's word choice reveals him as a "hipster," a moniker attached to people who, according to Wikipedia, are young, recently-settled urban adults and older teenagers with interests in non-mainstream fashion and culture, particularly alternative music, independent rock, independent film and......
]]> Fri, 30 Oct 2009 11:53:55 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1932&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1932 A community garden in Palm Desert was featured on the local TV news last night, with gardeners and experts proclaiming the many benefits of producing one's own vegetables. Reporter Eddie Quezada of KESQ-TV interviewed gardener Brian Desborough, who said his small plot yields about 100 pounds of heirloom tomatoes, vegetables that often go for $5 a pound at supermarkets.UC Cooperative Extension vegetable crops advisor Jose Luis Aguiar noted in his interview the psychological benefits of......
]]> Thu, 29 Oct 2009 12:39:25 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1928&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1928 A plot of Southeast Asian medicinal and culinary herbs at the UC Kearney Research and Extension Center made an appearance in a Fresno Bee food story published yesterday.The article centered on "Cooking from the Heart: The Hmong Kitchen in America," a cookbook for Americans who wish to try the exotic cuisine introduced by Hmong immigrants. A large population of Hmong settled in the San Joaquin Valley after the Vietnam War. The Hmong collaborated with the CIA during the conflict and were promised......
]]> Thu, 29 Oct 2009 11:47:03 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1926&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1926 Do happy chickens taste better? Some customers who buy poultry from Cache Creek Meat Co. of Yolo County think so. One of the owners, however, attributes the meat quality to the sunshine and fresh grass the birds enjoy on a farm that gives them even more liberty than so-called "free range" chickens, according to a story in today's Sacramento Bee.Cache Creek Meat Co. specializes in "pastured poultry" – raising chickens outdoors and rotating them through a series of pens. The birds spend their......
]]> Wed, 28 Oct 2009 11:38:54 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1921&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1921 There are perhaps no farmers who work harder than small-scale dairy operators. Consider that the cows must be milked twice a day, seven days a week, year-round - no matter the weather, illnesses, holidays or special occasions. Add to that the dismal economics of milk production, and you have a recipe for dispair.Those are the feelings of Marc Duivenvoorden, who was recently profiled in the Redding Record-Searchlight. He owns a dairy on the border of Tehama and Shasta counties with 25 producing...... Tue, 27 Oct 2009 13:13:29 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1917&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1917 Reports, maps and photos documenting the lively and sometimes contentious history of California water need a new home following UC ANR vice president Dan Dooley's decision to move the collection out of UC Berkeley, the Sacramento Bee reported today.Director of the Center for Watershed Sciences at UC Davis and professor of environmental engineering, Jay Lund, said he would like to see the library moved to Sacramento or Davis. "So long as it's available for people who need to go and do serious...... Mon, 26 Oct 2009 13:20:52 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1915&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1915 An article about ANR's restructuring plan in the California Farm Bureau Federation newspaper AgAlert concludes with words of support from the federation's first vice president, Paul Wenger. He said that in the past, Cooperative Extension and research stations have borne the brunt of university budget cuts, but the current restructuring "seems fair.""Challenging times call for challenging solutions," Wenger was quoted. "But at the same time, you want to make sure that somebody is not carrying......
]]> Mon, 26 Oct 2009 10:44:52 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1914&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1914 Fall rains came in just the nick of time for salmon in the Shasta and Scott rivers, according to an article in today's Redding Record-Searchlight. Before the most recent storms, salmon attempting to swim upstream to spawn were trapped in shallow, isolated pools. Agricultural water usage was getting the blame. "The irrigation withdrawals are very clearly what is causing the extremely low flows on both rivers," the article quoted Scott Harding, executive director of Klamath Riverkeeper, a......
]]> Fri, 23 Oct 2009 09:27:04 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1909&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1909 Fresno Bee food writer Joan Obra devoted her column this week to the impending closure of the UC Small Farm Program, a move being taken by UC ANR to meet budget constraints. Though Obra often writes about restaurants and recipes, she delved into agricultural topics long before it became fashionable in the genre. Because of her interest in agriculture and local food systems, the San Joaquin Valley's UC Small Farm Program advisors have made frequent appearances on the Fresno Bee food page. In...... Thu, 22 Oct 2009 14:33:32 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1902&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1902 To the profound dismay of California's winegrape growers, the European grapevine moth has somehow traveled from its home in Southern Europe, North Africa, Anatolia and the Caucasus to take up residence in famed Napa County. It is the pest's first appearance in the United States.San Joaquin Valley farmers are casting a weary eye up north hoping the new pest doesn't make its way into their vast acreage of wine, table and raisin grapes, according to a story in yesterday's Fresno Bee. UC......
]]> Thu, 22 Oct 2009 12:19:17 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1901&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1901 The economy is floundering, but federal money is still flowing. Last week, the U.S. Ag Secretary, Tom Vilsack, announced $7 million in grants for research on the biology of plant processes and traits which can be used to breed crops with greater value and resilience to climate stress, according to a USDA press release.The release said $448,000 of the funds go to UC Davis, where scientists will use the money to better understand plant biology "from the genome to the field."The "genome" refers to......
]]> Wed, 21 Oct 2009 07:10:34 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1895&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1895 UC Davis nutrition scientists say people don't have to worry about their salt intake. The human body makes sure sodium levels remain within a certain range at all times, according to recently published research that the Sacramento Bee called "controversial." "Our sodium intake is regulated by the brain, and your brain won't let you go very far outside of that boundary," the Bee quoted study co-author David McCarron. "You may eat that whole bag of chips, but it just means that as you sit down......
]]> Tue, 20 Oct 2009 07:34:07 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1891&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1891 UC Cooperative Extension farm advisor Mark Gaskell is working with a farmer in Santa Barbara County to determine whether coffee can be a viable specialty crop in California, said an article published last week in the Santa Barbara News Press. On the 20-acre organic farm of Goleta resident Jay Rusky, more than a dozen coffee varieties are being cultivated on a trial basis. Rusky first planted coffee in 2000; he now has about 400 trees. Gaskell told the reporter it is likely the most extensive......
]]> Mon, 19 Oct 2009 10:55:58 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1890&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1890 USDA announced yesterday that it is awarding $49 million for 745 projects to enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops; $16 million will go to California. The agency's news release said the USDA defines specialty crops as fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, horticulture and nursery crops, including floriculture. United States Congressman Dennis Cardoza (D-Merced), chair of the Agriculture Subcommittee on Horticulture and Organic Agriculture, also issued a release about the award......
]]> Fri, 16 Oct 2009 05:38:33 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1884&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1884 The county where the first California 4-H club was established in 1913 must take special pride in its unique distinction as the origin of a successful statewide youth development program offered by UC Cooperative Extension, judging from an article that ran yesterday in the Times-Standard. The story was also picked up in the Contra Costa Times.Writer Jessie Faulkner put Humboldt County's 4-H claim to fame near the top of a feature marking National 4-H Week, Oct. 4-10. The Humboldt County Board......
]]> Thu, 15 Oct 2009 14:15:32 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1881&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1881 New research by a UC Davis scientist and a UC Cooperative Extension specialist has found that some senior citizens already have a level of immunity to H1N1 flu, formerly known as Swine flu. The finding may explain why the 2009 H1N1-related symptoms have been generally mild, according to a UC Davis news release distributed to the media yesterday."The more you're exposed to viruses that can stimulate all types of immune response, the better protected you're likely to be," the Sacramento Bee......
]]> Wed, 14 Oct 2009 11:13:52 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1877&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1877 In a feature for the San Diego Tribune, writer R. J. Ignelzi wondered whether tough economic times have consumers thinking twice before throwing away food stored in the refrigerator."More kitchen misers are cutting away mold from a chunk of cheddar, hanging onto vinaigrette long past its prime and wondering if we can get just one more meal out of 2-day-old lasagna leftovers," the reporter proclaimed.According to Ignelzi, "During the boom years we thought nothing of trashing a carton of yogurt......
]]> Tue, 13 Oct 2009 10:48:24 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1873&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1873 A delegation of Egyptian agriculture and government officials toured rice fields east of Marysville Sunday to learn whether American advances in rice production and mechanization could be translated for farmers in the Nile River Valley, according to an article published in the Appeal-Democrat.What can farmers, whose ancestors have worked the land and handed down agricultural information for thousands of years, learn from experts in a locale settled by farmers just a 150 years ago? And how could...... Tue, 13 Oct 2009 10:46:38 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1872&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1872 The Fresno Bee reported this morning that farmers are beginning to use social media to communicate with each other and with consumers. The story opens with Kings County dairy operator Barbara Martin, who films herself with a hand-held video camera out on the dairy and posts her messages regularly on a blog, "A Dairy Goddess."Reporter Robert Rodriguez wrote that Martin writes the blog to dispel myths about farmers and encourage a greater understanding of the slumping dairy industry.The article......
]]> Mon, 12 Oct 2009 10:40:15 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1866&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1866 The Orange County Register posted a video yesterday of local 4-H students making biofuel as part of the program's National Science Experiment, the 2009 Biofuel Blast. Ten Trabuco Trailblazers experimented with baking soda and rubbing alcohol, yeast,  brown sugar, corn syrup and dried leaves to fill green 4-H balloons with ethanol. The youth are part of Orange County's largest 4-H club, which is 160 members strong, according to the Register.The national science experiment is conducted each year......
]]> Fri, 09 Oct 2009 09:22:14 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1855&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1855 Around the country and around California 4-H youth learned about bio-fuel by conducting a national science experiment yesterday. The 4-H members learned how cellulose and sugars in plants such as switchgrass, sorghum corn and algae can be converted into fuel. Oct. 7 was 4-H Youth Science Day, but some California 4-H clubs and groups will conduct the experiment at their next meeting, according to the ANR news release. The National 4-H organization used the science experiment announcement to......
]]> Thu, 08 Oct 2009 07:35:22 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1851&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1851 Be prepared with a plan, warns UC Cooperative Extension farm advisor Craig Kallsen, for the very real possibility of an Asian Citrus Psyllid quarantine area in Kern County, according to an article he authored that was published in Western Farm Press yesterday.If the pest appears in the San Joaquin Valley's southernmost county, farmers will face a distinct challenge. Most of the citrus fruit harvested in Kern County is shipped to other counties for packing. If the county were to be quarantined,......
]]> Wed, 07 Oct 2009 08:10:43 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1847&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1847 How can California residents reduce the use of water, pesticides and fertilizers in their landscapes? By growing plants that are tough enough. Identifying those plants is the goal of a joint effort by the UC Davis Arboretum, UC Cooperative Extension and the California Center for Urban Agriculture. A recent article in the Redding Record-Searchlight said the program is an offshoot the UC Davis Arboretum All-stars program, in which standout plants at the arboretum are promoted to home gardeners.......
]]> Tue, 06 Oct 2009 06:31:30 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1836&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1836 The San Francisco Chronicle devoted space in the Sunday paper for a story about gigantic watermelons cultivated by a Santa Clara County UC Cooperative Extension Master Gardener.Master Gardener Mike Kent sent away for giant watermelon seeds and tended a patch at the program's two-acre research garden, "Nine Palms Ranch." The result was five supersized watermelons including a 103.2-pound behemoth that was carved up and shared at a September tasting and open house.According to the story, written......
]]> Mon, 05 Oct 2009 11:27:32 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1835&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1835 Rice farmers in Northern California are trying to determine exactly how much their yields have suffered because of cold irrigation water, according to an article this week in the Chico Enterprise-Record.The story, written by Heather Hacking, said UC Cooperative Extension farm advisor Cass Mutters has done research to document the temperatures of water in the fields. Rice doesn't produce as well when irrigated with water at lower temperatures, and the longer the water is cold, the more damage is......
]]> Fri, 02 Oct 2009 06:44:04 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1829&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1829 Cooler, breezy weather in California this week is a welcome sign of autumn. After three years of drought, the beginning of fall holds hope for a "normal" rainy season. Since the hoped-for stormy weather can release branches from trees, UC Cooperative Extension horticulture advisor Michelle LeStrange reminded readers in her Visalia Times-Delta column today to take a close look at their landscape trees. "It’s better to find a broken branch in your tree," she wrote, "than on your car." She......
]]> Thu, 01 Oct 2009 06:06:24 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1823&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1823 Americans love their lawns. The ubiquitous mowed and edged turfgrass is beautiful, functional and, unfortunately, thirsty. Creating an esthetically pleasing, lush, but drought-tolerant lawn is the goal of a UC Riverside research program that was the center of a Los Angeles Times feature story this week. Turfgrass specialist Jim Baird told reporter Karen Kaplen he hopes grass from his patchwork of experimental turf plots at UC Riverside will grace the lawns, parks, golf courses and athletic......
]]> Wed, 30 Sep 2009 11:15:46 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1821&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1821 A capacity class of Marin College students returned to the Indian Valley Farm for the fall session of the school's new organic farm and environmental landscaping program, according to a post yesterday in the San Francisco Examiner's Sustainable Food blog by Jeri Lynn Chandler. The program is a collaboration between the College of Marin, the Marin Conservation Corps and UC Cooperative Extension's Marin Master Gardeners. It is funded with a $374,254 College of Marin chancellor's grant and......
]]> Tue, 29 Sep 2009 08:42:34 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1817&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1817 Farmers used to shade their eyes and look to the horizon for a view of their crops. Today, a whole new perspective is available - photographs taken by satellite, airplane and even remote-controlled drone.Aerial imagery can tell farmers exactly where their fields need more water or fertilizer to achieve uniform productivity and yield, according to an article in the Hanford Sentinel.One vision of the future has computers analyzing the crops' water needs from the sky and transmitting data directly......
]]> Mon, 28 Sep 2009 11:27:04 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1812&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1812 Sometimes it’s the little side comments people make that are most telling. This could certainly be true in a brief Chico Enterprise-Record story published over the weekend about artisan olive growers. In the lead sentence, business editor Laura Urseny called UC Cooperative Extension “food and farm information central.” That’s a label I think we could get used to. For the brief, UC Cooperative Extension farm advisor Paul Vossen told the writer that about 25 percent of California's olive oil...... Mon, 28 Sep 2009 08:55:39 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1808&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1808 A long, slightly irreverent diatribe on brain fitness in the independent online local news conduit the Sacramento News & Review does two things: it offers a UC expert the opportunity to present scientific information and it makes the old-school reader wonder, "Is this really the future of news?"The article, by Matt Perry, annihilates the rules of conventional journalism: Written for the infinite scope of cyberspace, the harangue rambles on for more than 1,500 words. Science writing...... Fri, 25 Sep 2009 10:46:48 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1803&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1803 Exotic insect pests get lots of attention in California. Some recent examples are light brown apple moth, Asian citrus psyllid, gypsy moth and olive fruit fly. But here's a story about an insect that was introduced to California some years ago and is a welcome immigrant - the Gulf Fritillary. Writer Kathy Keatley Garvey of the UC Davis Department of Entomology sent out a press release today about recent sightings in Sacramento and Davis of the striking orange butterfly.The Gulf Fritillary is a......
]]> Thu, 24 Sep 2009 11:34:12 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1798&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1798 California farmers are known for growing some of the world's finest cotton. Even though, production has been on a steady downward decline since a high of 1.3 million acres in 1979. This year, only about 200,000 acres of California cotton are being cultivated.The drop can be attributed to a number of factors, according to an article today in AgAlert about the repercussions for the cotton ginning industry. Nearly two-thirds of the cotton gins that operated in California 10 years ago have......
]]> Wed, 23 Sep 2009 13:00:48 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1793&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1793 The Bozeman Daily Chronicle reported today that Steve Angle, the former dean of the UC Riverside College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences and one of three finalists for the post of president at Montana State University, visited the campus and spoke at a public forum yesterday. The last two years Angle has been provost at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. Montana State University is a land grant institution.Angle spoke before nearly 200 people, including students, professors, staff......
]]> Tue, 22 Sep 2009 11:56:13 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1788&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1788 A man lying down for a nap in Los Angeles' Griffith Park woke up to a coyote biting his foot, according to a brief article in the Los Angeles Times over the weekend. The man was not seriously injured, but the unusual encounter with wildlife increased local alarm over a spate of coyote-related incidents in the southland. Another person was bitten by a coyote in Griffith Park in August. Pop singer Jessica Simpson's poodle-maltese mix was snatched by a coyote on Monday night. On Wednesday,......
]]> Mon, 21 Sep 2009 11:07:25 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1781&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1781 Former Fresno County UC Cooperative Extension farm advisor, Lowell Zelinski, and his wife are launching a new luxury winemaking course in Paso Robles to operate in conjunction with their agricultural management business, according to a story in the Santa Maria Times. The Zelinskis began working with Central Coast vineyards in 2003; a few years later they began making wine from vines they were managing, a process documented by Becky Zelinski, an aspiring photographer.Their friends were envious,......
]]> Mon, 21 Sep 2009 10:55:30 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1780&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1780 Just a year after its completion, a 1.5-mile J-shaped swath of cleared land protected John Middlebrook's 428-acres of forested Yuba County from a raging wildfire, according to a story in the The Grass Valley Union. A $52,000 state grant paid for the firebreak. Compared to $1.5 million per-day cost of fighting a wildfire, it appears the firebreak was a sound investment.“Even when you know the science, you doubt yourself,” UC Cooperative Extension natural resources advisor Glenn Nader told...... Fri, 18 Sep 2009 11:08:30 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1773&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1773 A report released today said that Californians' thirst for soda and other sugar-sweetened beverages is one of the reasons too many of the state's residents are fat. The study, by UCLA Center for Health Policy Research and the California Center for Public Health Advocacy, says 24 percent of California adults drink at least one sugary drink every day, according to news stories published by media outlets throughout the state.Sacramento Bee reporter Anna Tong sought comment about the trend from......
]]> Thu, 17 Sep 2009 10:18:20 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1768&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1768 Barley suffers from an image problem. Who would guess that it is one of the world's most important crops? A quick review of a recent UC Riverside press release uncovers the reason: Besides being a healthful cereal, animal feed and potential bio-fuel crop, barley is the grain of choice for making beer. Barley beer was probably the first drink developed by Neolithic humans, according to Wikipedia. The release, written by Iqbal Pittalwala, says UC Riverside will receive a $1 million grant from......
]]> Wed, 16 Sep 2009 12:41:39 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1765&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1765 A panel of 10 scientists, economists and USDA employees released a report yesterday that said the USDA's characterization of light brown apple moth as an "invasive threat" was correct, but the federal agency didn't back up the assertion with sound science, according to an Associated Press story.The panel, convened by the National Academy of Sciences, includes UC Berkeley entomologist Nicholas Mills. He acknowledged in the article that assessing the potential threat of an invasive species is a......
]]> Tue, 15 Sep 2009 11:25:24 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1759&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1759 Fresno Bee reporter Robert Rodriguez spoke to UC nematologist Michael McKenry for his methyl iodide story, which appeared in today's paper. McKenry's thoughts weren't included in the article, so I'll share some here. Methyl iodide is a federally approved fumigant that is currently under review by the California Department of Pesticide Regulation. Farmers see it as a potential alternative for methyl bromide, which is being phased out because it reacts with ozone in the stratosphere, diminishing......
]]> Mon, 14 Sep 2009 10:42:05 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1753&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1753 A Michael Pollan opinion piece that appeared in yesterday's New York Times is reverberating in the ag community. Pollan contends that the United State's high spending on health care can be explained by the country's obesity crisis, and that fact will eventually pit health care interests against agribusiness.". . . Our success in bringing health care costs under control ultimately depends on whether Washington can summon the political will to take on and reform a second, even more powerful......
]]> Fri, 11 Sep 2009 11:32:09 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1742&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1742 In the old days, we wrote a news release and it was either published or trashed within the week. Now, our evergreen articles are suspended in time, providing UC expertise to reporters with the tap of a keyword on Google. One such example turned up in the Yuba Sun today, where writer Nancy Gilkey reported on the common weed purslane, which in some cultures is considered a flavorful vegetable.Cooks can find the the versatile and nutritious green growing along the road in Yuma County, Gilkey......
]]> Thu, 10 Sep 2009 11:39:46 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1735&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1735 The Weekend Pinnacle in San Benito County ran an article last week about the county's newest farm advisor, Maria de la Fuente. She began working from the county's Hollister office in March, but has been advising farmers and nursery operators in the Central Coast since 1996.The article said de la Fuente is particularly interested in continuing her work on waste management. "I feel very blessed to be able to accomplish research that helps through better use of resources by recycling," she was...... Wed, 09 Sep 2009 06:48:10 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1722&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1722 Writer Charlotte Allen wrote a scathing column for the Los Angeles Times last week about a new food movement in the United States aimed toward more sustainable and socially responsible consumption.Titled "Keep your self-righteous fingers off my processed food," the article takes to task "social critics (who) inform us that we're actually spending too little for the food we eat, the clothes we wear, the furniture we sit on and the gasoline that runs our automobiles." The concept, Allen......
]]> Tue, 08 Sep 2009 10:23:16 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1720&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1720 Los Angeles Times food writer David Karp dubbed the exotic fruit pitahaya "artichokes from Mars" in a story which drew inspiration from a UC Cooperative Extension field day held last month at the UC South Coast Research and Extension Center. Karp described pitahaya - also known as dragon fruit - as flaming pink, spineless cactus fruits, with neon magenta flesh and a mild, sweet flavor. They have tiny, edible black seeds, similar to a kiwi's.UC's resident pitahaya expert is Small Farm Program......
]]> Fri, 04 Sep 2009 09:50:48 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1713&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1713 The Associated Press today moved a story on the wire that said federal authorties "failed to follow through" on plans to conduct prescribed burns that would have cleared brush now involved in raging wildfires. According to the story, the U.S. Forest Service obtained permits to burn more than 1,700 acres of Southern California's Angeles National Forest months ago. But just 193 acres had been cleared by the time the fire broke out.The Forest Service said weather, wind and environmental rules......
]]> Thu, 03 Sep 2009 09:49:34 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1708&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1708 One Friday afternoon in 2007, two UC Riverside scientists went out for a beer after work and comiserated over a research report published in the most recent Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. "I don't think there's been another case where I've seen him so really ticked off," said insect pathologist Brian Federici of his colleague plant biotechnologist Alan McHughen. Federici said he was also annoyed by the article, which he called "bad science."The scientists' frustration led to......
]]> Wed, 02 Sep 2009 13:00:54 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1698&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1698 When raging wildfires threaten homes in California, UC Cooperative Extension wood durability advisor Steve Quarles commands rapt attention. He reached many thousands of the state's residents with an interview that aired yesterday on All Things Considered and on today's Morning Edition.Capital Public Radio's Steve Milne produced the spot to examine whether homeowners can live safely in wildland areas and whether creating a “defensible space” around the home is enough.Quarles told him the design......
]]> Tue, 01 Sep 2009 10:19:04 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1692&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1692 Like other picturesque sites in California, Sierra Valley is struggling to protect its agricultural industry. The Sierra Nevada's highest alpine valley, with sprawling grassland edged by mountain peaks, would make a lovely spot for vacation homes and tourism. Many of the ranchers, however, don't want to quit running cattle and growing crops on the valley's wide open spaces, according to a story in today's Sacramento Bee."I could have cashed out very easily," the story quoted rancher Dave...... Mon, 31 Aug 2009 10:34:12 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1688&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1688 A FedEx package filled with curry leaves and guavas arrived in Sacramento Wednesday infested with 100 Asian citrus psyllids, the Los Angeles Times reported today. In a scenario eerily similar to one that took place in Fresno two weeks ago, a trained dog alerted authorities to the package, the pests were trapped, analyzed at a lab and determined to be free of the bacteria that causes the citrus disease Huanglongbing (HLB).The package destined for Fresno was mailed from India; the package in......
]]> Fri, 28 Aug 2009 12:00:17 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1684&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1684 The Los Angeles Times reported this afternoon that Asian citrus psyllid has been found in a Los Angeles County backyard citrus tree. Just yesterday, officials confirmed the pest was found in Orange County. These were the first finds outside of San Diego and Imperial counties, where the exotic pest was first captured in California in early 2008.UC citrus entomologist Beth Grafton-Cardwell is asking Californians to pitch in on the battle against Asian citrus psyllid, which in other parts of the...... Wed, 26 Aug 2009 15:26:05 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1675&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1675 CDFA announced in a news release yesterday that five Asian citrus psyllids were found in the Orange County community of Santa Ana, triggering the first ACP quarantine north of San Diego and Imperial counties.The northward movement of the psyllid may raise fears of the state's citrus growers, but there is also some good news about the effectiveness of state-sponsored pest eradication programs. CDFA announced in another news release yesterday that a Mediterranean fruit fly infestation San Diego's......
]]> Wed, 26 Aug 2009 10:27:14 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1672&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1672 A brief blog post on Adventure Travel 101 introduces readers to the concept of agritourism and points them to the UC Small Farm Program's agritourism Web site, http://calagtour.org. The blog appears on examiner.com, billed as "The insider source for everything local." Writer Dana Nichols, who has the good fortune of working from Mammoth Lakes, Calif., notes that many people have already participated in agritourism without knowing it by visiting pumpkin patches, tasting wine at a vineyard or......
]]> Tue, 25 Aug 2009 12:33:59 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1668&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1668 This week's Time magazine cover feature doubles as an opinionated rant about what ails the US food system. Perhaps some of it should be taken with a grain of salt; but there are plenty of ideas that make sense, even if they aren't scientifically proven.I confess it is something of a stretch to include it in the ANR news blog, which covers news of ANR activities and experts. (It wasn't until the final page that I found information sourced from the University of California, perhaps from this ANR......
]]> Tue, 25 Aug 2009 10:38:15 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1667&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1667 The author of an op-ed piece that appeared in the San Jose Mercury-News over the weekend correctly notes that the public probably hasn't heard about the work of Central Coast farmers and environmentalists to improve the quality of water that flows from farms to the sea. "There are no headline-grabbing fights, just thoughtful problem solving between partners," wrote Dan Haifley, the executive director of O'Neill Sea Odyssey, a non-profit organization that provides a free education course to......
]]> Mon, 24 Aug 2009 12:32:23 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1658&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1658 The beautiful color and exotic shape of dragon fruit is being produced successfully in Southern California backyards and on small farms thanks to the work of UC Small Farm Program advisor Ramiro Lobo, based at the UC Cooperative Extension office in San Diego County.Lobo will once again host backyard gardeners and farmers at the 2009 Dragon Fruit Festival and Field Day Saturday, Aug. 29, at the UC South Coast Research and Extension Center near Irvine. The event was publicized by the Village......
]]> Fri, 21 Aug 2009 10:39:54 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1652&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1652 A wildfire policy that has met with some success in Australia - in which trained homeowners stay and defend their own homes in the face of a wildfire - is not popular with California firefighters, but some UC experts believe it has a place in the Golden State.According to a story in the San Jose Mercury-News today, the California Professional Firefighters have dubbed the program "Stay and Die." When homeowners refuse to evacuate, firefighters use this scary tactic: "If they stay, we'll gather......
]]> Thu, 20 Aug 2009 09:52:04 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1647&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1647 It's the most wonderful time of the year! Kids are going back to school and the media are covering the joyful moment with UC expertise. For the Redding Record-Searchlight, that means providing advice on back-to-school breakfasts. Freelance writer Debra Moore spoke to three experts, including UC Cooperative Extension nutrition educator Lori Cocker. "Breakfast on the go can mean using dinner leftovers, or serving fresh fruit and low-fat yogurt, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on whole grain......
]]> Wed, 19 Aug 2009 13:01:12 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1644&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1644 On his Twitter feed, Los Angeles Times reporter Jerry Hirsch suggested his followers "learn how a Labrador retriever saved California's orange industry from disaster."While the story's heroine, a plant-sniffing dog named Chelsea, didn't appear in the article until the 17th paragraph, UC Riverside citrus entomologist Beth Grafton-Cardwell was the first expert quoted, way up in the third paragraph. Grafton-Cardwell told the reporter that a disease carried by the Asian citrus psyllid - an insect...... Tue, 18 Aug 2009 10:10:44 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1639&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1639 University of California Cooperative Extension will be at the table with the Tulare County farm bureau, farmers, county supervisors and others as the Tulare County Resource Management Agency looks for ways to preserve farmland without the Williamson Act, according to an article in the Porterville Recorder. The story said 6,611 Williamson Act contracts are in place in Tulare County, affecting 35 percent of county land. Because of the difficult budget times, the state cut funding for the...... Wed, 12 Aug 2009 07:48:26 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1610&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1610 An article in the Merced Sun-Star today declares that wasps are in full force this summer. Reporter Carol Reiter set out to determine why and what to do. UCCE farm advisor Maxwell Norton told her he suspects the high number of local homes abandoned due to foreclosure has boosted the wasp population. "So many abandoned homes means that they are multiplying unabated," Norton was quoted. "Garage eaves and home eaves give them a lot of places to build their nests and be undisturbed."Reiter also......
]]> Tue, 11 Aug 2009 07:34:05 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1601&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1601 Who could forget the famous news conference in 1981 when Gov. Jerry Brown appointee B.T. Collins drank a cup of the pesticide malathion to prove it was safe? That was at the height of a long-running Southern California controversy about nighttime malathion treatments to eradicate the Mediterranean fruit fly. Now, some southland residents may hear the thwap, thwap, thwap of helicopters overhead once again - two new fruit flies have been found in eastern Los Angeles County, according to an......
]]> Mon, 10 Aug 2009 10:53:44 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1597&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1597 A specially trained dog found curry leaves inside a package at a Fresno FedEx facility that were carrying Asian citrus psyllid, according to the Associated Press. Even more chilling, authorities announced yesterday that the pest was smuggling a serious citrus disease, said an article in the Fresno Bee today."It's very, very scary," the Bee story quoted Joel Nelsen of California Citrus Mutual. "This is not hyperbole. That could destroy our citrus industry in California." UC scientists are......
]]> Fri, 07 Aug 2009 10:14:45 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1591&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1591 Mother Jones magazine gives readers another reason to avoid high fructose corn syrup. Besides increasing the risk for obesity and diabetes, the sweetener has been found to be contaminated with mercury, according to an article in the July/August 2009 issue. The story said an FDA researcher stumbled upon an obscure report about mercury emissions from chemical plants making lye. She wondered if lye - a component in HFCS production - was tainted with the heavy metal.A national lab and a UC Davis......
]]> Thu, 06 Aug 2009 10:00:08 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1589&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1589 A story in the Colusa County Sun-Herald does such a great job chronicling the local UC Master Gardener program, I'm sure we couldn't have written a finer account ourselves. Reporter Susan Meeker does make one common mischaracterization, calling it the "University of California Davis, Cooperative Extension Master Gardener program," but she goes on to capture the most important aspects of UC's volunteer garden information extension organization in a 400-word article published yesterday. "We're...... Wed, 05 Aug 2009 09:50:29 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1584&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1584 The Ventura County 4-H program made a splash over the weekend with two front page feature stories in the Ventura County Star. The article opened as almost a profile of UC Cooperative Extension 4-H Youth Development advisor Susan Gloeckler. It said Gloeckler teaches children, young adults and other teachers about the importance of farming and technological advances in the field.“Farmers are scientists and businessmen, and like other fields, they also have to keep up with technology,” Gloeckler...... Tue, 04 Aug 2009 11:52:32 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1579&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1579 An article in USA Today yesterday pinned 30 percent of the blame for California's drought on the federal government. The other 70 percent is assigned to Mother Nature. Court and regulatory rulings protecting endangered fish have cut water allocations to irrigated agriculture, compounding a natural dry spell, the story said. "This is a regulatory drought, is what it is," the story quoted Firebaugh farmer Todd Alen. "It just doesn't seem fair." UC Davis ag economist Richard Howitt told the...... Wed, 29 Jul 2009 07:58:57 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1566&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1566 UC Berkeley nutritionist emeritus Joanne Ikeda drew some attention from the media when she was quoted referring to President Obama's pick for Surgeon General, Regina Benjamin, as "fat." Later, she regretted using a term many consider pejorative, but her frankness - a trait much appreciated in the news media - supplied other opportunities to make her point. For example, Ikeda was quoted extensively by the Washington bureau reporter of the Alabama Press Register, a newspaper in Benjamin's home......
]]> Tue, 28 Jul 2009 09:59:21 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1564&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1564 The Fresno Bee devoted more than 2,000 words on Saturday to a sad but real paradox in the San Joaquin Valley. Low-income people pay more for their food than people who make more money. The prime reason: low-income areas aren't served by large supermarkets, forcing people with limited transportation to purchase staples like bread and milk at corner markets and convenience stores.The first expert cited in the lengthy piece was UC Cooperative Extension nutrition, family and consumer sciences...... Mon, 27 Jul 2009 11:51:46 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1559&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1559 UC scientists are trying to figure out how the pathogen that causes Sudden Oak Death, Phytophthora ramorum, is getting into streams unconnected to known sources, according to an article in today's San Francisco Chronicle. "It is a completely baffling thing and it is very frustrating," the story quoted UC Cooperative Extension forestry advisor Yana Valachovic.The pathogen was found in waterways even after all runoff was halted, infected material was removed and the surrounding area was......
]]> Fri, 24 Jul 2009 11:28:02 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1553&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1553 Retired UC Berkeley nutrition specialist Joanne Ikeda didn't mince words when she commented about the woman President Obama has nominated to be the nation's surgeon general. The nominee, Dr. Regina Benjamin, is a McArthur genius grant recipient, holds advanced degrees in medicine and business administration, and runs her own family practice medical clinic in rural Alabama that treats predominantly low income patients. But by all accounts, she is overweight. "I thank God that Dr. Regina......
]]> Thu, 23 Jul 2009 09:58:05 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1541&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1541 Climate change is not just about sea-level rise and polar bears, UC Davis researcher Eike Luedeling told the Los Angeles Times for a story in today's paper. Climate change, he said, threatens U.S. food security.Luedeling's dire prediction was included in a story about new UC Davis research that shows winter chill hours in the San Joaquin Valley could decrease 60 percent from 1950 levels by mid-century and by as much as 80 percent by the end of the century. The reduction in winter chill, a vital......
]]> Wed, 22 Jul 2009 09:36:52 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1537&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1537 The Invasive Species Council of California has apointed a 24-member advisory committee that includes a diversity of environmental and agricultural experts, including two UC agriculture and natural resources scientists, according to a news release issued yesterday by CDFA. The UC advisory board members are: Joseph M. DiTomaso, Weed Specialist, University of California Davis Cooperative Extension Larry Godfrey, Vice Chair, Department of Entomology, U.C. Davis In addition, the board......
]]> Tue, 21 Jul 2009 09:57:41 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1529&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1529 A story last week in the Contra Costa Times got a few things wrong, but a story the newspaper published over the weekend was spot on. Reporter Rowena Coatsee crafted an article about the California Youth Fair, held last week in Antioch, and the local 4-H program.The California Youth Fair was formerly a 4-H event, but it was reorganized in 2007 into a non-profit organization with its own board of directors. The fair is open to all youth, including 4-H members, Future Farmers of America (FFA) and...... Mon, 20 Jul 2009 12:04:44 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1526&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1526 A news story published in the Contra Costa Times on July 8, and referred to in this blog the following day, didn't get all the facts right. The article, which appears to be no longer available on the Times Web site, was about the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors' proposal to cut its $325,383 funding for the UC Cooperative Extension program. The director of UCCE for Contra Costa County, Shelley Murdock, said she and her staff greatly appreciate newspaper coverage of their work, but......
]]> Fri, 17 Jul 2009 13:37:33 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1520&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1520 Even as California's focus has been on its stagnant economy and the state budget fiasco, the light brown apple moth is still fluttering in the background. Early this month, the San Joaquin County agricultural commissioner announced the discovery of LBAM in a Manteca trap; a second moth was found in Manteca last week, according to a report published on the KSWB Channel 8 Web site.Meanwhile, two UC scientists are saying the CDFA's LBAM eradication test scheduled for August in Napa and Sonoma......
]]> Fri, 17 Jul 2009 11:36:07 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1519&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1519 Reporter Carol Brodsky of the Ukiah Daily Journal suggests most readers are familiar with yellow starthistle, a noxious weed thought to have been introduced from Chile more than 100 years ago. Though yellow starthistle is controlled by a variety of insects and competitive weeds in its natural habitat, in California people are its primary enemy. And yellow starthistle is a formidable foe. It can grow six feet tall and as much around. The flowers are beautiful, but surrounded by sharp,......
]]> Thu, 16 Jul 2009 11:10:57 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1512&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1512 Fresno Bee reporter Mark Grossi captured all the pertinent facts about UC's Pacific fisher study in a 400-word article that appeared in today's paper. The story comes as researchers, environmentalists, and US Forest Service representatives from around the state converge in Fresno to review the latest research on the cute but ferocious cat-sized mammal. For the story, Grossi spoke to USFS district ranger Dave Martin, environmentalist Craig Thomas and UC Berkeley biologist Rick Sweitzer. Martin......
]]> Wed, 15 Jul 2009 11:40:39 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1508&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1508 The best laid schemes of mice and men Go often askew, And leaves us nothing but grief and pain, For promised joy! - Robert Burns, 1785 This well-known poem came to mind when I read an article in yesterday's San Francisco Chronicle. The story said Monterey County farmers are being forced to drain ponds and clear planted buffers that have provided habitat for beneficial insects and helped clean runoff water - all in the name of food safety. Writer Carolyn Lockhead of the Chron's Washington...... Tue, 14 Jul 2009 11:00:00 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1503&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1503 Is retail grocery giant Vons Supermarket co-opting the local food movement? The retired director and farm advisor for UC Cooperative Extension in Ventura County, Larry Yee, seems to think so. In an opinion piece published in the Ventura County Star over the weekend, Yee expresses displeasure in Vons' loose definition of the term "local." His curiosity was piqued, Yee writes, when he noticed cherries labeled "locally grown." A Ventura County ag professional for 24 years, Yee......
]]> Mon, 13 Jul 2009 10:11:59 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1497&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1497 They say all publicity is good publicity, so I'll point out a report about UC research that appeared on a blog and radio program titled Uprising - Subverting the Airwaves, broadcast on KBFK radio in Los Angeles and on the Web. The premise is a proposed substitute for the fumigant methyl bromide, which is being phased out because it has been found to deplete ozone in the earth's atmosphere. The substitute, methyl iodide, was patented by UC Riverside, the story said, and licensed to Arysta...... Fri, 10 Jul 2009 08:21:57 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1485&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1485 The Contra Costa Times yesterday ran a story about the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors' proposal to cut its $325,383 funding for the UC Cooperative Extension program. The story centered on the cut's potential impact on the county's 4-H program. Writer Nanci Valcke reported that she gleaned from "UCCE literature" the breadth of the program's role in the community. "As a land-grant institution, the UC Cooperative Extension mandate is tied to the welfare, development and...... Thu, 09 Jul 2009 10:01:27 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1484&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1484 A reporter at the Ventura County Star, Lisa McKinnon, did some detective work recently trying to substantiate a hunch about gophers. Her theory appeared in the third paragraph of a story published today: "Landscapers and gardeners alike say the local gopher population this year is one of the biggest, and possibly the most hungry, they have seen." Evidence included in the story: “I’ve definitely noticed more gophers this year on the trails. It looks like Swiss cheese out......
]]> Wed, 08 Jul 2009 10:01:16 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1477&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1477 The University of California has made two new Web sites, chock full of reliable science-based information, available free to the public on the Internet. The first is a portal to all of UC's gardening information titled California Gardening. The site organizes and extends UC's vast store of knowledge about gardening, landscapes and lawns. A blog on the Web site is updated weekly to highlight gardening content pertinent to the season. The new site also links to useful gardening resources on......
]]> Tue, 07 Jul 2009 05:40:08 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1473&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1473 A long excerpt from a recent UC online seminar for dairy operators on suicide prevention was used in a lengthy segment about the plight of California dairies on the California Report this morning. The story, by Fresno NPR reporter Sasha Khokha, noted that the Los Angeles Times reported in May that two dairymen have committed suicide as dairy industry profits crash. Currently, dairy operators earn about half what it costs them to produce milk. Much of Khokha's story was pulled from an emotional...... Mon, 06 Jul 2009 13:05:48 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1470&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1470 Last week, the Centers for Disease Control issued an advisory about beef products from JBS Swift Beef Company that may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7. This week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced that a sample of prepackaged Nestle Toll House refrigerated cookie dough yielded E. coli O157:H7. O157:H7 is a dangerous strain of E. coli. When ingested by humans, it can cause bloody diarrhea, and in some people, especially children, a potentially deadly disease called hemolytic......
]]> Thu, 02 Jul 2009 09:34:00 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1460&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1460 Nearly 200 people gathered at the UC Kearney Research and Extension Center yesterday to send off retiring director Fred Swanson. The event was covered by ABC 30 Action News, the No. 1 broadcast news outlet in Fresno. Reporter Dale Yurong interviewed Swanson in front of the center's two-story office, laboratory and meeting room complex, one of many expansions at the center that Swanson oversaw during his 26-year tenure at the helm. "The idea was to put Kearney on the map and really......
]]> Wed, 01 Jul 2009 09:04:21 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1455&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1455 The Riverside Press-Enterprise may have the last word on blueberries for the 2009 season. Reporter Sean Nealon wrote two stories for last Saturday's paper about the Inland Empire's fledging blueberry industry. One story reported on a Temecula blueberry farm where most of the fruit is harvested by the consumers themselves. The other story suggested that blueberries can make nice landscape plants. Both stories proffer the antioxidant-rich fruit with less strain on the pocketbook. In the U-pick......
]]> Tue, 30 Jun 2009 09:10:01 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1451&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1451 In the last month or so, I interviewed four retiring UC academics about their education, their beginnings with UC, their accomplishments (there were many) and their retirement plans. In all, the quartet represent 126 years of service to the California agricultural industry. All of them retire today. You can read all about the retirees by going to the news releases, linked to their names. Here, I'll share the fun part: their retirement plans. Fred Swanson, director, UC Kearney Research and......
]]> Mon, 29 Jun 2009 09:31:00 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1443&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1443 UCCE's media services manager Mike Poe recently shared a video success story with the Communications Services team. Sacramento UCCE was struggling to maintain county funding. At budget hearings, the 4-H advisor in Sacramento County, Marianne Bird, handed out copies of a five-minute video that Poe had helped put together about the 4-H Water Wizards project. Bird e-mailed Mike last week: "Our acting county director just came in to tell me that the Department of Water Resources has committed...... Fri, 26 Jun 2009 11:48:20 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1439&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1439 Escaped nitrogen from agricultural production has "huge potential to contribute to climate change," according to the director of the Agricultural Sustainability Institute at UC Davis, Tom Tomich. He was quoted in "The Smog Blog," written by Mark Grossi of the Fresno Bee, in a post about $2.8 million in grant funding ASI received to research agricultural nitrogen. The story appeared in his blog last week and on the front page of the newspaper's Local News section...... Thu, 25 Jun 2009 12:02:08 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1432&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1432 Under any of six models of climate change, in 100 years there will be no new trees in Joshua Tree National Park and a significant number of existing trees will be dead, according to a recent Riverside Press-Enterprise story. The climate models, developed by Ken Cole, a biologist and geologist with the U.S. Geological Survey in Flagstaff, Ariz., and plant ecologist Kirsten Ironside of Northern Arizona University, suggest a temperature increase of seven degrees. Joshua Trees were prolific and......
]]> Wed, 24 Jun 2009 09:42:18 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1430&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1430 This month, the UC Cooperative Extension office in Marin County released a carefully researched and written report on The Changing Role of Agriculture in Point Reyes National Seashore. PRNS is unusual in the National Park system because it has contained a "pastoral zone" with working cattle ranches, dairies and other farms since its establishment in 1962. Now, some area residents and environmentalists are questioning the existence of commercial farming in the park, particularly an......
]]> Tue, 23 Jun 2009 10:25:35 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1427&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1427 The University of California issued a news release about a new Animal Welfare Council on May 19. Jim Downing of the Sacramento Bee picked it up, writing in a story published today that "The University of California, hoping to insert itself as a peacemaker, formed a new animal welfare council last month." Downing's article focused on voters' overwhelming support of Proposition 2 last November, which, among other things, requires farmers to give egg-laying chickens room to spread their...... Mon, 22 Jun 2009 11:29:06 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1424&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1424 The Sacramento Bee ran a story yesterday about an international olive oil conference, "Beyond Extra Virgin," to be held at UC Davis this week. Also on the SacBee site is a six-minute video in which the reporter and Alexandra Kicenik Devarenne, an olive consultant and member of the UC Davis Olive Center advisory board, go over the basics of olive oil sampling. (The article, sans video, also appeared on individual.com, flanked by an advertisement for "Sciabica's Extra Virgin Oil......
]]> Mon, 22 Jun 2009 10:14:44 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1423&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1423 A potato rainbow appeared on the grass at Hart Park in Bakersfield this week, offering farmers the opportunity to see a wide array of potato varieties developed by breeders across the United States and Canada. The potatoes are the product of the UC Cooperative Extension and California Potato Research Advisory Board's Kern County Potato Variety Trial, which has been collecting potato variety data since the 1970s, according to an article about the annual field day in yesterday's Bakersfield......
]]> Fri, 19 Jun 2009 12:49:15 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1416&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1416 The Elkus Ranch, an environmental education and conference facility in Half Moon Bay, was created to provide outdoor education opportunities for urban, disabled and inner-city youth. It sits on land donated to UC Cooperative Extension by the late Richard J. Elkus. A milestone in realizing the Elkus Ranch mission was reached with the opening this spring of a new "enabling garden." A recent ribbon cutting was covered by the San Mateo County Times. The garden, built by ranch foreman......
]]> Fri, 19 Jun 2009 11:15:12 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1414&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1414 Forage monitoring at the UC Sierra Research and Extension Center in Browns Valley shows the land produced, on average, 2,984 pounds of vegetation per acre, 93.4 percent of normal, according to an article published today in Capital Press. That may sound fantastic - 93.4 percent looks like an A to me. But UCCE farm advisor Larry Forero said that the growth came too late for most ranchers. In fact, in nearby Tehama County, officials are seeking a federal disaster declaration because of drought......
]]> Thu, 18 Jun 2009 13:11:10 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1410&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1410 The California Farm Bureau newspaper AgAlert posted more information today about Light Brown Apple Moth in a story that included extensive quotes from UC Cooperative Extension farm advisor Mark Bolda. Bolda told AgAlert assistant editor Kate Campbell that LBAM larvae and webbing were found in a Santa Cruz County blackberry farm. About 20 percent of the crop has been lost. "This the first time we've seen so many light brown apple moths in the field," Bolda was quoted in the article.......
]]> Wed, 17 Jun 2009 07:03:17 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1404&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1404 Santa Cruz UC Cooperative Extension farm advisor Mark Bolda reported in his blog, "Strawberries and Caneberries," that a local blackberry farm sustained severe damage from the Light Brown Apple Moth. According to Bolda's report, 20 percent of the crop was lost. "This information is being provided in the interest of emphasizing to the grower community that this pest is not only a regulatory problem now, but is capable of becoming an economic problem as well," Bolda......
]]> Tue, 16 Jun 2009 11:39:01 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1398&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1398 A group of sixth-grade students didn't stop at hugging a beloved tree at Mt. Madonna County Park, they came equipped to administer life-saving treatment, according to a story in yesterday's Santa Cruz Sentinel. The Mt. Madonna School students are aiming to protect a tanoak believed to be among the largest in California from Sudden Oak Death. The children were led by their teacher, James Rohan, who attended a UC Berkeley training session with foresters and nursery owners to learn how to treat......
]]> Tue, 16 Jun 2009 10:47:37 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1399&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1399 Director of the UC Cooperative Extension office in Yolo County, Kent Brittan, has found a way to maintain the jobs of county-paid staff even as the Board of Supervisors cut the organization's budget 11.4 percent compared to last year. The five people will each cut their hours - and therefore their pay - by 20 percent, according to a story in the Davis Enterprise. That means no one loses a job, but also that the Woodland UCCE office will be closed on Mondays. The reduced schedule will affect...... Mon, 15 Jun 2009 11:27:17 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1395&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1395 Trees around the Valley are laden with ripening figs, according to an article in the Merced Sun-Star today that said harvest typically takes place in the final weeks of June. Writer Jonah Owen Lamp centered his story on the fig orchard of Tonetta Gladwin, a third-generation fig grower in Merced County. "I believe that Eve gave Adam a fig, not an apple," she was quoted in the story, adding that apples are not indigenous to the Middle East. "The fig was the downfall of......
]]> Mon, 15 Jun 2009 11:13:08 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1394&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1394 Oregonian blogger Carrie Sturrock called around the country on a quest for commentary about lead contamination in her own backyard. One of the sources she found was UC Cooperative Extension's Don Hodel of Los Angeles County. Sturrock wrote that she lives in a house built in 1911, well before regulations banned lead in house paint. She deduced that lead sluffed, scraped or sanded from the siding may be in the soil, so she wanted to find out whether eating home-grown fruits and vegetables posed...... Fri, 12 Jun 2009 08:41:45 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1390&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1390 The dire economic straits in which many California dairy operators find themselves have prompted UC Cooperative Extension to collaborate with other agencies to provide a suicide prevention online seminar, according to an article in Dairy Herd Management. The webinar, held this morning, covered farmer stress, depression and suicide prevention. According to an article published in the Los Angeles Times late last month, two dairy operators have recently committed suicide. Low milk prices that...... Thu, 11 Jun 2009 10:46:29 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1384&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1384 A frequent research collaborator with UC Cooperative Extension, West Side farmer John Diener made the front page of the Fresno Bee on Sunday with a story about the potential for water savings with a center-pivot irrigation system. On airplane flights over middle America, passengers have for decades seen large circles made by center-pivot irrigation on the quilt of farmland landscape below. The system is just beginning to catch on in California, and Diener, working with UC, is an early......
]]> Wed, 10 Jun 2009 11:38:18 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1382&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1382 While federal agencies are faulted in a recent study for not doing enough to reduce the fire hazard in areas where forest and chaparal wildland abuts human-inhabited communities, another study points to the greater importance of the homeowners themselves in reducing fire danger. The Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2002 was supposed to cut annual fire-fighting expenses by, for example, thinning forests, eliminating ladder fuels and creating buffers, according to an Associated Press story...... Tue, 09 Jun 2009 09:41:44 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1379&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1379 An article in the July 2009 issue of Prevention magazine is based on information from UC Davis Cooperative Extension post harvest specialist Marita Cantwell. The magazine, with a national circulation of 3.2 million, doesn't appear to put all its articles in the online version; I couldn't find this one. The two-page feature, titled "Keep Produce Fresh Longer" and written by Stephanie Breakstone, gives up-to-date advice on preventing fruit and vegetable spoilage with specific...... Mon, 08 Jun 2009 09:56:11 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1375&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1375 The Marin Independent Journal ran an article in yesterday's paper announcing that the director of UC Cooperative Extension in Marin County, Ellen Rilla, is taking a sabbatical leave beginning June 30 to update her 1997 book "California Agritourism Handbook for Farmers and Ranchers." According to the story, written by Rob Rogers, she expects to work elsewhere in the University of California Cooperative Extension system after her writing sabbatical ends. Rilla has served as county......
]]> Mon, 08 Jun 2009 09:30:26 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1373&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1373 An array of scientists are working together to help the U.S. Forest Service determine the best way to ensure the long-term health of California forests. One aspect of the wide-ranging effort - called the Sierra Nevada Adaptive Management Project or SNAMP - is to define a healthy forest. UC Berkeley scientist John Battles is leading a group of researchers who have been extracting core samples from thousands of trees in the Sugar Pine and Nelder Gove areas over the past two years to analyze their......
]]> Fri, 05 Jun 2009 11:54:06 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1369&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1369 With the beginning of the summer fire season looming, media are taking note of UC wildfire management expertise. The High County News published an article last week about preparations in California for "the next burn." Writer Peter Friederici based his story on a new CalFire map that places Portola Valley in a "very high" fire hazard zone. Residents are concerned the designation will cause insurance companies to cancel their coverage or raise rates and that it could also...... Fri, 05 Jun 2009 11:15:56 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1367&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1367 A group of Latino high school students, working with Kathleen Nolan of UC Cooperative Extension in Monterey County, have created a new fotonovela to teach their peers about the hazards of lead poisoning. "Fotonovela" is comic-book-like literature popular in Mexico. In this instance, it is an educational pamphlet that features photos of the students with thought and speech bubbles telling a story. According to a news article in the Salinas Californian yesterday, the students'......
]]> Thu, 04 Jun 2009 13:04:52 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1354&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1354 Kind-hearted Californians resoundingly supported Proposition 2 last November, which, among other things, requires farmers to provide the state's egg-laying hens with room to spread their wings. One of the concerns discussed before its passage - that unaffected producers from other states and Mexico will flood the California market with their cheaper eggs - would be mitigated by passage of Assembly Bill 1437, according to a Sacramento Bee story, which also appeared in the Merced Sun-Star. The...... Thu, 04 Jun 2009 10:23:57 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1360&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1360 Stories about blueberries are still trickling in. Today, the Visalia Time-Delta reported on the fact that 35 percent of California blueberries are produced in the newspaper's Tulare County circulation area. For the story, reporter Hillary Meeks spoke to Steve "Doc" Blizzard, a local blueberry farm manager. He said the company started growing blueberries with encouragement from Manuel Jimenez, the UC Small Farm Program farm advisor for UC Cooperative Extension in Tulare...... Wed, 03 Jun 2009 13:54:26 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1355&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1355 Raising backyard chickens for food and fun was the highlight of a Contra Costa Times story published over the weekend that was based on a Point Reyes Station 4-H workshop held last week. UC Cooperative Extension Marin County director Ellen Rilla told reporter Rob Rogers that the growing interest in chickens seems to be tied to enthusiasm for the "slow food" movement, which embraces traditional methods of producing food. "I think a lot of people have become interested in local......
]]> Tue, 02 Jun 2009 15:00:12 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1344&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1344 Los Angeles Times freelance writer David Karp sent a response today to last week's ANR News Blog post about his May 27 blueberry production story. The nicely written article covered the introduction of a crop usually associated with the Northwest, Michigan and Maine into California; it didn't go into UC's role. Karp wrote in his e-mail that he agonized over what to include in the article, given the amount of space he would have in the newspaper. He interviewed more than 40 sources, but only...... Mon, 01 Jun 2009 17:54:54 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1346&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1346 On Saturday, the Fresno Bee published its take on the Valley's burgeoning blueberry industry. Writer Robert Rodriguez, well acquainted with UC Cooperative Extension, spoke to farm advisor Manuel Jimenez for perspective on producing a crop whose value climbed from zero at $30 million in less than 10 years. Jimenez's home county, Tulare, is the state's leading grower, producing a blueberry crop valued at $17 million. "We have nearly every level of production right now from small plots to......
]]> Mon, 01 Jun 2009 11:49:45 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1341&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1341 I'm not sure about writer Cecelia Parsons' opening analogy - the "blue wave" cresting and growers "still putting their boards in the water" - but her article in Capital Press about last week's blueberry field day at the UC Kearney Research and Extension Center did hit all the important points. Now that blueberry production in the Central Valley has been underway for the better part of a decade, and many growers have invested heavily to coax the healthful fruit out of the......
]]> Fri, 29 May 2009 13:05:51 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1336&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1336 Farmers may wish to welcome bats to their agricultural fields. Genetic testing of bat scat proves they eat the menacing pest coddling moth, according to an Ag Alert article published in the Woodland Daily Democrat. Rachel Long, University of California Cooperative Extension farm advisor in Yolo County, is studying bats' diets to ascertain their role in combating insect pests in agriculture. She captures the winged rodents and keeps them until she can collect their guano for analysis. "We......
]]> Thu, 28 May 2009 10:32:16 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1330&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1330 California farmers interested in branching out with blueberries have gained much wisdom from UC Cooperative Extension farm advisor Manuel Jimenez, who has maintained extensive research plantings of the crop at the UC Kearney Research and Extension Center near Parlier since 1998. Annual blueberry field days consistently bring significant numbers of farmers to the station to get the latest information on blueberry varieties and cultural practices, the most recent of which was held last week.......
]]> Wed, 27 May 2009 14:19:03 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1327&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1327 The Sunday Riverside Press-Enterprise ran a lengthy article marking the 10th anniversary of news that rocked the fledging Temecula wine industry: newly arrived glassy-winged sharpshooters were spreading Pierce's disease and threatening to wipe out grapevines. The article said the region is a key battlefront in the quest for ways to overcome the challenges of producing quality wines in the presence of GWSS. Almost $400 million has been spent on Pierce's research in California since the......
]]> Tue, 26 May 2009 10:45:05 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1319&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1319 The farm price roller coaster isn't often reflected in the cost of produce at the retail level, according to a column by Fresno County freelance writer Don Curlee. His article, based on research reported in the UC Giannini Foundation of Agricultural Economics Update newsletter, appeared in Capital Press yesterday. While retailers are mostly unresponsive to farm price changes, they are more apt to respond to increases than decreases, Curlee noted, adding wryly, "Not...... Fri, 22 May 2009 14:25:36 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1315&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1315 Scientists from Cooperative Extension programs at Rutgers University, University of Arizona and University of California worked collaboratively on lettuce field trials that have shown applying a protein to lettuce can reduce the risk of bacterial contamination, according to a story in The Packer. The work also shows that the treatment prolongs the shelf life of processed lettuce used in bagged salads. The naturally occurring protein the researchers are studying, harpin, triggers a natural...... Thu, 21 May 2009 13:16:00 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1309&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1309 A San Francisco Chronicle writer sought expertise from a UC scientist to unearth eco-friendly ideas for killing termites, the nemesis of wood-constructed home dwellers worldwide. Termites cause more consternation than depreciating property values and adjustable-rate mortgages, wrote Glen Martin, a former Chronicle environmental reporter. Martin turned to Vernard Lewis, a UC Berkeley Cooperative Extension specialist, one of the country's top authorities on termite taxonomy and control, for......
]]> Wed, 20 May 2009 11:24:41 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1305&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1305 An article posted today on Salon.com said the maker of imidacloprid, Bayer CropScience, found the pesticide in the nectar and pollen of flowering trees and shrubs at concentrations high enough to kill a honeybee in minutes. That December 2007 revelation, plus beekeepers' own experiences in fields treated by the pesticide, have scientists taking a new look at imidacloprid's role in sudden, unexplained bee die-offs that have been reported around the world for the past 10 years. Scientists have......
]]> Tue, 19 May 2009 12:10:16 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1300&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1300 Last weekend, the director of UC Cooperative Extension in Ventura County, Rose Hayden-Smith, wrote a note on her Facebook page about the possibility raised by Gov. Schwarzenegger of selling off state-owned assets to ease the budget crunch. The Ventura County Fairgounds is on Schwarzenegger's short list of properties to go on the block. Positive feedback prompted Hayden-Smith to write out her objections to the idea and post them in her ANR blog. The Huffington Post then picked up the article,...... Tue, 19 May 2009 10:56:02 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1298&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1298 A New York Times opinion piece invited four prominent economists to explain why they believe food prices are rising. The paper had reported that food prices spiked in April, even as oil and gas prices were down. One of the experts, UC Davis Cooperative Extension agricultural economist Roberta Cook, made the point that food prices are rising because consumers have signaled they are willing to pay more to get what they want. For example, consider the tomato. "A tomato is no longer a tomato......
]]> Mon, 18 May 2009 13:26:44 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1294&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1294 More crime and fewer prosecutions, more unchecked abuse, more untreated disease, more mentally ill people in jail and the virtual elimination of UC Cooperative Extension in Sacramento are the consequences presented to the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors of current budget scenarios, according to an article in today's Sacramento Bee. "Tearful mothers, elderly veterans, disabled residents and others pleaded for the programs and services on which they rely," wrote reporter Robert...... Fri, 15 May 2009 11:11:01 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1290&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1290 The San Diego Union-Tribune ran an article today about the uncertain future of a popular community garden. The Santee community garden is on the grounds of the community's county-owned Edgemoor Hospital. Patients are being moved from the facility and most of the buildings are slated for demolition. Two UC Cooperative Extension Master Gardeners are quoted in the story, 85-year-old Joyce Gemmell, and Judy Jacoby, the co-chair of the San Diego County Master Gardener Association's community...... Thu, 14 May 2009 10:33:54 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1284&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1284 The beautiful strawberry stand photos that graced a New York Times story yesterday about the locavore movement were shot at a UC event last Friday designed to remind Sacramento residents about the beginning of their local strawberry season and promote two UC initiatives to help local growers. It was great that Time's photographer Max Whitaker showed up, but it would've been nice to have credited UC for the purpose of the gathering. UC researchers received a half-million-dollar grant from USDA......
]]> Wed, 13 May 2009 12:52:22 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1280&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1280 At the recent ANR Statewide Conference, historian James McWilliams gave UC Ag and Natural Resources staff and academics a new mantra to consider. For years we've been trying to "think outside the box." McWilliams shared the revelation, "There is no box." That gave UCCE Ventura County director Rose Hayden-Smith something to ponder in her blog, posted today on the Web site Civil Eats. McWilliams probably jarred most of the people in the ANR audience with his comments....... Tue, 12 May 2009 14:01:17 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1276&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1276 The continuing efforts of UC scientists to battle Sudden Oak Death were featured today on Quest, KQED's radio program about Northern California science and environment. The story opens with UC Davis plant pathologist David Rizzo describing why the term "Sudden Oak Death" is a misnomer. The disease, he said, "is not particularly sudden, it doesn’t just infect oaks and it doesn’t result in death of all plants." The six-minute radio story includes interviews with...... Mon, 11 May 2009 14:01:01 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1274&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1274 UC Cooperative Extension may join with Placer County Health and Human Services to provide guidance to a new youth commission being considered by the Placer County Board of Supervisors, according to a story in the Auburn Journal. The project aims to give a voice to youth in Placer County government. Fifteen young people aged 14 to 21 will be enlisted to identify issues facing local youth and bring ideas to the Board of Supervisors, all of whom are 40 or older. Supervisor Jim Holmes will be...... Mon, 11 May 2009 11:21:44 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1273&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1273 UC Berkeley Cooperative Extension fire ecology specialist Max Moritz told a Bloomberg.com reporter that the wildfire raging in Santa Barbara County caught forest experts by surprise. “It is very early, the plants still appear to be quite full of moisture, and when you look at the ferocity of this wind condition, that’s when you say it is surprising,” he was quoted in the story. Moritz said overzealous fire suppression cannot be blamed for the devastating inferno that has...... Fri, 08 May 2009 14:13:57 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1270&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1270 Scientists at UC Riverside will apply compost to wildfire-ravaged land after the flames have been doused to determine whether it helps reduce erosion and water pollution and restore vegetation. The project is one of several to be undertaken with funding from the California Integrated Waste Management Board aimed at finding uses for what is expected to be an abundance of compost made from organic waste diverted from landfills, according to a story in the April issue of BioCycle. The Waste...... Fri, 08 May 2009 12:02:25 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1269&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1269 The second best thing about May -- the first being Mother's Day, of course -- is sweet, fresh and flavorful Central Valley strawberries, especially those purchased at a roadside stand next to the field where they were grown. Even as the number of small-scale strawberry growers dwindle, the extraordinary fruit is getting some ink in Valley newspapers. Today, the Sacramento Bee ran a business-section article about Southeast Asian farmers featuring Lo Saetern, who has grown "impossibly sweet......
]]> Thu, 07 May 2009 13:39:01 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1266&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1266 Since imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, the nation's Cooperative Extension service got a tremendous compliment in an article that outlined a plan by UC San Francisco physician Kevin Grumbach. He told a Washington gathering of family physicians that the federal government should establish a cooperative extension service modeled after the one created nearly 100 years ago by the USDA. The new system, administered by HHS, would help primary care physicians transform their practices......
]]> Wed, 06 May 2009 10:18:35 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1259&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1259 The tireless efforts of UC Cooperative Extension farm advisor Richard Molinar and agricultural assistant Michael Yang to aid Fresno County's immigrant farmers are featured on the PBS program "California Gold" this month. The program was previewed in the Fresno market in April, and will be aired statewide as follows: KPBS - San Diego 8 p.m. May 7 5:30 p.m. May 9 KVIE - Sacramento 9 p.m. May 7......
]]> Tue, 05 May 2009 09:44:37 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1254&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1254 Across the nation, 4-H programs are threatened by cuts in state and county spending, according to an Associated Press story by John Seewer distributed widely last week. The article recounted the dire situation in Ohio, Tennessee, Louisiana and Minnesota. Today, the Fresno Bee localized the article for California by adding comments from the assistant director of News and Information Outreach for ANR, Pam Kan-Rice. (The story does not yet appear on the Bee's Web site. If it is posted later today,......
]]> Mon, 04 May 2009 10:10:33 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1249&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1249 The farm animals taking part in the Yolo County 4-H Spring Fair this weekend will be monitored for symptoms of flu and other diseases, according to UC Cooperative Exension director Kent Brittan. Brittan's comments were in an unbylined article in yesterday's Woodland Daily Democrat.. "All animals will be checked by a veterinarian upon arrival at the fairgrounds. Only animals that pass these health checks are allowed to be shown at the fair," Brittan was quoted. Brittan also said in......
]]> Thu, 30 Apr 2009 06:54:45 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1238&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1238 Santa Rosa Press Democrat writer Meg McConahy opened a a story about varmint infestations with a cute, if maybe exaggerated, lead. "If you thought flood, fire and mold were the largest threats to your house," she wrote, "you probably have yet to face the menace of a pregnant raccoon." The lead foreshadowed an anecdote in the story in which a raccoon ultimately led homeowners to hire a crane lift and punch a hole in their roof to get rid of an unwelcome guest. Fortunately,......
]]> Wed, 29 Apr 2009 06:48:38 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1235&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1235 The Modesto Bee ran a story over the weekend with a headline that proclaims, "Experts positive about effect of grazing on land." It is remarkable, in my opinion, because scientists are so rarely "positive" about anything and are very adept at using conditional wording, such as seemingly, may be, could be, almost, nearly, etc. On the other hand, the headline writer may have been using the meaning of "positive" as merely the opposite of "negative." The...... Tue, 28 Apr 2009 06:50:25 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1232&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1232 A news release about UC Cooperative Extension's involvement this year in "Operation: Military Kids" was picked up by the News Blaze, a northern California community newspaper. The story said UCCE's 4-H Youth Development program has teamed up with the Operation: Military Kids once again this summer to host camps throughout California for the children of military men and women deployed all over the world. Operation: Military Kids was launched in April 2005. Since its inception, OMK has......
]]> Mon, 27 Apr 2009 06:40:25 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1228&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1228 Changing the way people look at food was one of the goals of this month's Symposium On Sustainable Agriculture at UC Davis, an event covered by Sacramento ABC affiliate News 10. The report included an interview with conference participant Lia Huber of the Nourish Network. Huber pointed out that people interact with food at least three times a day. "People in our rushed society try to get through meals as quickly as possible. When we garden, or go to a farmers market, we have these......
]]> Fri, 24 Apr 2009 06:58:19 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1219&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1219 Most consumers like their strawberries bright red and juicy through and through, but some seek fruit that is a little bit green, at least in the ecological sense. Fresno Bee food writer Joan Obra ran a front-page column in the paper's food section yesterday that makes it easier to find the local low-input strawberries. To determine why strawberry stands are scarce in Fresno, Obra turned to UC Cooperative Extension small farm advisor Richard Molinar. He said Fresno County's strawberry acreage......
]]> Thu, 23 Apr 2009 10:24:24 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1215&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1215 At its Earth Day celebration today, the USDA will share expanded plans for a People's Garden at the department's Washington Mall headquarters that will encompass all of the facility's grounds, according to an article in the Washington Post. The plan includes a 1,300-square-foot organic vegetable garden, ornamental flower gardens and bioswales (mini-wetlands designed to reduce pollution and surface water runoff). According to the Post story, written by Jane Black, Agriculture Secretary Tom......
]]> Wed, 22 Apr 2009 09:40:38 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1213&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1213 Elena Conis of the Los Angeles Times "Nutrition Lab" was puzzled when pork, billed for years as "the other white meat," was lumped in with beef for a study that linked their high consumption to heart disease and death. According to Conis' story, the pork industry adopted the white meat slogan after breeding leaner pigs in the 1970s. Scientists, however, generally consider "white" meat to be poultry and "red" meat to come from mammals because saturated......
]]> Tue, 21 Apr 2009 13:51:10 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1207&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1207 It was widely reported by the news media -- such as in this piece from the Washington Post -- that installing the 1,100-square-foot vegetable garden on the White House south lawn cost about $200, not including labor. For the President and First Lady, that's probably petty cash. But the cost might deter America's low-income families from gardening. UC Cooperative Extension can help Californians cut the cost of home-grown food. The UCCE Master Gardener program offers free gardening advice in......
]]> Mon, 20 Apr 2009 11:28:30 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1201&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1201 Reports about climate change in the current issue of California Agriculture journal are taken with a brave face by Kings County farmers and officials, according to a story published in the Hanford Sentinel. Reporter Sean Nidever provided highlights in the newspaper of the research presented in the UC ANR's 50-page publication titled "'Unequivocal' How climate change will transform California." Despite the fact that Nidever reported that the county's agricultural industry could face...... Fri, 17 Apr 2009 11:42:16 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1194&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1194 An article in the Marin Independent Journal today focuses on the merger of two oyster farms on California's north coast. For background on the state of the industry, reporter Rob Rogers turned to director of UC Cooperative Extension Sea Grant Extension Paul Olin. The story said the industry has been plagued by a bacterium - Vibrio tubiashii - that has killed the larvae oyster growers use to replenish their supply. While a few of the county's oyster growers raise their own larvae, most depend......
]]> Thu, 16 Apr 2009 12:45:26 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1191&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1191 The Bay Area National Public Radio affiliate KQED posted "reporter's notes" on the Quest portion of its Web site yesterday featuring comments from UC Berkeley fire ecology specialist Max Moritz about recently published research that predicts changes in world wildfire patterns due to climate change. Quest is a KQED multimedia series exploring Northern California science, environment and nature. In the written notes, reporter Craig Miller explained that Moritz and a team of researchers......
]]> Wed, 15 Apr 2009 09:48:16 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1188&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1188 Last Friday, the Associated Press picked up and ran with the climate change stories in the current issue of California Agriculture journal. Reporter Tracie Cone opened her widely published article with the prediction that rising temperatures could make pears, peaches, pistachios and other crops that need winter chill unsuitable for California farms, and others crops would suffer lower yields. Cone went on to write that articles in California Agriculture "predict temperatures in California......
]]> Tue, 14 Apr 2009 10:03:22 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1184&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1184 Wildlife is not a primary source of E. coli 0157:H7, according to a press release distributed last week by the California Department of Fish and Game. The release reported preliminary results of ongoing research aimed at understanding the risk of fresh produce contamination by wildlife on the Central Coast. The research was prompted by the deadly and well-publicized 2006 E. coli contamination incident in spinach. From 2007 through 2008, the research team collected 866 wildlife samples,...... Mon, 13 Apr 2009 10:00:56 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1181&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1181 Coincidentally, two news releases were distributed yesterday with information from UC Ag and Natural Resources about climate change. One news release announces the current issue of California Agriculture journal, which is devoted to news and research on climate change and how it will alter California’s environment and landscape, agriculture and food quality. The cover of the magazine says climate change is "unequivocal," a word pulled from the 2007 report the Intergovernmental...... Wed, 08 Apr 2009 10:00:32 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1168&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1168 J.G. Boswell, the founder and head of the enormous family-owned farming concern J.G. Boswell Co., passed away last week at the age of 86. As an innovative cotton farmer in the San Joaquin Valley and influential advocate in land and water resource policy, Boswell's path often intersected with UC Cooperative Extension. Boswell inherited the company when he was 29 from his uncle, also named J.G. Boswell, according to an obituary published today in the Los Angeles Times. His farm spans 150,000...... Tue, 07 Apr 2009 11:25:04 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1166&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1166 An article in the Martinez News-Gazette said "vocal lobbying by the Contra Costa 4-H members and their parents" influenced the Contra Costa Board of Supervisors to maintain its funding support for UC Cooperative Extension until June 30. Indicators had been that funding would end immediately. The board's decision gives the program time to seek “other funding mechanisms," wrote reporter Greta Mark, attributing the comment to "4-H officials." Mark wrote that...... Mon, 06 Apr 2009 12:50:46 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1163&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1163 On Friday, two reporters joined ranchers and UC, Fresno State and US Forest Service academics at the San Joaquin Experimental Range for a field day, presentations and barbecue marking the centennial of the Forest Service's research program. At the event, officials signed a new memorandum of understanding outlining the research goals and administrative arrangements for the 4,500-acre facility. As part of the agreement, UC Cooperative Extension farm advisor and county director for Madera County,......
]]> Sun, 05 Apr 2009 14:03:52 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1161&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1161 Even though Salmonella scares are reverberating in the news media, UC Davis Cooperative Extension food safety specialist Linda Harris says that, overall, the nation's food supply is safe. Comments from Harris, a food-safety microbiologist at the Western Institute for Food Safety and Security at UC Davis, appeared in a story by Barbara Anderson in today's Fresno Bee. "I would hate for consumers to approach the grocery store with trepidation," Harris was quoted in a story published...... Thu, 02 Apr 2009 11:20:20 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1152&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1152 The Californian of southern Riverside County covered the concerns of farmers over water cutbacks. Reporter Jeff Rowe said farmers are turning to science and ingenuity to try to save county agriculture - and help keep food prices down. The story highlighted one farmer who plans to use water absorbing polymers on a watermelon farm and another farmer who is working to secure grants to build a plant to extract salts from water discharged from sewage-treatment plants. For the story, Rowe spoke to......
]]> Wed, 01 Apr 2009 09:49:03 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1147&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1147 Bad news for pistachio farmers, processors and consumers alike - yesterday the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommended that consumers avoid eating pistachios and products made from pistachios because of reports of Salmonella contamination. The story was reported in numerous media outlets, including US News & World Report. The contamination came to light when Kraft Foods "Back to Nature" trail mix was found to be tainted with Salmonella. Kraft traced the contamination to......
]]> Tue, 31 Mar 2009 09:44:06 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1144&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1144 California bees got busy last year, producing 35 percent more honey than they did in 2007, according to an article in the Sacramento Bee over the weekend. The bee story cited USDA figures. Despite the good news, the nation's beekeepers aren't out of the woods. Cases of what has been called Colony Collaspe Disorder are still reported, "but in most cases, here (in California), things are better," the story quoted UC Davis entomologist Eric Mussen. Researchers are still trying to......
]]> Mon, 30 Mar 2009 10:28:56 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1140&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1140 I can't resist a story that places any good light on climate change. It gives me hope for my children and children's children. One example, covered by the Times Online of the United Kingdom a few years ago, was a report that residents of Greenland will now be able to grow their own vegetables, rather than import everything from Europe, because of warmer, shorter winters. A second story on climate change the involves a bit of good news for California appeared in the Stockton Record last week....... Thu, 26 Mar 2009 11:10:39 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1130&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1130 A new UC Berkeley study that is getting lots of media attention notes that the incidence of obesity in high school students is greater when there is a fast food restaurant within 530 feet of the campus. Nearby fast food resulted in a 5.2 percent increase in the incidence of student obesity compared with the average for California youths, according to coverage in the Los Angeles Times. Scientists said the correlation is "sizable." Reporter Jerry Hirsch sought comment from the...... Wed, 25 Mar 2009 12:56:21 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1127&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1127 While there have been whispers of skepticism about the Great California Drought of 2009, all would likely agree that California's water woes are complicated. The Wall Street Journal today ran a story outlining the decision process for farmers considering whether they should use the water allocated to them to grow crops, or whether they should sell the water to the state and let their land lie fallow. Writer Pete Sanders penciled out the equation for Don Bransford, who grows rice on a 700-acre...... Tue, 24 Mar 2009 12:16:26 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1124&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1124 The director of UC Cooperative Extension in Ventura County, Rose Hayden-Smith, had the opportunity over the weekend to publicly express her delight in the news that the First Lady and her daughters broke ground last week on an organic kitchen garden at the White House. Hayden-Smith was among a group of activists who for many months have called on the country's leaders to lead a Victory Garden rebirth by example. An article in the Ventura County Star opened with Hayden-Smith's reaction to the......
]]> Mon, 23 Mar 2009 10:29:13 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1120&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1120 Before the state budget fiasco of 2009, Sen. Abel Maldonado (R-Santa Maria) wasn't well known outside his district. But by making deals with the upper house's Democratic majority and voting for their budget, Maldonado practically became a household name. Increasing his popularity still more among many Californians, he named UC Cooperative Extension when listing California state budget priorities, according to a story by Harry Cline published yesterday in Western Farm Press. Cline said...... Fri, 20 Mar 2009 12:42:39 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1116&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1116 UC scientists are perplexed and concerned about the condition of California alfalfa fields this spring. Alfalfa should be a lush, green carpet, but in many areas, there are patches that appear dead; in some cases, entire fields have been reduced to bare ground, according to UC Davis Cooperative Extension alfalfa specialist Dan Putnum. Although scientists caution that there may be several factors contributing to this damage, stem nematode symptoms are present and the pest has been observed in...... Thu, 19 Mar 2009 06:24:49 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1113&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1113 The news media attended yesterday's Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors meeting in force to cover a variety of cuts the board is considering to balance the county's budget, currently $58 million short. Most of the media attention seems to be focused on a plan to cut out preventative health care for illegal immigrant adults, elimination of 58 sheriff's deputies and 18 deputy district attorneys. Media outlets that covered the session included: ABC 7 news KCBS Radio Contra...... Wed, 18 Mar 2009 10:07:09 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1112&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1112 The Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors will be met by 4-H youth and volunteers at their 9:30 meeting this morning if a call to action issued by UC Cooperative Extension county director Shelly Murdock is followed, according to a story in the Martinez News-Gazette. According to the article, Murdock wrote the following to 4-H constituents in the county: “4-H in our county is in imminent danger of being dissolved and we need your help to show your support of the Cooperative Extension...... Tue, 17 Mar 2009 09:20:48 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1106&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1106 The touching story of Lacey Maddalena appeared in the Sacramento Bee on Saturday in a nicely written article by Chris Bowman about a collaborative project involving UC Cooperative Extension and the UC Davis Humanities Institute. Passion for the Land is the digital storytelling project designed to help residents of Sierra Valley, a 200-square-mile Plumas County valley at the 5,000-foot elevation, communicate with policymakers, community leaders, and educators about the challenges of sustaining...... Mon, 16 Mar 2009 10:57:34 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1097&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1097 The Salinas Californian, a six times weekly newspaper serving the Monterey Peninsula, ran a feature story today about the UC Cooperative Extension 4-H program representative in Monterey County, Wendy Grennan. Almost 18,000 copies of the paper are distributed on weekdays. The story reads like a brochure for the local 4-H program, noting that Grennan oversees clubs involving 800 youth and 300 adult volunteers in activities that range from animal science and family and consumer science projects...... Mon, 16 Mar 2009 09:43:31 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1095&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1095 Dought continues to be a hot topic. The international news wire Reuters moved a story today about the California drought, which was picked up as far away as New Zealand. The story quoted "state officials" as saying the farming cutbacks because of the drought will cost as many as 95,000 agricultural jobs. California rainfall and snowfall have been below average for three years, but some people are calling the 2009 crisis a man-made drought because of restrictions on the amount of...... Fri, 13 Mar 2009 12:04:01 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1090&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1090 Ed DePeters, a professor dedicated to educating the next generation of dairy professionals, has received the UC Davis Prize for Undergraduate Teaching and Scholarly Achievement, according to a news release distributed by UC Davis News Service. The honor comes with a $40,000 teaching prize, funded by the UC Davis Foundation. DePeters’ research, which has been widely applied in the dairy industry, has focused on how the composition of milk, particularly the fatty-acid content, can be......
]]> Thu, 12 Mar 2009 10:33:19 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1086&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1086 The federal Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program, known as EFNEP, celebrates its 40th anniversary this year, notes a news release distributed yesterday by the USDA's Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service. The release said a 40th anniversary celebration was held at the University of California Washington Center in Washington, DC, however, I couldn't find mention of the anniversary or the celebration in any online media outlets. Each year, EFNEP helps more than...... Wed, 11 Mar 2009 14:19:44 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1083&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1083 Every Tuesday, students at the University of San Francisco are presented with "low carbon" diet choices in the school cafeteria, according to a story in the San Jose Mercury News. Gone is cheese pizza and hamburgers. Such savory treats are being substituted with options that are equally delicious - like guacamole and cucumber relish - but are produced on farms that release less greenhouse gasses than dairies and livestock operations. USF is one example of institutions looking at...... Tue, 10 Mar 2009 11:23:03 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1078&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1078 UC Cooperative Extension director for Tulare County Jim Sullins says a "Perfect Storm" brewing in the San Joaquin Valley is turning the coming spring and summer into a time of uncertainty and challenge about water, according to an article in the Porterville Recorder. The convergence of three years of below average rain and snowfall with recent court decisions about the fate of water in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is just one of farmers' concerns. “It’s almost a...... Mon, 09 Mar 2009 10:46:33 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1074&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1074 The case of the missing workers has frustrated investigators for years. There are no dead bodies and few clues; a "disease" is suspected, but can't be pinpointed. How can the culprit be foiled when there is no evidence of wrongdoing? Entomologists all over the world are trying to figure out what, if anything, is going down in honey bee hives. The story has been widely publicized and made headlines again yesterday when the BBC News published an article and video focused on what has......
]]> Fri, 06 Mar 2009 13:10:12 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1070&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1070 The California Farm Bureau Federation's weekly publication AgAlert contains a clear and concise rundown of farmers's concerns about the 2009 California drought. Here are some facts presented in the article, written by Steve Adler: Farmers who will get no water allocations are abandoning plans for planting annual crops like cotton and processing tomatoes in order to divert whatever water they have to permanent crops like almonds, pistachios and grapes...... Thu, 05 Mar 2009 12:46:35 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1067&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1067 Fresno Bee reporter Robert Rodriguez opened a story in yesterday's paper about the impending drought with the thoughts of UC Davis pomologist Kenneth Shackel. According to Rodriguez' lead, Shackel is "feeling more like an emergency room doctor than an agricultural researcher." "It's like triage," Shackel was quoted. "For some, this isn't about controlling diseases or yields, it's about survival." Shackel was one of several UC experts whose imput was sought on the...... Wed, 04 Mar 2009 12:12:01 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1062&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1062 Interest in using goats to clear unwanted vegetation on rangeland is growing in popularity, according to UC Cooperative Extension livestock farm advisor Roger Ingram. In a Sacramento Bee story published today, Ingram confirmed writer Ramon Coronado's central thesis: Goats can be a green answer to wildfire prevention. Coronado reported that more than 60 people attended a recent forum where Ingram discussed the pros and cons of using goats instead of machinery, chemicals and weed whackers. The......
]]> Wed, 04 Mar 2009 10:20:48 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1060&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1060 Author Chris Henke used UC Cooperative Extension in Monterey County as an example of how agricultural science has helped the farm industry respond to problems, but that technology transfer can get stuck in a power struggle. Henke explained the case study in The World's Fair: All Manner of Human Creativity on Display. From what I can tell, the blog is essentially an Oprah-style book club for high-brow, academic tomes and the posts typically are a transcribed Q&A session with an author. The......
]]> Tue, 03 Mar 2009 13:31:42 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1055&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1055 The Fresno Bee reported over the weekend that the number of female farmers in the United States grew by nearly nearly 30 percent and the number of Hispanic farmers grew by 10 percent over the past five years. The number of Native American, Asian and black farm operators also rose according to the article, written by reporter Robert Rodriguez. The figures are from the recently released 2007 Census of Agriculture. In the central San Joaquin Valley, the number of female farmers grew by 22 percent...... Mon, 02 Mar 2009 10:07:42 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1051&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1051 After the raucous California budget struggle and an impending drought, Californians might enjoy a tidbit from the Early County News in Blakeley, Georgia. The story notes that the world's expert on brown recluse spiders is a UC Riverside scientist and he is certain there are no populations of the frightening aracnid anywhere in California. UC Riverside entomologist Rick Vetter has actually published a 4,000-word manifesto on the Web about brown recluse spiders titled "Myth of the Brown......
]]> Fri, 27 Feb 2009 12:07:53 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1048&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1048 The Sacramento Bee* reported bad news for California almond growers, but the director of the UC Agricultural Issues Center, Dan Sumner, still had encouraging words for the industry. According to the Bee story, written by Jim Downing, almond prices dropped more than 30 percent from August to December, the market for orchard real estate has gone cold, and the industry expects to be left with a 300 million pound surplus when the 2009 harvest begins in August. Making matters still worse is a......
]]> Thu, 26 Feb 2009 10:45:49 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1044&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1044 A lot of ink has been splashed on newspaper pages recently extolling locally grown, fresh fruits and vegetables for improving the diet and supporting a sustainable food system. The Modesto Bee today takes a step back and revisits canned fruits and vegetables, which are produced in abundance in the Northern San Joaquin Valley community that the newspaper serves. According to the story, the canned food industry maintains that canning seals in flavor and nutrients, are affordable, easy to use and...... Wed, 25 Feb 2009 10:42:06 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1041&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1041 California State Senator Dean Florez (D-Shafter) has introduced a bill that would ban the practice of docking dairy cow tails, according to a story in Capital Press. Calling the practice of severing cows' tails unnecessary and cruel, Florez said that the new bill is a good place for him to start in efforts to make animal welfare in agriculture a central issue. Florez is chair of the Senate Committee on Food and Agriculture. According to the story, he decided to focus on animal welfare issues...... Tue, 24 Feb 2009 13:32:43 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1039&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1039 Farmers reeling from three years of drought and an unseasonably warm January are now worried about rainfall at the wrong time of year, according to a story in today's Redding Record Searchlight. Almond trees that bloomed early because of warm January weather suffered some frost damage. Now, rain during spring bloom is inhibiting pollination. (Who can blame bees for curling up with a good book on rainy days?) Wet weather also raises concerns about fungal diseases. But despite these abnormal...... Mon, 23 Feb 2009 10:40:10 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1035&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1035 Solitary, hard working leafcutter bees are being imported from Canada to help pollinate seed alfalfa, making the crop profitable in the San Joaquin Valley, according to an article published today in Western Farm Press. “Economically, seed alfalfa cannot compete with other crops without the leafcutter bees,” the story quoted Bob Sheesley, an alfalfa breeder who is a former UC Cooperative Extenion farm advisor and county director. Working together with honeybees, leafcutters boost......
]]> Fri, 20 Feb 2009 09:23:59 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1031&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1031 A comment by UC Davis professor of medicine, Dr. M. Eric Gershwin, will probably give many moms the shivers. In a CNN story today, he says that if your child's pacifier falls on the floor, put it right back in his or her mouth. OK, that's really hard to do, but it does draw attention to his point: The human immune system will offer a child better protection in the future if it is exposed to germs and allergens at a young age. In the story, written by Elizabeth Landau, Gershwin called the......
]]> Thu, 19 Feb 2009 12:11:55 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1028&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1028 An article in the Redding Record Searchlight advises Master Gardeners to "Put away the pitchforks." A rumor that the program's training session at Shasta College would be dropped is false. According to the story, horticulture instructor Leimone Waite called current and former Master Gardeners to arms (metaphorically) a few weeks ago saying the program's training class could be eliminated along with other college programs to deal with a budget shortfall. She urged supporters of the......
]]> Thu, 19 Feb 2009 10:25:09 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1026&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1026 A Ventura County UC Cooperative Extension master composter, Lorraine Rubin, wrote a guest column published in the Ventura County Star over the weekend about the increasing popularity of food gardening. She attributed growth in the age-old hobby to high food costs, job losses, hunger, concerns about food quality, climate change and dwindling energy supplies. Rubin wrote that the acting county director in the Ventura office, Rose Hayden-Smith, is a nationally recognized leader in the effort to......
]]> Tue, 17 Feb 2009 10:23:45 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1023&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1023 The California Department of Food and Agriculture has decided to spray a natural pesticide commonly used on organic farms in the Ventura County community of Ojai to knock down a local infestation of gypsy moths, according to an article in the Ventura County Star. The gypsy moth was deliberately introduced into the United States in 1868 by French scientist Leopold Trouvelot, who wanted to breed a disease-resistant, silk-spinning hybrid caterpillar. Some moths escaped from his Massachusetts lab......
]]> Fri, 13 Feb 2009 10:48:59 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1018&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1018 The devastating wind-driven Angora Fire of 2007, which destroyed 254 homes near Lake Tahoe, left behind fertile ground for the growth of community spirit. Evidence of that is a new community garden being developed on land where the home of Owen Evans stood since 1978, according to a story in the North Lake Tahoe Bonanza. The home was one of Angora's casualties, but before he died of congestive heart failure in December, Evans decided his lot should be turned into a community garden. “His...... Thu, 12 Feb 2009 08:56:31 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1013&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1013 One thing farmers apparently will not have to worry about during the upcoming growing season is a farm labor shortage. Slowdowns in the construction and food industries are turning many immigrant workers back to agriculture, according to a Los Angeles Times article published yesterday. Reporter Jerry Hirsch wrote about a dramatic turnaround in what farmers considered a serious farmworker shortage three years ago. However, UC Davis agricultural economist Phil Martin offered the reporter a...... Wed, 11 Feb 2009 10:49:09 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1009&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1009 The slogan for Rally's burger stand, "Ya gotta eat," is probably soothing to American farmers. As Associated Press writer James Prichard wrote in an article about agriculture in the ailing economy, "While people will put off buying houses and cars in a bad economy, they still need food." The story said the economic downturn could even boost income for food producers who know how to take advantage of the situation. For the article, Prichard spoke to the director of the UC......
]]> Tue, 10 Feb 2009 10:32:34 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1006&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1006 UC Cooperative Extension in Calaveras County has been instumental in initiating a program aimed at providing fresh, healthful food to local residents in need. Farm to Family is actively encouraging gardeners to help supply the local food bank by planting extra vegetables in the coming months, according to a story in today's Stockton Record. A food shortfall last Thanksgiving and Christmas prompted local decisionmakers to collaborate with UCCE and farmers to find a way to feed hungry families......
]]> Mon, 09 Feb 2009 10:50:39 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1003&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1003 The cover story in the Feb. 4 edition of the color magazine New Times is a well-written 2,300-word history of Avenales Ranch, east of San Luis Obispo, which has been the site of UC collaborative research for decades. The story centered on 92-year-old family patriarch Jim Sinton, who inherited the 12,000-acre ranch from his grandfather. The owner of a local general store, Sinton's grandfather provided goods on credit to homesteaders who held the property in the late 1800s. As they went broke,...... Thu, 05 Feb 2009 20:16:43 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=998&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=998 A news release distributed yesterday by UC ANR News & Info Outreach was within hours picked up by the Central Valley Business Times. The story outlines the impact on UC research of the Westlands Water District's announcement last week that it will not have water to deliver to its constituents during the 2009 water year. The UC West Side Research and Extension Center relies on Westlands water to irrigate research projects. West Side REC director Bob Hutmacher said, because of the...... Thu, 05 Feb 2009 08:42:20 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=996&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=996 California's January weather was exceptional in 2009. While many enjoyed the unseasonably warm days, farmers fretted about the impact on their crops. According to an article in today's Santa Rosa Press Democrat, horticulturists say some plants and trees are budding two weeks to a month earlier than usual. “Spring is coming earlier and it has been doing that the last three or four years. But this year is astonishing,” the article quoted Bob Hornback, a garden educator and adviser to......
]]> Wed, 04 Feb 2009 12:04:37 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=992&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=992 Notwithstanding that oft-repeated rhyme scientists use to guide food safety decisions, a UC Cooperative Extension specialist offered some more detailed advice in a newspaper article today that people can follow when they open a carton of yogurt or a hunk of cheese to find a spot of mold. Ed Blonz of the Contra Costa Times contacted UC Davis dairy specialist emeritus John Bruhn when preparing to answer a reader question about moldy dairy products. In a nutshell, Bruhn told the reporter:......
]]> Tue, 03 Feb 2009 09:42:09 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=988&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=988 Director of the UC Lindcove Research and Extension Center Beth Grafton-Cardwell predicted Valley citrus growers' fears will be realized. Eventually, she believes, the Asian citrus psyllid will make its way northward from San Diego County, were it was first discovered in California last year. Grafton-Cardwell shared her view in the lead business story of yesterday's Fresno Bee. Written by reporter Robert Rodriguez, the story said growers are mobilizing resources to get ahead of the invasion and......
]]> Mon, 02 Feb 2009 10:12:52 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=986&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=986 An AgAlert story by Kate Campbell expands on earlier news coverage of a recent State Board of Food and Agriculture meeting, where UC Davis agricultural economist Richard Howitt offered depressing news about water allocations for the 2009 growing season. Howitt told the board that, based on an 85 percent cut in water deliveries for the State Water Project and the federal Central Valley Project, "We're estimating a 50 percent increase in groundwater pumping, compared to 2005. We're also...... Fri, 30 Jan 2009 11:26:00 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=976&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=976 The Redding Record-Searchlight ran an obituary today for retired UC Cooperative Extension county director Gary Rush. Rush was also a community development advisor emeritus. According to the story, Rush, 73, suffered an accident some weeks ago and succumbed to his injuries on Saturday, Jan. 24. Rush retired from his post in the UCCE Shasta-Trinity office in 1993, after 30 years of service to the Northern California community. "Gary was educated and wise in life as well as books. He was...... Thu, 29 Jan 2009 11:58:36 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=972&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=972 University of California Cooperative Extension irrigation specialist Lawrence Schwankl joined with irrigation scientists from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and Fresno State University in writing a rebuttal to a September 2008 report by the Pacific Institute titled "More with Less: Agricultural Water Conservation and Efficiency in California—A Special Focus on the Delta." The university scientists' commentary was published in part yesterday in AgAlert and the full, 13-page PDF...... Thu, 29 Jan 2009 10:58:25 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=971&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=971 University of California Cooperative Extension advisors and specialists are go-to people for the press when they are looking for expertise on a wide variety of topics. Here are a couple subjects UC academics tackled in recent days: Suburban coyotes culled - Los Angeles Times Times reporter Joe Monzingo wrote a feature story on suburban coyote trapper Jimmie Rizzo. According to the article, coyotes are becoming an increasing problem in some Southern California neighborhoods, putting small...... Wed, 28 Jan 2009 10:21:08 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=966&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=966 The San Jose Mercury-News ran a story this week about Santa Clara County UC Cooperative Extension's new Master Gardener coordinator, Carole Frost. Frost earned a bachelor's degree in horticulture from Pennsylvania State University in 1987 and worked as a horticulture educator with the Penn State Cooperative Extension program, never intending to leave her hometown of Hershey, Penn. However, her husband took a job with the Air National Guard at Moffet Field, and the family moved west. The UC......
]]> Tue, 27 Jan 2009 09:56:21 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=962&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=962 California's citrus farmers are asking homeowners to inspect their backyard citrus trees for symptoms of citrus greening, according to a Los Angeles Times article published today. The disease hasn't been reported in the state, but officials fear an illegally imported tree somewhere in the Southland might be a time bomb waiting for an Asian citrus psyllid to begin the disease's spread. Asian citrus psyllid moved into the state from Mexico last summer. In other parts of the world, the pest has......
]]> Mon, 26 Jan 2009 09:55:09 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=957&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=957 Residents of Jacumba, a high desert community on the eastern side of San Diego County. turned to UC Cooperative Extension advisor Jim Bethke to figure out why they were being pestered by a high number of eye gnats. In a San Diego Union Tribune article, residents reported that they couldn't enjoy outdoor activities during warm months because of the gnats, which are naturally attracted to human and animal eyes to get protein for egg production. The Jacumba Elementary School set up fans so......
]]> Fri, 23 Jan 2009 11:06:42 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=953&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=953 Even as wet weather finally descended on California yesterday, a UC Davis expert was briefing the California Board of Food and Agriculture about what will likely be a third year of drought in the Golden State, according to the Stockton Record. Ag writer Reid Fujii noted that Richard Howitt, chairman of the UC Davis Department of Agricultural & Resource Economics, apologized to the board for being the bearer of bad news after he told the board that potential water deliveries of just 15...... Thu, 22 Jan 2009 12:24:31 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=949&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=949 Donning a flag lapel pin, attending the Veterans' Day parade and flying the Stars & Stripes are ways to display love of country. A growing group of experts say gardening should be added to the list. "These days, digging some holes and planting a little lettuce or a few beets is a political act," wrote Los Angeles Times reporter Mary MacVean in the opening paragraph of her recent story on Victory Gardens, which also appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle. For the article,...... Wed, 21 Jan 2009 13:07:39 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=948&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=948 It's cold in Washington, D.C., where the bulk of today's excitement lies, but since this is the ANR News Blog, I'm writing about the unseasonably warm weather in California. We can't really pin this unimaginably delightful January on global warming since many parts of the nation have been shivering under an Artic blast. But perhaps it is a harbinger of things to come if, indeed, scientists' predictions about global warming come to fruition and warm January days become the norm. Warm winter is...... Tue, 20 Jan 2009 10:19:06 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=945&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=945 President-elect Barack Obama has a few things to attend to in the coming months - wars, health care, education, poverty, to name a few. Many green thumbs would also like to see him tending a White House garden, or at least authorizing one. A campaign encouraging Obama to plant a garden, launched by Roger Doiron, an organic gardener from Scarborough, Maine, has 20,000 supporters, according to an opinion piece in the Huffington Post. In the column, writer Paula Crossfield referred to an article......
]]> Fri, 16 Jan 2009 12:05:02 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=937&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=937 Economic woes have been widely publicized in recent months, so they've made lots of appearances in this news blog. Today, we interrupt this trend to bring a tidbit of good news. The USDA announced with a press release yesterday it will award a $400,000 grant to UC Riverside for water quality research. The award is administered through the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service’s National Research Initiative Water and Watershed competitive grants program. The funds...... Wed, 14 Jan 2009 10:52:46 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=931&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=931 California's dairy operators are struggling with a bleak bottom line as the commodity price for milk has tumbled. According to a story over the weekend in the Fresno Bee, milk prices dropped 50 percent in the last six months, from about $20 for every 100 pounds to about $10. The overall cost to produce milk in California is estimated at $19 per 100 pounds, the story reported. Bee ag reporter Robert Rodriguez spoke to UC Davis dairy specialist Leslie "Bees" Butler for his perspective......
]]> Tue, 13 Jan 2009 11:25:48 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=928&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=928 The creamy, healthy complement to spicy, crunchy nachos - avocados - may be in short supply this spring, according to a Los Angeles Times story that has been picked up all over the nation. California farmers expect to harvest the smallest avocado crop since 1990 and possibly even as far back as 1980, the story said, and prices will creep higher. "Holy guacamole," joked LA Times reporter Jerry Hirsch in promoting the story on his Twitter account. For the article, Hirsch spoke to UC......
]]> Mon, 12 Jan 2009 09:59:48 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=925&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=925 In another sign of our dire economic times, grant funds allocated by the state of California's Sierra Nevada Conservancy came to a screeching halt last month. The agency announced funds made available after the passage of Proposition 84 will no longer be dispersed. The November 2006 proposition had authorized the state to issue bonds for the protection and restoration of rivers, lakes and streams and other natural resources. One of the projects losing its funding would have collected and...... Fri, 09 Jan 2009 11:13:11 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=922&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=922 In a move that might only occur in a county named for a body of water, the Lake County Board of Supervisors declared a state of emergency last week after Fish and Game officials decided not to stock several local lakes and streams with fish. Fish and Game made the decision after the Pacific Rivers Council and the Center for Biological Diversity filed a lawsuit that blamed the fish stocking program for threatening native fish and amphibians, such as the hardhead minnow, spring- and winter-run......
]]> Thu, 08 Jan 2009 09:32:58 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=920&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=920 Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, UC Cooperative Extension advisor Mike Marzolla joined a study tour of Cuba, picking up some ideas that could be implemented in the U.S. for a greener society. The 10-day trip was sponsored by the North American Association for Environmental Education, according to a Santa Barbara Independent article written by Chanti Burnett. Marzolla noted a number of efforts Cubans are making to conserve energy, such as Almost universal use of energy-saving......
]]> Wed, 07 Jan 2009 09:20:25 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=916&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=916 Last year, agribusiness and most business sectors road an economic roller coaster. The 2009 outlook is tough to forecast, according to a Sacramento Business Journal article that used the director of the UC Agriculture Issues Center Dan Sumner as its primary source. The bulk of the article is blocked on the Business Journal's Web site, accessible, it says, only to paid subscribers. But the Internet makes it available elsewhere, such as on the Wichita Business Journal's Web site (an example of...... Tue, 06 Jan 2009 09:27:33 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=913&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=913 Happy New Year! UC ANR experts are off to a running start in the New Year, with appearances in a number of well-read publications. The Associated Press moved a story on the wire about the use of lasers for irrigation. The article was picked up widely in the news media over the holiday weekend, including the Los Angeles Times. The article, written by John Rogers, said a UC San Diego professor of environmental engineering is pointing a laser beam across an alfalfa crop in Southern California's...... Mon, 05 Jan 2009 10:12:21 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=910&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=910 Like other famously difficult to define terms, capturing the meaning of "sustainable agriculture" often comes down to just knowing it when you see it. Even though, the California Farm Bureau Federation took another shot at figuring out just how to define what is an increasingly appealing agricultural concept, according to an article in the today's issue of AgAlert. According to the story, delegates at the Farm Bureau's annual meeting discussed the meaning of sustainable agriculture....... Wed, 24 Dec 2008 12:20:58 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=894&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=894 Congratulations to Valerie Eviner, assistant professor in the UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences. She received the 2007 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers last Friday. Her research was funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service, according to a USDA news release USDA nominated Eviner for her research in developing a creative method to manage rangeland and quantify its productivity. Eviner...... Tue, 23 Dec 2008 09:00:24 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=890&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=890 If you're out of ideas but still have names on your giving list, a Fresno Bee story reprinted this week in the Denver Post is a reminder that with good tools, you can never go wrong. For the woodworker, cook, seamstress, photographer, computer geek and backpacker, the latest top-quality tools are always appreciated. The same goes for gardeners - whether they do little more than mandatory weed clearing or strive to grow all their own food. For the article, UC Cooperative Extension horticulture......
]]> Fri, 19 Dec 2008 11:47:35 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=886&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=886 The San Joaquin Valley is bracing for a hard freeze predicted to strike tonight and tomorrow morning, putting the Valley's $1.3 billion citrus industry on high alert. Whether farmers will have to spring into action depends on a lot of things, such as cloud cover, according to Joel Nelson of California Citrus Mutual, who was quoted in today's San Francisco Chronicle. "But we will have the wind machines primed and many of them on from 8 p.m. to 7 a.m.," Nelson is quoted. The......
]]> Wed, 17 Dec 2008 10:03:08 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=882&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=882 Yesterday I wrote a post to this blog about a 4-H article in Mechanical Engineering, the publication of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Alas, I learned later that our Web Action Team was performing an upgrade to the blog system which required some database upgrades. My post was lost. I did want to link the story again because it illustrates the breadth of 4-H programs. According to the article, the perception that 4-H programs are limited to agriculture, nutrition and citizenship......
]]> Tue, 16 Dec 2008 14:05:11 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=879&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=879 Alternative crops always make interesting copy. In the past, I have had the opportunity to write about the potential for growing tea tree in the San Joaquin Valley, dryland switch grass for biofuel, dragon fruit, jujube, capers, tropical papaya and, when it was still an "alternative crop" in California, blueberries. Western Farm Press published a story in the current issue about a UC Davis study, being conducted at the UC Desert Research and Extension Center in Holtville, of jatropha,...... Tue, 16 Dec 2008 09:55:30 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=878&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=878 The California Farm Bureau Federation is marking its 90th anniversary next year with an article in the current issue of AgAlert that traces the organization's origins and provides historical anecdotes. In the article, UC Cooperative Extension gets credit for being the "midwife" when the statewide organization was born in 1919. Extension was created by the federal government in 1914. Before academic staff would be assigned to a county, the service was required to establish a farm...... Thu, 11 Dec 2008 10:58:06 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=871&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=871 Tomorrow at twilight, vintners will converge on campus to weigh in on winemaking on a warming planet, says a spot on the Santa Rosa Press-Democrat's wineabout blog. (I love alliteration.) Among the speakers at the 6 to 9 p.m. UC Berkeley event are Miguel Altieri, UC Berkeley professor of agroecology, and Kent Daane, UC Berkeley Cooperative Extension specialist in biological control. They will be joined by leaders of two California wineries in a discussion about current practices in and...... Wed, 10 Dec 2008 10:36:28 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=868&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=868 The headline, a play on the famous orchestral piece "The Flight of the Bumblebee," comes from the Web site tothecenter.com, which carried a rundown this week on the oft-publicized colony collapse disorder, a mysterious ailment that is severely curtailing the country's honey bee population. The story appears as UC Davis news service distributes a news release about a new $125,000 contribution from Häagen-Dazs to help honey bees. Half of the money will be used to create a one-half......
]]> Tue, 09 Dec 2008 11:24:55 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=864&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=864 The Daily News of Tehama County covered a UC Cooperative Extension meeting where 130 people attended to "engage in dialogue about the complexities of water resource management." Reporter Ashley Gebb wrote that the event was the second biennial meeting on water resources in Tehama County and the surrounding area. "We all know water does not abide by political boundaries," Gebb quoted the deputy director of Tehama County Public Works Water Resources, Ernie Ohlin....... Mon, 08 Dec 2008 11:33:36 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=859&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=859 UC Davis plant pathologist Pamela Ronald's flood-tolerant rice is getting publicity in the state's capital, with a detailed and lengthy radio interview on the Capital Public Radio program Insight and in a TV spot on the Sacramento CBS TV affiliate. Ronald explained to Insight host Jeffrey Callison that flood-tolerant rice was developed over a period of 13 years by isolating a gene from a rice plant that has poor quality grain, but is naturally able to survive two weeks submerged in...... Fri, 05 Dec 2008 10:05:49 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=851&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=851 University of California Cooperative Extension covers a lot of ground, but from time to time I'd like to give of glimpse of the diversity of programs offered by sister programs around the country, as portrayed in the news media. Some of the program are familiar, while others haven't been adopted by UCCE. Nebraska Cooperative Extension is providing divorce care classes, according to The Grand Island Independent. The class for parents in divorcing families began in January 2007 as a requirement...... Wed, 03 Dec 2008 09:28:43 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=847&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=847 California's white gold, aka "King Cotton," took a significant hit in 2008. According to CDFA, cotton revenue dropped $61.5 million and 48,000 cotton acres were abandoned or went unplanted. Cotton growers comitted to pressing on attended a recent cotton field day at the UC West Side Research and Extension Center, which was covered by freelance writer Marni Katz for Western Farm Press. “I know you guys who have survived up to this point are the cream of the crop," the......
]]> Tue, 02 Dec 2008 09:32:03 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=844&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=844 Welcome to Cyber Monday, the Monday after Thanksgiving, which got its name from the popularity of online purchasing the first work day since the busy Christmas season began. According to Wikipedia, the prevalence of high-speed Internet in homes is diluting the shopping strength of Cyber Monday, so it may just become a day to honor the contributions of the Internet to American life. Along those lines, I'll use Cyber Monday to bring you the latest cyber news coverage of UC ANR. The Marin...... Mon, 01 Dec 2008 10:48:01 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=841&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=841 To close out this short Thanksgiving week, there are a number of UC Ag and Natural Resources hits in the media: Capitol Press covered an agritourism seminar held recently in Stockton and developed a detailed article with much information drawn from a presentation by Holly George, UCCE's Sierra and Plumas county livestock and natural resources advisor. Besides the more conventional agritourism ventures - pumpkin patches, corn mazes, wineries and U-pick operations - "serious" farms...... Wed, 26 Nov 2008 09:09:57 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=835&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=835 WPCS, a publicly traded company that provides wireless infrastructure and communications systems, issued a press release this week announcing $9 million in new contracts, including one for UC Cooperative Extension. According to the release, which was picked up by numerous business Web sites, including the International Business Times, UCCE selected WPCS to deploy a wireless data collection network. "The project entails the deployment of wireless devices powered by solar energy located at...... Tue, 25 Nov 2008 08:18:59 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=829&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=829 Long-time ag reporter for Western Farm Press, Harry Cline, wrote a lengthy article about UC ANR vice president Dan Dooley's recent speech to the California Association of Pest Control Advisers. Cline wrote that blending Dooley, the Division's first non-academic leader, with academicians and scientists could be like mixing gasoline and fire or it could go together like peanut butter and jelly, opposites that combine well. The article, published online today, said Dooley has set firm deadlines......
]]> Mon, 24 Nov 2008 13:26:19 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=826&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=826 Two Half Moon Bay Review reporters featured ANR experts in unrelated news stories on the same day this week. Mark Noack opened his article about growing public acceptance of "recycled" water with an anecdote from UC Cooperative Extension farm advisor Paul Vossen. Vossen told the reporter that, years ago, participants on a research plot tour willingly munched on fresh vegetables that had been irrigated with treated sewage water. “Our conclusion at the end of our survey was that...... Fri, 21 Nov 2008 11:18:22 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=819&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=819 The only sustainable and organic agriculture coordinator in the UC Cooperative Extension system, Steven Quirt of the Marin County office, is an informative source for media covering local agriculture. That proved true again this week when Quirt was quoted extensively in a Marin Independent Journal story that opened seasonably with a vignette about organic turkey. By the second paragraph, the story became more of a trend piece on the growth of organic agriculture in the swanky, yet earthy......
]]> Thu, 20 Nov 2008 10:33:01 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=816&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=816 The food writer for the Vail (Colorado) Daily, Ari LeVaux, displays an almost spiritual reverence for food in a column that included a tidbit from UC Cooperative Extension small farm advisor Richard Molinar. The story recounts LeVaux' 36-hour food tour of Italy at the conclusion of the biennial Slow Food movement gathering in Turin. LeVaux writes rapturously about the Italian food he sampled on the trip: Crescent-shaped ravioli stuffed with scallops served over split lobsters......
]]> Wed, 19 Nov 2008 09:51:35 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=813&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=813 The headline above, also the opening lyrics of a popular 1970s folk song, is a message that is again being driven home in the wake of this week's Southern California fires. A Los Angeles Times article published today focused on the dangers of flying embers to homes even some distance away from the fire frontline. The story opened with a heart-wrenching account of Yorba Linda homeowners who thought they had done everything right: barrel tile roof, boxed eaves, brick and stucco siding,...... Tue, 18 Nov 2008 11:08:58 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=812&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=812 "Southern California is burning . . . . I've never seen anything like this!" begins a note written yesterday by Myriam Grajales-Hall, the manager of UC ANR's News and Information Outreach in Spanish program, which is headquartered at UC Riverside. "My family and I went to downtown LA yesterday, and by the afternoon, the sky was dark, the smell of smoke pervaded the city and ashes were falling everywhere. As we were coming back home in the evening, we could see flames on the hill......
]]> Mon, 17 Nov 2008 10:55:54 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=810&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=810 A blog titled "The World's Fair: All Manner of Human Creativity on Display" posted a question-and-answer session with Keith Warner, the author of Agroecology in Action - Extending Alternative Agriculture Through Social Networks. Warner, who studied at UC Santa Cruz, is a Franciscan Friar and a lecturer at Santa Clara University. The social networks Warner refers to in his book are the precursors to what is now generally thought of as social networking, Web sites like Facebook and My...... Fri, 14 Nov 2008 14:32:44 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=804&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=804 The Madera Tribune has picked up a UC ANR press release on Pacific fishers, small carnivores being tracked in the Sierra Nevada by UC wildlife biologist Rick Sweitzer. The Tribune posted a four-paragraph "teaser" on its Web site. Unlike most news media, the full story is only available by paid subscription. (The online subscription cost ranges from $12.95 for one month to $66.95 for a year.) Also unusual, Tribune reporter Ramona Frances edited out the connection to UC. Sweitzer is......
]]> Thu, 13 Nov 2008 11:57:36 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=799&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=799 The half-hour public television program California Heartland, produced by KVIE in Sacramento, included a brief segment on the UC Cooperative Extension El Dorado County Master Food Preserver program in its most recent episode. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to view the segment online. I have a pretty powerful computer with up-to-date software, but the KVIE video segments played for a few seconds, buffered slowly, then quit. (If you have better luck with the video, please post a......
]]> Thu, 13 Nov 2008 10:31:06 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=798&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=798 UC Davis genetic resources analyst Adi Damania responded in a letter to the Woodland Daily Democrat to an article on global warming published in the same newspaper by another UC Davis researcher. The original article, summarized in this blog entry, provided details of a new report about the projected impact of global warming on Yolo County agriculture. Damania made the point that plant genetics may be the ticket to maintaining a viable agriculture industry in a warmer climate with less rain.......
]]> Wed, 12 Nov 2008 10:01:09 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=797&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=797 In the media coverage of Proposition 2's campaign and passage, reporters have made liberal use of puns. Here are a few examples: Prop 2 . . . would crack the state's egg industry lays an egg for state producers is a study in cage fighting There were many more, but Jim Downing of the Sacramento Bee came up with what I think is the best pun. In a story published last Saturday, he wrote: "To a huge majority of California voters, it...... Mon, 10 Nov 2008 12:32:08 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=787&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=787 The latter third of a 1,100-word article on backyard chickens published today in the Christian Science Monitor was based on information from UC Davis Cooperative Extension specialist Francine Bradley. The article was a trend piece on growing interest in keeping chickens in urban or suburban settings to supply families with fresh eggs, organic fertilizer and pest control. Bradley told reporter Maryann Mott that the responsibility taken on when adopting chickens is no different from that for......
]]> Mon, 10 Nov 2008 09:17:25 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=786&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=786 The Santa Rosa Press Democrat ran a story today marking harvest time for North Coast artisan olive oil producers. Though the area's high-end olive oil producers are "making money," reporter Robert Digitale wrote that the high labor cost associated with harvest makes olive oil production a "labor of love." With information from UC Cooperative Extension farm advisor Paul Vossen, the article compared the small-scale, specialty olive oil production of the North Coast with...... Fri, 07 Nov 2008 10:30:03 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=779&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=779 You may have heard it before, but it bears repeating: beer is healthy in moderation. The Birmingham (Alabama) News ran a story yesterday with all the details from UC Davis brewing scientist Charles Bamforth. Bamforth, chair of the UC Davis Food Science and Technology Department, is the author of "Grape vs. Grain, A Historical, Technological, and Social Comparison of Wine and Beer" (available for just $17.82 on Amazon.com). According to the story, Bamforth extolled the virtues of beer......
]]> Thu, 06 Nov 2008 11:02:51 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=776&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=776 As media outlets begin to analyze the impact of Proposition 2's passage, they are turning to UC for information. The headline of the Los Angeles Times story - "Prop. 2 probably won't hike egg prices" - is based on the report by the UC Agricultural Issues Center about the potential impact of implementing the provisions of Proposition 2. The article, written by reporter Carla Hall, says egg prices probably won't go up because out-of-state farmers, who already supply a third of......
]]> Thu, 06 Nov 2008 10:29:43 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=775&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=775 UC Agriculture and Natural Resources is in the news today. For example, UPI ran a story about a UC Davis study that determined daily consumption of vegetable juice is an effective way for people to increase their vegetable intake. AgAlert released an article about a UC Riverside scientist's conclusion that fertilizer savings make growing a cowpea cover crop of value even to non-organic farmers. These are important developments, but somehow it doesn't seem right to go into the details on the......
]]> Wed, 05 Nov 2008 11:07:49 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=773&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=773 The Visalia Times-Delta ran a commentary on Saturday jointly written by the dean of the UC Davis Department of Veterinary Science Bennie Osborne and the director of the UC Veterinary Teaching and Research Center in Tulare James Cullor turning today's decision on Proposition 2 over to the voters. The article noted that various UC Davis scientists have taken public positions on the proposition, both in favor and against, but that the University of California is neutral. The School of Veterinary...... Tue, 04 Nov 2008 05:35:22 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=767&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=767 With the "historic" 2008 election coming to a close tomorrow, media are winding up their own information and endorsement campaigns. An informal review of media endorsements on Proposition 2, the Humane Society's initiative to prohibit what it considers cruel animal confinement procedures for egg-laying hens, sows and calves, looks like good news for opponents of the measure. Here's my tally . . . Opposed: Los Angeles Times Sacramento Bee...... Mon, 03 Nov 2008 09:49:08 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=766&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=766 UC scientists have outlined specific changes to Yolo County agriculture expected over the next 50 years because of global climate change. A preview of the scientific report appeared in an article in the Woodland Daily Democrat by UC Davis Cooperative Extension plant physiologist Louise Jackson. According to the article, some likely effects of global warming in Yolo County are: Warm-season horticultural crops (tomatoes, cucumbers, sweet corn and peppers) will be less viable,...... Thu, 30 Oct 2008 10:46:59 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=763&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=763 The introduction to an in-depth story on Santa Ana winds in Los Angeles Magazine says the predictable and powerful hot desert winds that annually fan Southern California fires "push tempers toward violence." That comment may have been prompted by reporter David Gardetta's telephone interview for the article with the co-director of the UC Berkeley Fire Center, Max Moritz. As quoted in the story, Moritz strongly lamented the fact that fire research has largely focused on fuel instead......
]]> Wed, 29 Oct 2008 13:52:23 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=761&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=761 Sarah Palin's dismissal of fruit fly research (criticized in a Salon.com article that was covered in this blog) is reverberating on the Internet. In the news blog "The Scientist," writer Bob Grant included reaction from two UC entomologists and other scientists. Here's the YouTube video in which the vice presidential candidate derides "fruit fly research in Paris, France": UC Davis entomologist Frank Zalom was quoted in The Scientist blog: "[Palin's comment] does...... Wed, 29 Oct 2008 09:38:33 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=760&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=760 The Los Angeles Times' animal blog, "LA Unleashed," included a picture and caption about a recent UC Cooperative Extension pet seminar in East Los Angeles. Staff blogger Francisco Vara-Orta wrote that children from throughout Los Angeles County participated in workshops and activities geared toward promoting responsible pet care. The caption also included a link to the LA County 4-H Youth Development Web page....
]]> Tue, 28 Oct 2008 12:51:39 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=752&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=752 Congratulations to Susan Donohue, the director of UC Cooperative Extension in Butte County. According to an article in the Chico Enterprise-Record, she received the "community service award" at the 28th Annual Farm City Celebration yesterday. The article said Donohue's UC Cooperative Extension career spans 30 years. It noted that she helped secure funds to start the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program in Northern California and recently spearheaded the establishment of a......
]]> Tue, 28 Oct 2008 10:47:53 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=751&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=751 As the 2008 presidential election reaches its crescendo, even ANR experts get into the action. Salon.com today posted a mocking commentary on what it calls "Sarah Palin's latest swat at science" that included comments from UC Cooperative Extension's Paul Vossen. In a speech in which Palin ridiculed earmark money, she noted sarcastically that one such allocation was made for "... fruit fly research in Paris, France," Salon writer Kevin Berger reported. But, of course, there......
]]> Mon, 27 Oct 2008 09:34:52 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=744&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=744 Two newspaper accounts this week touched on the human side of UC Cooperative Extension. Food shopping savvy was the focus of an article in the Santa Rosa Press-Democrat, in which the daughter of a veteran UCCE nutrition educator created a blueprint for people trying make ends meet in the new economy, the story said. Gerardo and Briana Fernandez shared their personal financial trouble with reporter Jeremy Hay. Gerardo, a general contractor, saw his income slashed in half in the weak economy....... Fri, 24 Oct 2008 09:49:18 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=741&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=741 California efforts to reduce the state's carbon footprint is creating jobs, according to a study by Next 10, a nonprofit organization that promotes environmental innovation in California. The report, featured in a story by the Los Angeles Times, was written by UC Berkeley agriculture and resource economics adjunct professor David Roland-Holst. The Next 10 report said California laws requiring businesses and residents to cut their carbon output and use local energy sources will create more than...... Thu, 23 Oct 2008 13:59:08 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=740&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=740 Fast food is cheap, but an Associated Press story that moved on the wire yesterday offered help for eating "slower food" on a budget. AP reporter Michelle Locke Ho opened her story by making examples of two slow-food products: $20 handcrafted cheese and $100 free-range turkey. She talked to UC Davis food systems analyst Gail Feenstra about what appears to be a pricy trend. "It's been sort of touted as being an upper-income thing, which is unfortunate because that is not the...... Wed, 22 Oct 2008 14:09:36 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=737&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=737 The country is facing economic crisis, but experts say farms won't have trouble securing loans, according to a story published today in the California Farm Bureau's AgAlert newspaper. "Unlike financial institutions that have been devastated by subprime mortgages, the agricultural lending sector has remained on solid financial footing because of its strict lending practices," reporter Ching Lee wrote. For the story, Lee spoke to UC Davis agricultural economist Steven Blank. He said...... Wed, 22 Oct 2008 10:39:11 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=736&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=736 With just two weeks until the election, California's Proposition 2 is getting attention from the Hollywood elite, out-of-state agricultural interests and many media outlets. Here are a few tidbits from recent days involving UC experts: - - - - Veterinarian Nancy Reimers, who speaks for the opposition, said caged hens already have space for turning and flapping their wings, and seem content. "If I'm going into a house of otherwise healthy hens -- in cages or not -- they sing,"......
]]> Tue, 21 Oct 2008 10:35:56 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=734&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=734 Last week, the Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch ran a Sacramento Bee story about pistachios, a tree nut once produced exclusively in the Middle East that is today an important California crop. The story focused on 82-year-old Harry Dewey of Yolo, who told reporter Gwen Schoen that he helped bring the crop to the Golden State. According to the story, University of California researchers were studying the tree nut in earnest when President Jimmy Carter imposed an embargo on Iran, the world's No. 1......
]]> Mon, 20 Oct 2008 09:57:36 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=730&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=730 Olive trees are notoriously resistant to mechanical harvest, but UC researchers are making steady progress toward developing a system that will get 80 percent of the fruit off trees without hiring an expensive hand crew. The research goal and progress were shared in a Capital Press story by Hank Shaw about a recent field day at the UC Nickels Soil Lab near Arbuckle. Table olives are "devilishly difficult to pick," the story said. Olives bruise easily and bruised olives don't...... Fri, 17 Oct 2008 07:05:01 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=726&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=726 As firefighters begin to get the upper hand on the Southern California wildfires, the co-director of the UC Berkeley fire center had the opportunity to give Los Angeles Times readers a glimpse of research underway on this perennial threat. Max Moritz and his colleague Alex Hall of UCLA are mapping Santa Ana wind corridors in Southern California. The Santa Anas blow when desert winds push down canyons over passes and low mountains, warming and gaining speed along the way, according to the Times...... Thu, 16 Oct 2008 06:46:06 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=719&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=719 United States Congressman Dennis Cardoza (D-Merced) will see 4-H's National Science Experiment first hand when he visits "Lights On Afterschool," a community event slated for Thursday evening in downtown Merced, according to UC Cooperative Extension 4-H advisor Richard Mahacek. Lights On Afterschool (LOA) is a national public awareness effort to promote high quality out-of-school learning opportunities to children and youth. 4-H is a national partner. In Merced, two blocks of Main......
]]> Wed, 15 Oct 2008 06:37:41 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=714&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=714 Unfortunately, Santa Ana winds are as reliable a part of Southern California's autumn as colorful fall foliage is for New England. Santa Anas are strong, extremely dry offshore winds often associated with the warmest weather and fiercest fires in the southern part of the state; 2008 is no exception. According to the Associated Press, powerful winds stoked three major wildfires this morning after destroying dozens of homes, forcing thousands to flee and killing two people. An article in the...... Tue, 14 Oct 2008 09:44:49 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=713&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=713 Much has been made recently of the X Prize, a multi-million dollar award for specific inventions that benefit humanity. Currently, scientists are competing to build a commercially viable 100-mpg car and to land a moon rover that will send high-resolution photos back to earth. Two hundred years ago, during the French Revolution, scientists were challenged in a similar way to invent a cheap and effective method of preserving large amounts of food. Canning was born. Preserving food by processing......
]]> Mon, 13 Oct 2008 11:53:19 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=710&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=710 A light-hearted New York Times story related to the weighty subject of drought got its scientific spin from UC Davis groundwater hydrologist Thomas Harter. Reporter Jessie McKinley wrote a feature about California dowser Phil Stine. Dowsing, also known as water witching, is the ancient, mystical art of finding underground water using a Y-shaped stick. Dowsers have been in demand recently as California struggles through its second year of drought, the story said. Harter told the reporter that......
]]> Fri, 10 Oct 2008 12:09:33 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=707&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=707 Proposition 2 continues to make news. Coverage of the initiative, which will set new standards for confining farm animals in California, in many cases mentions the UC Agricultural Issues Center research project that drew conclusions about the probable economic effects of the proposition's passage. Here's a sampling of stories and editorials from the last week: Animal rights activists want more space for hens - San Jose Mercury News Groups take sides on changing......
]]> Thu, 09 Oct 2008 10:28:20 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=704&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=704 Nutrition information was extended to more than 30,000 Shasta County residents today in a prominent Redding Record Searchlight food story with information sourced entirely from UC Cooperative Extension educators. Shasta County food stamp nutrition educator Lori Coker and nutrition, family and consumer sciences advisor Concepcion Mendoza explained in the 850-word article how to add whole grains to one's diet and why it is important. "You have to read the labels," Coker told freelance...... Wed, 08 Oct 2008 09:17:43 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=700&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=700 Here are three recent news tidbits on UC ANR research and extension in California. Bees do the math Newscientist.com reported that UC Riverside scientists believe honey bees make complex math calculations about flight paths to point hivemates towards nectar-rich flowers. "I find it remarkable that, with a relatively simple brain, they can do something so mathematically complex," David Tanner was quoted. Tanner and Kirk Visscher discovered that rather than picking a flight path based...... Tue, 07 Oct 2008 11:21:25 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=693&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=693 Merced County UC Cooperative Extension 4-H advisor Richard Mahacek was quoted extensively in a Washington Times story published yesterday about a growing science focus in 4-H. The article precedes National Youth Science Day, set for Wednesday, when 4-H members all over the country will conduct a "National Science Experiment" by combining polymer materials from the inside of baby diapers with water to learn about water conservation. The Washington Times story included details of......
]]> Mon, 06 Oct 2008 12:32:00 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=690&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=690 Fuel prices have settled down a little bit since their record highs in the middle of last summer, but farmers are just now tallying up the damage. The first half of a Stockton Record story about the impact of the fuel price surge focused on producers of processing tomatoes. Tomato farmers typically negotiate a fixed price for their crop in late winter to help them secure loans and make planting plans, according to the Record's story. Tomato farmers won a record cannery price of $70 a ton in...... Mon, 06 Oct 2008 10:39:45 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=689&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=689 While the news has been replete with talk about large sums of government money in the last week or so, one UC program considered vitally important by the American Veterinary Medical Association is closing its doors because it couldn't get a cash infusion from the federal government. AVMA issued a news release yesterday lamenting the impending closure of the Food Animal Residue Avoidance Databank (FARAD), administered by the USDA’s Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension...... Fri, 03 Oct 2008 10:44:18 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=687&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=687 Pacific fishers are at the center of a conundrum. Most people have never seen them, but judging from photos of researchers cuddling the furry creatures, they are adorable. The nocturnal and obsessively shy fisher is related to the mink, otter and marten. They once ranged from British Columbia down through California's Sierra Nevada, but only two native populations remain today -- one around the western California/Oregon border, and one in the southern Sierra Nevada Mountains, according to the......
]]> Thu, 02 Oct 2008 09:45:03 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=685&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=685 Sacramento Bee food editor and restaurant critic Mike Dunne devoted two columns in a row to the sad saga of winegrape grower Harmon Overmire. After retiring from the aerospace industry, Overmire planted four acres of Malbec wine grapes in Sheldon, Calif. A somewhat uncommon winegrape variety, Malbec creates an inky red wine with plum-like flavor and is often used for blending, according to the Malbec entry on Wikipedia. Overmire's sorrow, according to Dunne's first column (published Sept. 24),......
]]> Wed, 01 Oct 2008 10:28:11 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=682&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=682 An article in the San Diego Union Tribune over the weekend presented both sides of the debate over Proposition 2, the initiative on the November ballot that, if passed, will set new standards for farm animal confinement. The story implied that UC Riverside poultry specialist emeritus Don Bell is an "opponent of the measure" when it followed a statement about concerns that Prop 2 will increase food prices with his quote. According to the story, Bell said: “Pennies, nickels,...... Tue, 30 Sep 2008 09:52:44 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=681&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=681 As if the 1998 introduction of olive fruit fly into California weren't enough, UC Cooperative Extension scientists have now found shopping center olive trees in San Diego and Orange counties infested with olive psyllid, according to a story in Western Farm Press. “Psyllids are some of the most fecund insects I have worked with,” the story quoted UCCE IPM entomology advisor Marshall Johnson. (Fecund has two definitions: intellectually productive and fertile. No doubt that Johnson's......
]]> Mon, 29 Sep 2008 11:35:56 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=678&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=678 UC Cooperative Extension takes the adage "Think Globally, Act Locally" to heart. With 52 county offices all around the state, the organization is poised for local action. Such efforts were covered by a number of local news outlets in recent days. The Pine Tree, with "Celebrated News of Calaveras County and Beyond," ran an article on local agritourism with information from UCCE farm advisor for Plumas and Sierra counties, Holly George. “If you eat food or wear...... Mon, 29 Sep 2008 10:51:37 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=677&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=677 The Capital Public Radio program "Insight" ran a segment this week on successful efforts in Davis to put fresh, healthful fruits and vegetables in school cafeterias. On the program, UC Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program food systems analyst Gail Feenstra answered the questions of guest host David Watts Barton. Feenstra said that the ability to offer local produce in Davis schools is linked to last year's passage of Measure Q, a parcel tax which allocates $70,000......
]]> Fri, 26 Sep 2008 11:11:14 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=673&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=673 Twenty years ago, UC Cooperative Extension 4-H advisor Carla Sousa, working with retired kindergarten teacher Denise Nelson, launched the first teen survival conference in Visalia. Even as its first participants are pushing middle age, the program continues to gather local teenagers to face the challenges of youth in the rural San Joaquin Valley community, according to a story in today's Visalia Times-Delta. The 2008 event takes place Oct. 14. "When we started off, we had no idea,"...... Fri, 26 Sep 2008 10:14:30 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=672&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=672 The UC Riverside faculty and staff newsletter Inside UCR includes a feature in the current issue about a long-standing ANR program housed at the Southern California campus, News and Information Outreach in Spanish (NOS). The article traces the program's journey from its inception in 1981, when radio news stories were sent to California radio stations on gigantic reel-to-reel tapes, through a 27-year-long uninturrupted stream of information from the University to the Spanish-speaking public.......
]]> Thu, 25 Sep 2008 10:39:18 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=669&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=669 Fresno Bee food writer Joan Obra doesn't stop with klatch in the kitchen, but scours research fields and neighborhood shops for her comprehensive culinary news. Her story this week focuses on a Sichuan pepper, a spice so hot it numbs the tongue. The pepper is part of an observational trial conducted by UC Cooperative Extension farm advisor Richard Molinar at the UC Kearney Research and Education Center near Parlier. Typically, Sichuan pepper is imported from China. Molinar sees it as a...... Wed, 24 Sep 2008 10:04:35 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=666&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=666 An agritourism story that first appeared in the San Jose Mercury News last month is continuing to make the rounds in U.S. media outlets, most recently in the San Diego Union Tribune and the Yankton Press-Dakotan. The first paragraph sets the stage with sun gilded grass, a rickety rocking chair and a herd of angus cattle. The ranch where reporter Leslie Harlib did her research doesn't have a theme; said the owner, "We just are what we are and have been since the 1930s: a working family...... Tue, 23 Sep 2008 09:37:32 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=665&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=665 California's approximately 6,000 almond growers are expected to harvest a record 1.5 billion pounds of the healthful tree nuts in 2008, according to a Bakersfield Californian article citing USDA statistics. It will be the third consecutive record crop. The news comes even as almond farmers fret about colony collaspe disorder of bees and dwindling water supplies. Reporter Jeff Nachtigal spoke to UC Cooperative Extension entomology farm advisor David Haviland, who speculated on possible causes......
]]> Mon, 22 Sep 2008 09:45:23 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=662&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=662 Last July, when the summer's most ferocious wildfires near wine country were still smoldering, Wine Spectator magazine suggested the 2008 vintage could be tainted by the smoke. An article in today's Santa Rosa Press-Democrat seems to confirm that the magazine's early prediction is coming to fruition, at least in Mendocino County. “Winemakers are saying that they think stuff is smelling funny to them, and they want to know what’s going on,” the Press-Democrat article quoted......
]]> Fri, 19 Sep 2008 10:27:27 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=658&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=658 Not only did the Fresno Bee lose veteran ag reporter Dennis Pollock to its recent buyout cuts, the paper's garden reporter, Mzong Xiong, decided to take the buyout and continue her maternity leave indefinitely. But it hasn't taken long for her replacement to find UC Cooperative Extension. Margaret Slaby, who together with columnist Mary Lu Aguirre are now covering the garden beat, wrote a charming piece about heriloom corn this week that included quotes from two Tulare County UCCE...... Thu, 18 Sep 2008 14:25:32 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=655&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=655 The Bakersfield Californian today ran a story raising concerns about the recent introduction into California of the Asian citrus psyllid, a pest which can transmit the devastating citrus greening disease. In Kern County, citrus was the agricultural commodity with the third highest value in 2007, more than $450 million, according to the county's crop report. Citrus ranked fifth in 2006. "This could cause catastrophic losses,” the paper quoted Craig Kallsen, UC Cooperative Extension......
]]> Thu, 18 Sep 2008 09:43:08 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=653&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=653 Almost a year after a bill passed that required the governor to add a medical doctor and a scientist to the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District's governing board, only the MD has been appointed. Until passage of the law, the governing board was made up of purely valley politicians. The Merced Sun-Star ran an editorial last week enjoining Gov. Schwarzenegger to name a scientist. One of the two who have submitted their names for consideration is David Grantz, the director of the UC......
]]> Wed, 17 Sep 2008 09:14:49 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=650&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=650 UC apiculturist Eric Mussen graciously spoke to Madera Tribune reporter Ramona Frances recently when she sought information about the medicinal properties of honey. Mussen is known for his expertise on honey bee colony management, pollination, mite control and insecticide damage. Having already logged 30-plus years of honey bee research, Mussen is well-versed on findings that the pollinators produce more than a delicious, amber sweetener. "Honey is extremely good for burns and wound......
]]> Tue, 16 Sep 2008 10:16:43 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=646&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=646 As Californians wait patiently today for the state budget vote, scheduled for 4 o'clock this afternoon, it's a good time to review the value of agriculture and agricultural research as it has been reported in the press in recent days. Last Wednesday, Western Farm Press ran an Almond Board press release about a symposium that took place earlier this summer in Sacramento. At the symposium, UC ANR associate vice president Rick Standiford noted that there has been a 24 percent reduction in UC...... Mon, 15 Sep 2008 12:59:11 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=642&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=642 I've written in this blog about the sad news in the print media, with many California and national newspapers cutting staff and shutting their doors. The trend has hit home. Over the weekend, the Fresno Bee's agriculture reporter Dennis Pollock announced that he is one of the paper's staff taking the buyout and retiring. Pollock marked the change by noting the retirement of UC Cooperative Extension advisors who were frequent sources for his stories over the years. Pollock wrote in his...... Mon, 15 Sep 2008 07:50:45 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=641&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=641 The Riverside Press-Enterprise yesterday ran a nearly 700-word story about a Riverside field day aimed at saving water resources while maintaining beautiful green turf. The article said a new botany professor at UC Riverside, James Baird, joined forces with UC Cooperative Extension to bring back the annual landscape and turf field day after it had been on hiatus a few years. "Water is only going to get more scarce," Baird was quoted. "And landscaping is one of those areas where...... Tue, 09 Sep 2008 10:40:39 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=632&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=632 Congratulations to UC Cooperative Extension farm advisor Neil McDougald. The Fresno-Kings County Cattlemen's Association will name him its 2008 "Friend of Cattlemen" at the CattleWomen's fundraising dinner Saturday, Sept. 13, according to a brief in the Fresno Bee. Twenty other industry leaders will also be honored. Cattlemen Association president Mark Thompson said the honorees have shown "true grit" in the face of drought, diminishing grazing land and increased operating......
]]> Tue, 09 Sep 2008 09:25:27 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=631&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=631 The Asian citrus psyllid's border crossing into San Diego County earlier this month is prompting an emotional reaction from growers. Called the "mother of all killer bugs" by Fresh Plaza, the psyllid is most feared for its ability to spread citrus greening disease. Farmers' comments in a story that appeared in North (San Diego) County Times reflect their dismay. "Honestly, I don't even want to know I have the pest. Because once I know I have the pest, it's all over. I...... Mon, 08 Sep 2008 14:26:57 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=630&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=630 Bob Perkins, executive director of the Monterey County Farm Bureau, wrote an amusing opinion piece about Proposition 2 for today's Salinas Californian in which he speculated about the ability of Californians to decide what makes chickens happy. Proposition 2 is an initiative on the November ballot aimed at improving farm animal welfare. For his column on the subject, Perkins spoke to UC Cooperative Extension poultry specialist emeritus Don Bell, who devoted a career to the study of poultry......
]]> Mon, 08 Sep 2008 09:40:37 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=627&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=627 Coachella Valley citrus growers and industry researchers met yesterday to discuss an attack against the Asian citrus psyllid, an insect lethal to citrus crops that has recently been found in California, according to a story in today's Desert Sun. The California Department of Food and Agriculture announced late last week that a single Asian citrus psyllid was detected in San Diego County, which set in motion a collaborative effort that includes UC Cooperative Extension to protect the state's......
]]> Fri, 05 Sep 2008 08:39:28 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=625&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=625 Since I wrote about the Huffington Post blog aimed at drumming up votes for Prop. 2, I want to give the flip side from a column that ran in the California Farm Bureau's publication AgAlert. Written by Jill Benson, vice president of a 100-year-old agriculture outfit in Modesto, the article said the initiative is "a risky, dangerous and costly measure -- because it threatens our food safety and public health by putting us at increased risk for Salmonella contamination and avian influenza...... Thu, 04 Sep 2008 13:55:42 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=623&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=623 Unusually warm late summer temperatures in Sonoma County have grapes ready for harvest a bit early this year, causing some angst for wineries used to a longer break between the harvest of white and red varieties, according to a story in today's Santa Rosa Press Democrat. But UC Cooperative Extension viticulture farm advisor Rhonda Smith assured the paper that the 2008 vintage isn't suffering. Smith attributes the warmer harvest season to a lack of fog. Cooling fog helps keep the acid and......
]]> Thu, 04 Sep 2008 08:55:47 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=622&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=622 In the first paragraph of his blog entry on the Huffington Post, Michael Markarian accuses "big agribusiness" of: Duping the public Harming animals Polluting the environment Exploiting Latino workers Ouch. The article actually focuses on Proposition 2, an initiative on California's November ballot known as the "Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act." The story mercilessly takes aim at anyone who opposes......
]]> Wed, 03 Sep 2008 09:29:19 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=621&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=621 A Philadelphia Inquirer article published late last week included comments from UC Cooperative Extension resident historian Rose Hayden-Smith, a 4-H Youth Development advisor in Ventura County. Hayden-Smith's expertise is sought from time to time when media outlets are writing trend pieces on growing interest in gardening. In this one, reporter Ginny Smith writes about front-yard vegetable gardening and an activist's call for the next president to plant a garden on the front lawn of the White...... Tue, 02 Sep 2008 15:26:50 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=619&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=619 The 103-year-old newspaper that covered my hometown, The Clovis Independent, printed its last edition this summer, suffering from the Internet surge and economic slump that has many print media outlets cutting staff and shutting their doors. The Sacramento Bee, Modesto Bee and Fresno Bee have offered buyouts to their employees. The San Francisco Chronicle is looking for 125 staff to take buyouts before the end of this year, according to Editor and Publisher. The "Newspaper Cutback...... Tue, 02 Sep 2008 10:34:33 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=616&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=616 This week, the Pioneer Press, which serves Minnesota's Twin Cities, ran a Washington Post story about a new food trend. This time, the trend isn't a new product or fad diet, but emerging university-level education about the politics, psychology and production of food. The story noted that Boston University and New York University have offered food studies programs for more than a decade, and Yale's food studies program includes a high-profile on-campus farm and dining halls stocked with...... Fri, 29 Aug 2008 10:25:23 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=613&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=613 UC Cooperative Extension nutrition, family and consumer sciences advisor for Tulare County, Cathi Lamp, suggested strategies for families wishing to skirt the obesity epidemic at a recent presentation that was covered by the press. Lamp was quoted frequently in a story written by family therapist Bev Thompson for the Visalia Times-Delta. "Research shows that what works is parents setting healthy limits and providing structure for nutrition and lifestyle changes," Lamp was...... Thu, 28 Aug 2008 13:17:08 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=611&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=611 Two nationally recognized news outlets featured UC experts in recent stories - National Public Radio and the MSN Web site. Agricultural Issues Center director Dan Sumner provided comment on the NPR story about a trend at Walmart stores to stock "locally grown" food. The story pointed out that the megastore's definition of locally grown -- grown within the state's boundaries -- is different from that of many locavores -- which generally define local as within 100 miles of home. On......
]]> Thu, 28 Aug 2008 12:16:44 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=609&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=609 A story in the Sacramento Business Journal about a common fantasy in the workaday world - quitting one's job and starting a winery - was informed by UC Cooperative Extension research. And the bottom line is sobering. The story says it will cost $4.5 million to get the winery going and keep the business running through the first three years. If you want to make your own wine, "plan on spending another several hundred thousand dollars to start a small winery," the story said. Writer...... Wed, 27 Aug 2008 13:40:23 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=608&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=608 The New York Times ran a rather technical article this week about a disease that is sending shivers down the spines of citrus growers in Florida and California - citrus greening. The disease is endemic in Florida. California growers are nervously watching the border with Mexico, where a pest that transmits citrus greening has already been found. That development was covered by the Los Angeles Times in July, as mentioned in this blog post. This week's article, focused on Florida, included some......
]]> Wed, 27 Aug 2008 10:37:58 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=606&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=606 A long commentary published today in the Southeast Farm Press warns that agriculture dodged a bullet with the passage of the 2008 Farm Bill, but that doesn't mean the industry will be able to do so indefinitely. The commentary draws liberally from a late-1990s book by UC Davis Cooperative Extension economist Steven Blank. Blank paints a picture of America without agriculture in The End of Agriculture in the American Portfolio. For the Farm Press article, writer Paul Hollis quotes the...... Tue, 26 Aug 2008 10:22:51 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=602&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=602 Continuing the tomato trend from my last blog post, the loss of nutrients in tomatoes from the canning process was pondered in another San Francisco Chronicle article. For this one, freelancer Deborah Rich spoke to Diane Barrett of the UC Davis Center for Fruit and Vegetable Quality. There is controversy, Rich wrote, about the fate of fat-soluble nutrients like the antioxidant lycopene in tomato processing. Studies suggest that processing increases the levels of lycopene relative to the...... Mon, 25 Aug 2008 12:48:43 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=600&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=600 Who could resist tomatoes in mid-summer? Roadside stands around town (at least in Fresno) offer the beautiful, healthful, locally grown fruit for the best prices you'll see all year. Apparently, media are also seeing red. The San Francisco Chronicle ran a lengthy piece over the weekend about processing tomatoes, fruit carefully bred for high soluble solids and portability that is transformed into spaghetti and pizza sauces, tomato paste, soup and other products. Of the 12.7 million tons of......
]]> Mon, 25 Aug 2008 10:23:02 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=597&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=597 If imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, an article in the Sacramento Bee may be making UC Cooperative Extension Master Gardeners feel a little puffed up. The story said the Sacramento Tree Foundation is copying the successful Master Gardener model, in which knowledgeable plant enthusiasts are trained and, in return, asked to give back community service hours. The new program calls its volunteers "LEAF stewards." LEAF stands for Leading Education Awareness in Urban...... Thu, 21 Aug 2008 12:39:52 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=592&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=592 A story in the Sacramento Bee paints a lovely picture of local food production in a story under the title "Think globally, eat locally." "The sun is coming up. Geese fly overhead. Wild turkeys meander amid the fruit trees, as (farmer Lisa) Tollefson picks sunflowers in the golden glow of dawn," goes the story, written by Stuart Leavenworth. The article's vision of local farming wasn't entirely rose-colored. Indeed, it mentioned that Tollefson's partner, Steve Pilz,...... Wed, 20 Aug 2008 12:06:17 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=591&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=591 A story on the Medical News Today Web site says that an analysis by the UC Berkeley Center for Weight and Health shows that California adults could avoid gaining 2.7 pounds a year if calories were posted on fast-food menu boards statewide. The analysis combines findings of two studies, the article says: A 2008 New York City study found that patrons of fast-food restaurants where calorie counts were shown consumed 52 fewer calories per visit. A 2007 consumer......
]]> Wed, 20 Aug 2008 09:43:38 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=589&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=589 A 4-H member who traveled to Australia this summer wrote a summary of her trip that was published today in the Lake County News. The writer, Kelsy Sills of Kelseyville, along with Kelsi Alexander and 4-H volunteer Sherry Falge were participating in the 4-H International Exchange Program. Since Kelsey (and alternative spellings Kelsy and Kelsi) make repeated appearances in this story, I thought it would be interesting to check the meaning of the name. According to thinkbabynames.com, it is of...... Tue, 19 Aug 2008 14:42:43 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=586&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=586 The groundbreaking research released by the UC Davis Department of Entomology yesterday at 2 p.m. was picked up by some prominent media outlets, including the New York Times and Reuters. "We found that mosquitoes can smell DEET and they stay away from it," UC Davis entomology professor Walter Leal was quoted in the Reuters article. "DEET doesn't mask the smell of the host or jam the insect's senses. Mosquitoes don't like it because it smells bad to them." Earlier research......
]]> Tue, 19 Aug 2008 09:13:10 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=583&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=583 Retired UC Cooperative Extension viticulture advisor Bill Peacock was christened "Tulare County's grape guru" in the headline of a Visalia Times-Delta story that lauded his 36-year career. The story of his UCCE odyssey was punctuated with warm praise. "I would say, in my eyes, Bill is one of the heroes of the industry," grower Alfred Guimarra was quoted in the article. "Bill turned out to be an outstanding farm adviser," grower Pat Pinkham was quoted. The......
]]> Mon, 18 Aug 2008 11:55:18 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=581&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=581 The Stockton Record yesterday ran a story about the dismal economics associated with growing grapes in the San Joaquin Valley, based on a study co-authored by UC Cooperative Extension viticulture advisor in San Joaquin County Paul Verdegaal. The story, written by veteran ag reporter Reed Fujii, opened with a telling quote from local farmer Brad Goehring, who helped with the cost study. "At best, we're looking at about a 4 percent return on investment," he was quoted. "You could...... Mon, 18 Aug 2008 10:39:17 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=578&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=578 The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences will publish a research report next week with "groundbreaking" news, according to Kathy Keatley Garvey, communications specialist in the UC Davis Department of Entomology. Garvey has a news release about the research ready, but it is embargoed until 2 p.m. Monday, Aug. 18. "Embargoed" is media-lingo for "top secret." According to Garvey, the research report, written by entomologist Walter Leal, will,...... Fri, 15 Aug 2008 13:54:33 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=577&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=577 A new virus has appeared on tomatoes in Northern California, according to an article in the Woodland Daily Democrat that the paper attributed to Bob Johnson of AgAlert. The story said the new virus looks like tobacco streak virus, which is fairly common in the delta. But when University of California plant pathologists ran DNA tests for tobacco streak on tissue samples from the diseased plants, they came back negative. Tests for other familiar tomato viruses have also come back......
]]> Fri, 15 Aug 2008 09:44:35 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=575&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=575 The Fresno Bee ran a feature story and editorialized in support of a UC Davis farmworker health study in the San Joaquin Valley called MICASA. MICASA is the acronym for "Mexican Immigration to California: Agricultural Safety and Acculturation," and, cleverly, also means "my house" in Spanish. The project studies on-the-job hazards and health risks for farmworkers, their muscular and skeletal problems and their adjustment to American culture, according to the story. The...... Thu, 14 Aug 2008 07:30:02 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=573&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=573 The cyclical nature of blogs is intriguing. A story in the Freakonomics blog that featured UC Agricultural Issues Center director Dan Sumner’s expertise, and reported on in this ANR news blog entry, takes another turn in the media and technology blog of Alternet.org. Eating Liberally writer Kerry Trueman asks what the New York Times has against local food and green living in a post focused on the Freakonomics blogger Steve Dubner’s site. Is this getting confusing? In Dubner's...... Wed, 13 Aug 2008 09:32:21 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=570&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=570 The firestorms of summer 2008 are still very much on the mind of the media. Recently, follow up stories have been published in California newspapers with analysis, recovery and prevention information. The Los Angeles Times ran an article that centered on UC Cooperative Extension wood durability advisor Stephen Quarles' work on attic vents. Quarles points to flying embers as a reason even homes with cleared landscape and fire-resident siding, windows and roofs still succumb to...... Tue, 12 Aug 2008 09:44:46 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=567&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=567 With 85 days till the November election, cackling continues in the media over Proposition 2, the Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act. The proposed law would bar veal crates, battery cages, sow gestation crates and any enclosure that prevents animals from turning around, standing up or spreading their wings. Fresno Bee reporter Dennis Pollock called it a "study in cage fighting" when he reported on what he termed "dueling news releases." In his column, Pollock wrote,...... Mon, 11 Aug 2008 12:53:49 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=564&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=564 The New York Times reported that China's ban on California strawberries has been lifted during the Olympics at the request of athletes who know what's good for them. Chinese farmers produce strawberries for just two months of the year; California offers them year-round. This week the state sent 450 pounds of berries, the first of 35 or so shipments, officials said, according to the Times article. In the brief story, writer Jennifer Steinhauer apparently didn't have the space to mention the......
]]> Mon, 11 Aug 2008 11:22:35 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=563&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=563 The ANR news blog will be on hiatus the week of Aug. 4 while I am on vacation. I'll bring you up to date on ANR news coverage when I return Aug. 11.... Fri, 01 Aug 2008 14:50:07 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=542&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=542 The news this week that scientists think they've found a way to put exercise in a pill has been very widely reported. Google News lists 565 articles about the new exercise pill, including news outlets all over the United States, in India, Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom. According to the numerous media reports, scientists at the Salk Institute in La Jolla fed ordinary mice two experimental drugs that made them capable of running 44 percent longer on a treadmill than before they were...... Fri, 01 Aug 2008 09:44:46 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=541&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=541 Three local newspapers in the state today added a few pieces to the mosaic that portrays the depth and breadth of the UC Cooperative Extension program in the media over time. Ethnic newspaper reports on new Master Gardener A community newspaper that serves a mainly African-American audience, the Los Angeles Wave ran a story about a new Master Gardener in South Los Angeles, Beverly Newton. A life-long gardener, Newton was a member of Los Angeles County's 2007 class of Master...... Thu, 31 Jul 2008 21:00:09 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=540&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=540 The director of UC Cooperative Extension in Stanislaus County, Ed Perry, provided information to the county board of supervisors about agriculture's multiplier effect and its impact on the local economy, according to a Modesto Bee story by reporter Tim Moran Moran's story was based on the presentation to the board of the county's 2007 Agricultural Crop Report, which says agriculture has a $2.4 billion commodity value, up more than 10 percent from the previous year. According to the article,...... Wed, 30 Jul 2008 11:34:08 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=539&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=539 Agricultural economics has prompted a lively online discussion on Steven Dubner's New York Times blog "Freakonomics." As of this morning, 71 comments had been posted, which combined with a lengthy Q & A add up to more than 13,000 words, some heated. This post had its beginnings a week or so ago when Dubner invited his blog readers to send questions for the director of the UC Agricultural Issues Center, Dan Sumner. The blog post included 23 questions and answers touching on such...... Tue, 29 Jul 2008 10:34:11 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=536&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=536 Opening with what must be an old Irish idiom, Santa Rosa Press-Democrat reporter Meg McConahey said her subject, local gardener Tom Berger, was just a "wee shaver" when he began collecting gardening wisdom. He "always remembered The Green Grocer's TV admonishment to Bay Area housewives: 'Do NOT buy tomatoes out of season,'" she wrote. The story said Berger is part of a wave of new gardeners raising food for themselves. The article includes information from UC Cooperative...... Mon, 28 Jul 2008 12:30:17 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=535&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=535 The San Diego Tribune ran a feature yesterday that included advice from a diversity of experts on ways to save money. One of the story's segments had advice from Patti Wooten Swanson, the UC Cooperative Extension nutrition, family and consumer sciences advisor in San Diego County. The segment was somewhat counterintuitive. It suggested against buying in bulk. "If the food spoils faster than you can eat it, or the 'use by' date passes on medicine before it's used up, you've wasted...... Mon, 28 Jul 2008 05:35:17 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=534&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=534 The University of California was called in to help settle a dispute between neighbors in Rail Road Flat over hen and roosters' cackles and crows. According to an article in today's Stockton Record, three rural families have met in court twice to argue the case of the vociferous farm animals, only to come back with split decisions. "I want to be a good neighbor. But at the same time, this place is zoned ag," the story quotes chicken owner Dave Redmond. "I have to cover my ears...... Fri, 25 Jul 2008 10:52:19 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=531&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=531 An insurance industry study of the 2007 Witch Creek wildfire, which destroyed 1,700 structures in San Diego County, reached the same conclusion as UCCE's wood durability specialist Steve Quarles: wind-blown embers cause most home fires. The report, released by the Institute for Business & Home Safety, was covered in a 1,000-word Stockton Record article written by Bruce Spence. In addition to danger posed by flying embers, the study found that combustible fences and decks connected to...... Thu, 24 Jul 2008 11:00:19 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=530&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=530 A sprinkling of newspapers ran stories today based on the ANR press release distributed yesterday on the potential economic effects of passing Proposition 2. Voters will decide in November whether to approve the initiative, which would require egg producers to employ cage-free production practices. In addition to spreading news about the likely downfall of the California egg industry, the coverage revealed that there's something about eggs that begets puns. The Sacramento Bee said the...... Wed, 23 Jul 2008 11:13:05 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=529&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=529 UC Cooperative Extension forestry advisor Greg Giusti was an important source of information for a story in today's Santa Rosa Press Democrat about repercussions of recent forest fires. Reporter Glenda Anderson also spoke to officials from CalFire and the Mendocino Redwood Company, but the majority of the story relayed information from Giusti. Giusti was credited in the story for the following information: Douglas fir trees are more susceptible to fire Redwood...... Wed, 23 Jul 2008 10:43:15 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=528&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=528 The debate over Proposition 2 is beginning to heat up. The proposition, which will appear on the November ballot, was designed to regulate treatment of farm animals. So far, voters seem to be in favor of the idea. According to a story in today's San Jose Mercury-News, a field poll found that two-thirds of California voters will mark their ballots in favor of the initiative. Among other things, Prop 2 would end the common practice of housing egg-laying hens in cages in California starting in...... Tue, 22 Jul 2008 11:31:46 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=525&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=525 The current issue of the Almond Board of California's newsletter "The Handle," which is e-mailed to about 100 almond processors monthly, opens with a warm letter from its chief executive officer, Richard Waycott, about UC ANR's new leadership. The letter says Waycott and ABC's production research head Bob Curtis recently met with ANR vice president Dan Dooley and associate vice president Rick Standiford. Waycott wrote that Dooley wants to position agriculture front and center at the......
]]> Mon, 21 Jul 2008 14:48:17 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=522&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=522 Director of the UC Agricultural Issues Center, Dan Sumner, indicated that declining agricultural research is contributing to a hike in global food prices, according to an article in today's San Francisco Chronicle. There has been a decline in investments in agricultural research and development at the federal and state levels and worldwide, with more resources diverted to improving efficiency, the story paraphrased Sumner. "It's a long-running phenomenon I think we ought to pay a lot...... Mon, 21 Jul 2008 10:11:26 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=521&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=521 The first indicator cited in a San Jose Mercury-News story about the 2008 drought is the number of phone calls coming into the local UC Cooperative Extension office. The second paragraph of the article says the "unusual number of calls" are from people asking why their camphor trees and liquid ambars are wilting. "This year we've had so little rain that for trees that are not adapted — and even those that are — there is simply no moisture in the ground except for......
]]> Mon, 21 Jul 2008 09:56:39 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=520&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=520 The Los Angeles Times yesterday ran a story about an exotic pest that is knocking on Southern California's door -- the Asian citrus psyllid. The pest was found in Tijuana backyard trees just blocks from the border. California citrus growers fear the psyllid's ability to spread citrus greening disease from tree to tree. Citrus greening causes trees to produce small, discolored and bitter fruit; and then eventually, the tree dies. There is no known cure. Stephanie Klunk of the UC IPM program......
]]> Fri, 18 Jul 2008 10:54:22 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=519&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=519 Most posts on this blog refer to stories in traditional press outlets, but here's one that might be considered "new media." Gus Joyce of Rancho Bernardo produced a nearly 10-minute video (which he posted on YouTube) about conflicts he found in recommendations to protect homes from fire and California building code. In a folksy, non-combative tone, Joyce says he learned that California codes require home vent screening no smaller than a quarter-inch, but at the same time fire experts...... Thu, 17 Jul 2008 06:31:56 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=517&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=517 The food and agriculture magazine Edible Sacramento featured honeybees on the cover of its summer edition, and sought comment from UC Davis entomologist Eric Mussen on the hottest issue related to the insects - colony collapse disorder. The value of honey bees, vignettes of beekeepers, and details about hive life and leadership are covered before what writer Mary Moulton called a "disturbing development." The paraphrased information from Mussen notes that this is not the first time......
]]> Thu, 17 Jul 2008 06:30:38 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=516&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=516 When UC Cooperative Extension was established in California nearly 100 years ago, it aimed to help housewives put up preserves and teach kids how to care for hogs, among other pursuits of typical rural-living, farming families. Though the program has advanced significantly in scientific research, nutrition education and youth development, traditional activities haven't been entirely abandoned. The Modesto Bee spoke to Stanislaus County UC Cooperative Extension nutrition, family and consumer...... Wed, 16 Jul 2008 10:25:50 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=515&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=515 Haagen-Dazs was front and center once again in a news story about colony collapse disorder, a mysterious ailment that is threatening bee hives and, in turn, the crops the bees pollinate. The opening interview on the NBC Nightly News piece was with Haagen-Dazs' spokeswoman Katty Pien standing in front of a grocery freezer full of the ice cream. "More than 40 percent of the all-natural flavors that Haagen-Dazs has contain ingredients that are dependent upon honeybee pollination. For......
]]> Wed, 16 Jul 2008 09:32:30 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=512&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=512 Sudden Oak Death is changing the Bay Area landscape, according to a story in today's San Jose Mercury News by Julia Scott. The story was prompted by the removal of 40 dead trees in the forests surrounding Crystal Springs Reservoir. The trees were killed by Sudden Oak Death, which is gaining momentum in San Mateo County. In the article, UC Berkeley forest pathologist Mateo Garbelleto offered a ray of hope, and what some might consider a worst-case scenario. Garbelleto said a substance...... Tue, 15 Jul 2008 12:50:32 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=514&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=514 A UC Cooperative Extension farm advisor warned that food prices could double as a result of the surge in U.S. fuel prices. The advisor, Milton McGiffen, who works with vegetable crops in Riverside County, was quoted today in the San Diego Union-Tribune. “If you double the price of oil, I would assume that food would at least double, and it might be more because the cost of oil gets magnified in the food chain," he is quoted in the story. The article said the fuel-to-food price link...... Tue, 15 Jul 2008 11:32:16 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=513&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=513 The director of the UC Small Farm Center, Shermain Hardesty, said there are a number of hurdles California small-scale farmers must overcome to compete in state's highly industrialized food production and distribution system, according to a recent Bakersfield Californian news story. The article, written by Jeff Nactigal, centered on Community Supported Agriculture, or CSA, a system in which consumers pay a monthly subscription and receive a weekly supply of produce, typically organically...... Tue, 15 Jul 2008 10:04:58 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=511&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=511 Cooler weather in California is helping firefighters begin to get a handle on fires that have raged in the state for weeks. But concerns over the fires' consequences are sure to continue for months. Two articles over the weekend touched on such issues. The Wine Spectator magazine raised the spector of 2008 vintage wines being imparted with a smoky character due to the fires. "There are examples of smokiness from forest fires showing up in wines," the story quoted Roger Boulton, a...... Mon, 14 Jul 2008 10:00:15 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=507&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=507 The Humboldt County UC Cooperative Extension office has a new service for consumers and growers in the rural enclave. A Web site at redwoodag.com was designed to help local farmers find local markets for their products, according to a story posted today in Capital Press. Written by Sacramento freelance writer Wes Sander, the story details the efforts of UCCE farm advisor Deborah Giraud, who received grants from the UC Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program to explore options...... Fri, 11 Jul 2008 11:13:03 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=501&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=501 Officials looking for ways to eradicate light brown apple moth from California's Bay Area and North Coast seem to face skepticism of their every move. Aerial spraying of pheromones has been abandoned after opposition from residents in the infested areas. A story this week in the Contra Costa Times sheds doubt on a planned alternative program, releasing sterile moths to control the pest. According to the article, UC Berkeley entomologist Andrew Guitierrez says the female light brown apple moth......
]]> Thu, 10 Jul 2008 11:17:38 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=499&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=499 The New York Times today ran a story that mixed irony with admiration for California's ubiquitous agricultural fairs. The irony was in descriptions of festivals in areas where the featured crop -- for example apricots in Patterson and garlic in Gilroy -- is celebrated, but no longer widely grown. "In Gilroy . . . (garlic) is now grown on only about 500 acres. Half of the garlic sold in the United States now comes from China; most California garlic comes from the Central Valley, near......
]]> Wed, 09 Jul 2008 10:24:53 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=497&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=497 As 323 active fires in California threaten more than 10,000 homes, commercial buildings and other structures, the Sacramento Bee today offered a small consolation. Even though air quality is poor and the state has already spent more than $100 million fighting blazes, the situation isn't really anything abnormal. The Bee story, citing research by UC Berkeley environmental scientists that was led by Scott Stephens, said the amount of land burning pales compared to acreage consumed historically,......
]]> Tue, 08 Jul 2008 14:56:23 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=496&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=496 The Los Angeles Times reported yesterday that trees killed by Sudden Oak Death are making the fire raging near Big Sur burn hotter, spread faster and loom more periously over firefighters. The story says hundreds of thousands of oak trees in the area have succombed to the disease caused by the fungus-like organism Phytophthora ramorum. For the article, Times reporter Deborah Schoch spoke to UC Davis plant pathologist David Rizzo. He said SOD has "reached its apex" in Big...... Tue, 08 Jul 2008 12:17:12 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=494&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=494 The July-September 2008 issue of California Agriculture journal includes a science brief and a research article documenting increasing resistance to the common weed killer glyphosate in California weeds. The most common brand name for the herbicide is RoundUp. In 2005, UC weed researchers Anil Shrestha and Kurt Hembree notified the media that they had confirmed glyphosate resistance in horseweed. In 2007, a news release by Stephanie Klunk of the UC Integrated Pest Management program reported......
]]> Tue, 08 Jul 2008 10:24:12 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=492&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=492 Following a long holiday weekend, there are a few ANR news stories to catch up on: Last week, the Sacramento Bee ran an article about a price increase for another food commodity: eggs. The story, written by Jim Downing, says wholesale egg prices have shot up 27 percent since mid-May. The story quoted UC Davis Cooperative Extension specialist emeritus Don Bell. He told the reporter that a sizable shipment of eggs last month to Japan and Iraq apparently tightened domestic supplies, driving...... Mon, 07 Jul 2008 10:54:27 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=491&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=491 Efforts by UC Cooperative Extension to encourage Californians to garden were, coincidentally, the topics of two blog entries this week. An unsigned entry in the San Diego Roots Sustainable Foods Project blog noted that a two-hour planning meeting for the ONE Garden at a Time Project in San Diego County was held last Thursday at the "Farm and Home Advisors Conference Room." (I'm not sure that's what the conference room is really called, but it is a quaint name -- a throwback to UCCE's......
]]> Wed, 02 Jul 2008 09:47:45 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=489&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=489 The Ventura Star today ran a story about the end of IPM entomologist Phil Phillips distinguished career with UC Cooperative Extension. The story says Phillips was fascinated with bugs since he was 7 years old. "I've been blessed with a spectacular career," Phillips was quoted. "It's playing with insects basically." The story was most likely prompted by a news release by UC IPM writer Stephanie Klunk, but Ventura Star reporter Terria Smith gathered her own comments from......
]]> Tue, 01 Jul 2008 09:23:25 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=487&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=487 The UC Cooperative Extension office in Humboldt County, opened on July 1, 1913, was the first in the state, according to a story in yesterday's Eureka Times-Standard. By October of that year, California's first 4-H club was established in Humboldt County. It seems the county's first farm advisor, Andy Christianson, set the standard of hard work and dedication for his sucessors statewide. The story noted that a local historian came accross Christianson's travel schedule for May...... Mon, 30 Jun 2008 11:44:40 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=484&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=484 Fresno Bee reporter Dennis Pollock captured the mission, message and mindset of UC Cooperative Extension in a prominent article on the front page of the business section on Saturday. The report was based on a field day in almond orchards near Firebaugh and Mendota, where UCCE advisors shared ways to minimize pesticide sprays, avoid plant diseases and make the best use of limited water resources. Illustrated with an 8 1/2-by-6-inch color photo of Madera County farm advisor Brent Holtz, the...... Mon, 30 Jun 2008 09:14:25 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=483&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=483 The Contra Costa Times ran a story today about the 2008 fire season, which many suspect will be long and burdensome. One of the experts quoted was William Stewart, a UC Cooperative Extension forestry specialist at UC Berkeley. The version of the story which appeared in the San Jose Mercury News, also under John Simermon's byline, says Stewart is a former research head with CalFire. The story said a 114-year record low in precipitation statewide from March through May has launched what fire...... Fri, 27 Jun 2008 10:09:19 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=480&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=480 The National 4-H Council distributed a news release announcing stepped up efforts to engage youth in science, and indicated that California is one of five states that will lead a national initiative to expand the 4-H2O water conservation program. The release was picked up in at least two publications, the Centre Daily Times in Pennsylvania and TMCnet.com. The 4H20 program includes new curriculum in environmental science and the launch of 4-H2Online. California, Kentucky, Michigan,...... Tue, 24 Jun 2008 12:22:37 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=474&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=474 The Sacramento Bee today ran a story about an ANR decision to close the Genetic Resources Conservation Program, based at UC Davis. Reporter Maddalena Jackson spoke to program director Patrick McGuire and attended a "farewell coffee" last Wednesday to gather information for her story. Since the GRCP's inception in 1985, the program collected more than a half million plant samples representing some 13,000 species. The collections are repositories for scientists looking to adapt crops...... Mon, 23 Jun 2008 09:59:13 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=471&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=471 When Newsday's Erica Marcus had a burning question about ripening fruit, she turned to UC Davis post harvest experts. Marcus writes a weekly column for the magazine's Web site that answers "burning questions" about food. In the past, she's helped readers who want to avoid soggy stirfry, identify whole grains, and know exactly when to cover or uncover a pot cooking on the stove. This week, she answered for readers: "Which fruits ripen after they are picked - and...... Fri, 20 Jun 2008 10:37:05 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=470&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=470 The St. Helena Star reported today on a sad coincidence for the Napa County viticulture industry. Within the last year, the three men who have held the position of Napa County UC Cooperative Extension viticulture advisor since 1952 passed away. Jim Lider, farm advisor from 1952 to 1972, died Nov. 19, 2007 Keith Bowers, farm advisor from 1972 to 1987, died May 21, 2008 Ed Weber, farm advisor from 1988 to 2007, died December 31, 2007. The...... Thu, 19 Jun 2008 12:39:11 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=469&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=469 The Sacramento Bee ran a brief story in today's paper about new research that is being shared with the ag industry at a Sacramento symposium ending today. The research compared the rate of growth in public funding for agricultural research and the rate of growth in agricultural productivity. Both are dipping. Reporter Jim Downing wrote in his article that governments around the world invested heavily in ag research from the 1950s through the 1970s, and farm productivity soared. Since the...... Thu, 19 Jun 2008 12:22:43 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=468&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=468 News is being made at a well-attended agricultural research and extension symposium being held this afternoon and tomorrow morning in Sacramento. The event is sponsored by the UC Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources and the California Commodity Commission. Agriculture professionals and policymakers in attendance are getting a first look at new research that shows the rate of growth of public funding for agricultural research and extension has declined and the rate of growth in......
]]> Wed, 18 Jun 2008 14:30:38 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=467&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=467 The United States' poor housing market has had a silver lining for farmers, but is causing hardship for Hispanic workers, according to a recent Wall Street Journal article. Many Hispanic immigrants who lost construction jobs are returning to the fields in search of work. Not too long ago, farmers were expressing concerns about labor shortages. Now, Fresno farmer Pat Ricchiuti Jr. said "there is plenty of help," according to the story. Wall Street Journal reporter Miriam Jordon spoke...... Tue, 17 Jun 2008 13:52:54 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=466&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=466 Last week, the media devoted time and space to the California visit of Chilean President Michelle Bachelet. On Thursday, she met with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to sign a number of bilateral scientific, agricultural and educational agreements. A story in the Los Angeles Times said the two countries have become trading partners over the last four decades largely because of the work of an informal group of Chileans who studied agriculture at UC Davis in the 1960s and 1970s. "They are the...... Mon, 16 Jun 2008 14:13:58 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=462&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=462 The Los Angeles County UC Cooperative Extension Common Ground gardening program was credited in a TV spot this week for providing information to the public about growing food at home to offset the rising cost of fresh produce. Reported by Janet Choi of KTLA News, the 2:22-story opened at the a lush Altadena garden. Mary Gotharad said she and her husband have cut their expenses by selling their second car, stopping cable TV, and conserving water and electricity, but they still "enjoy......
]]> Fri, 13 Jun 2008 14:12:59 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=460&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=460 A story about California's dry spring weather in the Sacramento Bee today cited two UC Cooperative Extension experts: natural resources advisor Glenn Nader of Sutter, Yuba and Butte counties; and rice advisor Chris Greer of Sutter and Yuba counties. The article, written by Chris Bowman, said spring 2008 was the driest in California history and has produced the most flammable landscape fire forecasters have ever seen this time of year in the Sacramento Valley and Sierra foothills. "The...... Fri, 13 Jun 2008 08:28:07 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=458&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=458 The Santa Rosa Press Democrat noted in a story today that the Sonoma County Meat Buying Club, launched by UC Cooperative Extension early this year, is helping local residents interested in purchasing mainly local food. The meat buying club supplies members with an assortment of local beef, pork and lamb in manageable monthly shipments of 7, 15 or 25 pounds. “This way, people can have the local meat, but they don’t have to buy a whole lot of it,” the newspaper quoted UCCE...... Thu, 12 Jun 2008 12:06:55 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=457&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=457 The Arizona Star reported today that a lack of state financial support to the University of Arizona was a reason cited by the new dean of UC Riverside's College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, Thomas O. Baldwin, to come to California. The Star article noted that the opportunity to become a dean is a major step up in Baldwin's profession, but that he said the recurring cuts to the UA's budget played a central role in his decision to leave. "There's no doubt about it," he is......
]]> Thu, 12 Jun 2008 09:22:56 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=454&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=454 Frustration, depression and exasperation are conveyed in thousands of news stories and blog posts about the latest serious food-borne illness outbreak -- salmonella in fresh tomatoes. A Google News seach for "tomatoes salmonella" identifies more than 2,700 stories, many that will make farmers cringe. The San Francisco Chronicle ran an editorial titled "Killer Tomatoes." A headline in the Boston Herald says "Red scare intensifies." Here is a sampling of reactions......
]]> Wed, 11 Jun 2008 11:11:34 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=452&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=452 Magazine article reading online is growing in popularity. According to Marketing Analytics, authoritative research firms (Nielsen and Mediamark Research Inc.) found that an average of 83 percent of visitors to the Web sites of 23 large-circulation monthly magazines access those magazines’ content solely online. That may be true, but some things are lost in the online posting. One is a new gimic from the current issue of Newsweek magazine. Häagen-Dazs is running an ad embedded with......
]]> Mon, 09 Jun 2008 20:41:11 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=450&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=450 In his play, The Tempest, Shakespeare said, "Misery acquaints a man with strange bedfellows." If the Bard had met UC Davis plant pathology professor Pamela Ronald and her husband Raoul Adamchak, he might have written, "Love acquaints strange bedfellows." Ronald studies genetically altering plants and Adamchak is an organic farmer at the UC Davis certified organic farm. Together the couple wrote a book, Tomorrow's Table, that today was featured in a Q&A style US News...... Fri, 06 Jun 2008 14:26:39 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=448&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=448 Calaveras County UC Cooperative Extension director and farm advisor, Ken Churches, was praised in a Union Democrat article published yesterday about the county's leadership program ag tour. "Ken does a great job," the story quoted leadership program participant Bill Schmiett, the owner of Mountain Ranch Realty. Churches took the new leaders to visit a variety of the county's agritourism destinations, reported staff writer Sean Janssen. "Agriculture and agricultural tourism are......
]]> Fri, 06 Jun 2008 09:43:05 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=447&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=447 A few news stories published recently typify UC Cooperative Extension's hand on a diversity of environmental issues in California. Methyl bromide The California Farm Bureau's newspaper AgAlert includes a story about research efforts aimed at helping strawberry farmers grow a successful crop in the wake of regulations that severely limit the use of the fumigant methyl bromide. The story says UCCE soils and water specialist Husein Ajwa have had some success in reducing fumigant emissions...... Thu, 05 Jun 2008 10:05:01 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=446&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=446 A mountain community blog titled Placerville.info ran a 950-word obituary recently about retired El Dorado County UC Cooperative Extension director Dick Bethell. The post also included a 1,400-word article authored by Mr. Bethell titled "A pest control program for your home orchard." The story says Mr. Bethell passed away May 24 at the age of 80. According to the blog, he moved to Placerville several years before pear decline wiped out the area's top horticultural crop. He developed......
]]> Wed, 04 Jun 2008 09:14:15 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=443&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=443 The Fresno-based reporter for National Public Radio's California Report, Sasha Khokha, put together a story for yesterday's program on raw milk. The piece featured an interview with Mark McAfee of Organic Pastures Dairy, 25 miles west of Fresno. McAfee is opposed to a new law that went into effect in January requiring raw milk producers to ensure their product meets the same coliform standards as pasteurized milk. He likened the rule to requiring yogurt without bacteria. Michael Payne, the...... Tue, 03 Jun 2008 09:37:29 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=442&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=442 Former director of Solano County UC Cooperative Extension, Larry Clement, is still sought after by the local press for his expertise on public policy issues. The Vacaville Reporter ran a story last week about so-called ghost maps -- very old, typically hand-drawn maps. The Solano Board of Supervisors is planning to appeal a decision by the Solano County Superior Court that said the county must honor a map from 1909 that shows a 10-acre parcel in Suisun Valley. The land is owned by Ray Ferrari,...... Mon, 02 Jun 2008 13:43:39 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=438&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=438 The UC Small Farm Program this year offered a "Week of Blueberries," with four blueberry field days in one week at four different locations. Even though the Week of Blueberries came to an end last Friday, the information is still reaching the public today in an Adobe Press news story. The article covered the Nipomo event, and noted that the other field days were offered in Santa Paula, Camarillo and Parlier. “We’ve been working 10 years to establish blueberries as a......
]]> Fri, 30 May 2008 13:43:30 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=437&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=437 The Los Angeles Times today ran an interesting piece on guerrilla gardening, the practice of surreptitiously planting flowers or vegetables on vacant land. The story focused on a Norwalk man who has secretly tended a cactus garden on a Long Beach street median for 10 years. For the story, freelance writer Joe Robinson spoke to UC Cooperative Extension Ventura County advisor Rose Hayden-Smith. "It reminds me of the Vacant Lot Cultivation societies," Hayden-Smith was quoted. In the...... Thu, 29 May 2008 09:27:41 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=435&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=435 The San Francisco Chronicle today includes a brief story about new meat clubs forming in the Bay Area.The idea is borrowed from small-scale farms who offer subscriptions to their farms in programs called community supported agriculture (CSA). The subscriber receives a box with a variety of fruits and vegetables each week. Instead of farm-fresh produce, the meat CSAs offer speciality meats, like grass-fed beef, free-range chicken, local pork or goat meat. The Chronicle article details three Bay...... Wed, 28 May 2008 07:50:53 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=434&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=434 UC Berkeley Cooperative Extension natural resources specialist Doug McCreary knew it was a matter of life or death . . . . This spring, landowners were wondering whether they should yank out oak trees that were uncharacteristically brown or bare. McCreary took quick action to save trees' lives. He gathered information for a news release assuring people the die-back was probably not a sign of Sudden Oak Death and urging them to wait at least a year before pulling out trees. The story was picked......
]]> Tue, 27 May 2008 20:49:38 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=433&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=433 UC Cooperative Extension natural resources advisor for Sutter and Yuba counties Glenn Nader provided expert commentary to San Francisco TV station KRON Channel 4 yesterday, providing a wealth of fire safety information to the Bay Area community during a teachable moment. The story was prompted by the Santa Cruz summit fire. Nader noted on the air that he conducts field research for UC and works with homeowners and communities to reduce the risk of structure damage when a fire...... Fri, 23 May 2008 15:54:44 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=430&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=430 The weekly, ag-oriented newspaper, Capital Press, ran a feature in its most recent issue on the new vice president of UC Agriculture and Natural Resources Dan Dooley. The article said Dooley declined when it was first suggested he interview for the position. But his response changed, according to the article, when he learned UC ANR was changing its approach. "The department was seeking unconventional candidates who could approach the department's longtime budget difficulties creatively......
]]> Fri, 23 May 2008 10:29:08 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=429&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=429 A group of UC Cooperative Extension 4-H members in Ventura County who participated in agricultural and natural resource journalism academies produced informative and creative newspaper supplements that were distributed to tens of thousands of Ventura County residents. The supplements are written "by kids and for kids." The most recent one, "Fish on Your Dish," went to nearly 80,000 residents with copies of the Ventura County Star last month. The supplement includes articles......
]]> Thu, 22 May 2008 10:08:40 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=426&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=426 A Los Angeles Times home improvement blog, titled "Pardon Our Dust," discusses a ember-blocking roof vent invented by a San Bernardino firefighter. Blogger Kathy Price-Robinson pulled a quote by UC Cooperative Extension wood durability advisor Stephen Quarles from a UC ANR news story to add to her post with a link to the complete story. Here's the quote: "Quarter-inch mesh cannot stop embers and flames during wildfires. This is an example of conflict in code preferences between...... Wed, 21 May 2008 11:01:08 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=424&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=424 The new sensory laboratory at the UC Kearney Research and Extension Center won high visibility over the weekend in a prominent story on the front page of the Fresno Bee business section. The new lab was dedicated in April and is the subject of the ucanr.org feature story for May. Fresno Bee reporter Dennis Pollock wrote that sensory research mixes science with people's senses -- especially taste -- to come up with fruit that shoppers are more likely to enjoy. "Such results will benefit......
]]> Mon, 19 May 2008 10:08:18 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=417&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=417 With a heat wave settling in on California for the next few days, the UC ANR news and information office shared its collection of helpful information for preventing heat stress in outdoor workers, which is compiled in a media kit on the news and information Web site, http://news.ucanr.org. The news release went out yesterday, and the information was made available to the Fresno Bee's 157,546 readers this morning. Cool!... Fri, 16 May 2008 13:30:03 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=414&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=414 Glassy-winged sharpshooters made a tremendous spash in the California media back in the 90s when they were first introduced into California and began spreading Pierce's disease in grapes. They were never far from the minds of grape researchers and farmers, but the stories in the press almost completely disappeared. Until yesterday. The Riverside Press Enterprise ran a 500-word story about renewed concerns of a Pierce's disease outbreak in Temecula wine country. According to the article, a......
]]> Fri, 16 May 2008 12:49:55 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=412&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=412 Kermit the Frog's cute lament about being green was used to introduce a story in the Vacaville Reporter recently on the movement to eat "green" by purchasing organic food. Organic producers say their products are more nutritious, safer, tastier and better for the environment because herbicides and pesticides are not used, wrote freelance reporter Elizabeth Long. Critics, however, say organic agriculture requires more land to produce the same amount of food, land that should be...... Thu, 15 May 2008 06:08:33 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=410&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=410 The Fresno Bee's ag savvy food writer, John Obra, wrote an article for today's Life section on fresh garbanzos, with information gleaned at a recent UC Cooperative Extension garbanzo bean field day at the UC West Side Research and Extension Center. High-protein garbanzo beans, also known as chick peas, are most familiar to consumers as dried bagged beans or cooked canned beans. Obra says the green fresh beans will be harvested during the next few weeks and make their way into the produce...... Wed, 14 May 2008 09:15:59 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=407&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=407 An Associated Press story on growing concerns about coyotes in California has reached far and wide over the past few days. Here is the version that appeared in the Los Angeles Times. Google News reports that, as of today, 181 media outlets picked up the story. The articles quoted UC Cooperative Extension wildlife specialist Robert Timm and plugged the Coyote Bytes Web site he created. The AP article, written by Alicia Chang, says that coyote's agressive behavior seems to be on the upswing in......
]]> Wed, 14 May 2008 09:01:53 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=406&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=406 Two ANR nutrition experts spent an hour last Friday morning on the air with Michael Krasney, who hosts the daily "Forum" program on KQED, NPR's Bay Area affiliate. UC Davis nutrition professor Judith Stern and associate director of the UC Berkeley Center for Weight and Health Gail Woodward-Lopez provided commentary on a new study from Sweden that determined heavy adults shed and reproduce fat cells too rapidly. One of the study's authors, Peter Arner, a professor of medicine at the...... Mon, 12 May 2008 09:52:06 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=403&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=403 Reporter Tim Holt wrote a cute feature story about 4-H for today's San Francisco Chronicle. The article focuses on a club in Oakland's "upscale" Montclair neighborhood, where a group of 4-H'ers are raising chickens, goats and pigs. The story provides lots of details about this aspect of the 4-H Youth Development program, but unfortunately doesn't mention its connection to University of California Cooperative Extension.... Fri, 09 May 2008 14:45:45 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=400&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=400 UC Berkeley Cooperative Extension biotechnology specialist Peggy Lemaux spoke at a workshop in Lake County this week, where the board of supervisors have been asked again to consider banning genetically modified crops, according to a story in the Lake County Record-Bee. The board narrowly rejected such an ordinance in 2004. "Since this is such a controversial issue, I thought it would be wiser to have a discussion in the format of a workshop to talk about these things and decide if we......
]]> Fri, 09 May 2008 13:16:15 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=398&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=398 More than a year ago, I began blogging about the coverage of UC Agriculture and Natural Resources in the news media. Yesterday, to my surprise, a newspaper pulled from the blog. On Monday I posted a blog entry about an op-ed piece written by two UC ANR academics that ran in the Ventura County Star. The blog entry was printed verbatim in yesterday's Fresno Bee. Here's a picture of the post in the Bee's "Blogging Across America" column, from the opinion page of its print edition. The......
]]> Thu, 08 May 2008 07:42:05 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=393&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=393 The San Diego County UC Cooperative Extension office is now extending vital wildfire information to local residents from a computerized kiosk. Not exactly the robotic assistant envisioned in the classic cartoon The Jetsons, these stand-alone touch screen computers automatically provide customized information to residents about how to protect their families and property from wildfire, according to an article in the Ramona Sentinel. “The high-tech kiosk is a one-of-a-kind touch screen that...... Wed, 07 May 2008 09:48:03 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=391&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=391 The Los Angeles Times today ran a story about hidden-camera video footage of a Turlock poultry farm. The story was picked up by the Associated Press and has now appeared in at least 40 newspaper and broadcast media outlets. According to the Times story, the video was shot by an undercover investigator with the group Mercy for Animals and shows workers mistreating chickens at Gemperle Enterprises. "What I saw on that video is not what our company does," owner Steve Gemperle was...... Tue, 06 May 2008 14:55:12 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=389&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=389 The Ventura County Star on Sunday ran a lengthy op-ed piece by UCCE advisor emeritus Daniel Desmond and horticulture and 4-H advisor Rose Hayden-Smith with a headline that begs for explanation: "Food will win the war." The story gives a historical perspective on gardening's past ties to patriotism and makes that case that today, in light of high food and fuel prices and ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, it's time again to pick up a hoe for the homeland. "During both world......
]]> Mon, 05 May 2008 09:45:08 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=387&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=387 The Stockton Record devoted nearly 500 words in yesterday's paper to introducing the new UC Cooperative Extension dairy farm advisor for San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties, Jennifer Heguy. Reporter Reid Fujii spoke to both Heguy and San Joaquin UCCE county director Mick Canevari for the story. According to the article, Heguy grew up in a farm family that ran a beef cattle operation outside Los Banos. She was active in 4-H and FFA and earned bachelor's and master's degrees in animal science at......
]]> Fri, 02 May 2008 09:33:29 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=385&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=385 Placer County mandarin grower Joanne Neft wants to confirm a theory that the diminutive fruit is a natural allergy treatment, according to a story in the Colfax Journal. She raised more than $20,000 to fund a USDA analysis of mandarins grown in the county that will determine how much natural synephrine the mandarins contain and how long the substance can last when frozen. According to the story, synephrine is a decongestant. Curiously, Wikipedia doesn't mention the compound's decongestant......
]]> Thu, 01 May 2008 09:31:56 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=383&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=383 A 2006 study by the California Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program and UCCE in Butte County inspired Hidden Valley Salad Dressings to launch the "Love Your Veggies(TM) Nationwide School Lunch Campaign," according to a news release posted today on PR Newswire. The UCCE study found that children consumed 23 percent more vegetables when paired with a moderate amount of ranch dressing. A second study, conducted at Iowa State University, found that certain vitamins and......
]]> Wed, 30 Apr 2008 09:52:01 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=380&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=380 Not surprisingly, a story in yesterday's Sacramento Bee about goats that have been genetically modified with human genes is generating comments on the newspaper's Web site. The story was prompted by a UC Davis news service press release by Pat Bailey. In short, UC Davis animal scientists James Murray and Elizabeth Maga engineered a small herd of dairy goats to produce high levels of a human antibiotic-like protein in their milk. Pigs fed milk from the transgenic goats had significantly lower......
]]> Tue, 29 Apr 2008 10:18:30 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=376&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=376 An article in yesterday's Sacramento Bee proves the jokes on chia haven't yet been exhausted. Sam McManis wrote about health claims for chia seeds, the Aztec food made popular by the "as seen on TV" chia pot. The San Jose Mercury News ran a similar story on the health fad last February, as noted in this blog entry. In both cases, the reporters sought UC Davis Cooperative Extension specialist Sheri Zidenberg-Cherr's measured commentary. "The redeeming qualities of (chia) is...... Mon, 28 Apr 2008 10:16:04 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=373&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=373 California dairies are being squeezed between increasing costs for feeds and decreasing return for milk, according to a story in the Marin Independent Journal over the weekend. The story reports that 55 percent of Marin's agricultural income - more than $27 million in 2006 - comes from the county's 28 dairies. Reporter Rob Rogers spoke to UC Davis CE specialist Bees Butler about dairy economic trends. "The dairy industries in China and India will start to expand because of the...... Mon, 28 Apr 2008 10:00:09 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=372&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=372 UC Davis plant pathologist Pamela Ronald has an idea that might make collaborators out of Californians who have commonly been at cross purposes. Ronald suggested that combining genetic engineering with organic farming may be the best way to grow food for a growing world population facing climate change and environmental degradation. In a story with a Hong Kong dateline, Ronald told Reuters the world needed to use every technology available to secure food supplies for the 9.2 billion people...... Thu, 24 Apr 2008 13:26:29 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=370&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=370 A new episode of the periodic PBS series "Strange Days on Planet Earth" tonight focuses on the global implications of overfishing. It features the work of UC Berkeley assistant professor of ecosystem sciences Justin Brashares. Says host Edward Norton in the program's online preview, "Follow a fish, and you can end up in unexpected places." Check your local listings for the show's broadcast time in your area. In the Bay Area, it will air at 9 p.m. on KQED; in the Central...... Wed, 23 Apr 2008 10:18:20 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=365&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=365 In honor of Earth Day, a UC Davis Cooperative Extension veterinary specialist, John Maas, sent a letter to the editor of the San Francisco Chronicle asking the public to remember the "original environmentalists," cattle ranchers. "California's ranchers manage more than 20 million acres of private land. They pay taxes, raise cattle, and protect wildlife in a sustainable manner. These are the green hills and mountain meadows you drive by on your travels," Maas wrote. Maas...... Tue, 22 Apr 2008 13:30:23 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=360&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=360 A new land-use ordinance under consideration in Monterey County would regulate roosters, which apparently annoy homeowners who are roused at the crack of dawn by the the birds' crowing, according to an op-ed piece in the Salinas Californian over the weekend. The column, by the executive director of the Monterey County Farm Bureau Bob Perkins, admonishes county staff to seek input from its own agencies, including UC Cooperative Extension, before proposing such restrictions. Perkins wrote that......
]]> Mon, 21 Apr 2008 09:33:04 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=358&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=358 The San Francisco Chronicle today ran a lengthy story about the trend in California vineyards toward more sustainable farming practices. Freelance reporter Deborah Grossman noted that, decades ago, "entomologists at several UC campuses recognized a pending crisis from excessive chemical usage, which increased risks to worker health, pest outbreaks and pesticide resistance." Researchers introduced the concept of Integrated Pest Management in 1959. Grossman interviewed San Luis Obispo......
]]> Fri, 18 Apr 2008 15:46:00 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=357&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=357 Just a few weeks after garden writer Anne Raver of the New York Times interviewed a UC Cooperative Extension advisor about blueberries (as reported in this blog entry), she looked westward again for more insight on home gardening. Raver contacted UC Cooperative Extension horticulture and 4-H advisor Rose Hayden-Smith to get a historical perspective on gardening for today's column. Raver reported on what must have seemed a preposterous suggestion from kitchen gardener and activist Roger Doiron....... Thu, 17 Apr 2008 13:12:31 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=352&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=352 A meeting of the California Oak Mortality Task Force in Marin is generating a spike in news coverage of Sudden Oak Death. Today, the main theme is where the disease took hold in California. UC Berkeley researcher Matteo Garbelotto reported on genetic testing of Phytophthora ramorum, the pathogen that is killing California oaks. According to a story in the Marin Independent Journal, Garbelotto found the pathogen's forebears at a site on Bolinas Ridge within the Golden Gate National Recreation......
]]> Thu, 17 Apr 2008 09:42:03 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=351&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=351 The Bay Area TV segment "CBS 5 Investigates" looked into the Light Brown Apple Moth controversy for a story posted to their Web site today and found contrary opinions to publicize. The story opens . . . "The government claims it's an emergency. They say they have to conduct aerial spraying over the Bay Area immediately to eradicate the light brown apple moth. But a CBS 5 Investigation has found there may not be an emergency at all." California secretary of agriculture A.G....... Wed, 16 Apr 2008 13:45:33 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=348&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=348 An article on the front page of the Fresno Bee business section today informs consumers they can return "Ripe 'N Ready" tree fruit to the company if it isn't to their liking. That's how confident the company is that their fruit will be delicious and ready to eat. The article unfortunately doesn't go into how the company is able to make such a promise to consumers. In fact, much credit goes to UC Davis post harvest physiologist Carlos Crisosto, who is based at the UC Kearney Research......
]]> Wed, 16 Apr 2008 10:06:56 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=346&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=346 Yesterday, the Fresno Bee ran a story about opening of roadside stands selling local strawberries. For the article, reporter Dennis Pollock spoke to UC Cooperative Extension small farm advisor Richard Molinar. Pollock reported that only 25 strawberry farms remain in the county, down from 45 ten years ago. Most of the growers are Hmong and Mien, refugees from Laos. Many farmers quit growing the fruit because of urbanization, costs for fumigants and unavailability of contracts with processors,......
]]> Wed, 16 Apr 2008 09:47:32 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=345&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=345 The San Francisco Chronicle ran a story yesterday about a Mixtec farmer from Mexico who formed a non-profit that promotes soil conservation, sustainable agriculture and irrigation to improve the livelihoods of the Mixtec Highlands' 350,000 inhabitants. The small group ecologists led by Jesus Leon organized more than 1,500 small farmers in 12 communities to reverse hundreds of years of environmental damage. For the effort, Leon is one of seven winners of San Francisco's Goldman Environmental...... Mon, 14 Apr 2008 05:06:45 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=342&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=342 Washing fresh produce may not be enough to make contaminated food safe, according to a report on KTVU.com about USDA findings. KTVU is the Bay Area Fox Television affiliate. USDA found that irradiation could provide a reliable way to reduce the number of foodborne illnesses reported each year in the United States, according to the director of the study. For the story, the TV station sought comment from UC Davis Cooperative Extension specialist Christine Bruhn. Bruhn said some activists are...... Sun, 13 Apr 2008 14:59:16 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=341&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=341 An article in the Los Angeles Times gardening section today takes on weeds -- especially those that were deliberately introduced by nurseries for landscaping purposes but have naturalized, spread wildly and are crowding out native species that provide wildlife habitat. Freelance writer Emily Green centered her story on the UC ANR publication "Weeds of California and Other Western States" by UC Davis Cooperative Extension weed specialist Joseph M. DiTomaso. In an interview with Green,......
]]> Thu, 10 Apr 2008 13:19:10 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=340&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=340 UC Cooperative Extension 4-H and environmental horticulture advisor Rose Hayden-Smith provided information about California school gardens to an Associated Press writer who was reporting on the growing popularity of school gardens in the United States. The story focused on a concrete schoolyard in hurricane-recovering New Orleans that has been transformed into a garden. It appears that writer Janet McConnaughy was looking for national numbers on school gardens, but noted that difinitive data......
]]> Thu, 10 Apr 2008 10:45:49 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=339&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=339 KPIX in San Francisco noted that UC Davis entomologist James Carey told a San Francisco Board of Supervisors committee that the decision by the California Department of Food and Agriculture to conduct aerial spraying for the light brown apple moth is "scientifically misguided" and that there are "other tools" that can be used to control the agricultural pest.... Wed, 09 Apr 2008 15:05:34 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=338&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=338 Like paparazzi chasing a celebrity, Bay Area media have vigilantly followed the whereabouts and goings-on of California's newest exotic pest, the light brown apple moth. ANR scientists continue to be a valuable source of information. Today, the Berkeley Daily Planet quoted UC Berkeley entomology professor Miguel Altieri. According to the article, Altiere said CDFA's plan to eradicate the light brown apple moth “is like the 9-11 terrorist policy applied to agriculture." On Monday,......
]]> Wed, 09 Apr 2008 09:37:17 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=337&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=337 UC Cooperative Extension has every right to claim Earth Day as a celebration of its work. Each year, the news and information outreach office pulls together stories about ways UCCE advisors and specialists are working to minimize the impact of humans on the environment. This year for the second time the ANR Communicators Network joined in compiling stories. The network consists of communications professionals who work in a wide variety of ANR programs, including IPM, Small Farms, Master......
]]> Tue, 08 Apr 2008 09:30:49 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=335&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=335 Yesterday, the San Luis Obispo Tribune ran last week's McClatchy story about oaks (which I covered in this blog), and localized it for their own area by calling on another UC Cooperative Extension souce. UCCE area natural resources specialist Bill Tietje told reporter David Sneed that oak regeneration conditions in San Luis Obispo County are the same as Northern California, according to the story. Most oak woodlands in the state contain large, mature trees, but no saplings to replace them.......
]]> Mon, 07 Apr 2008 12:19:54 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=333&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=333 It's not a supermarket tabloid, but a story in the Eureka Times-Standard today reports facts that are quite simply beyond belief. The article says local fifth-grade students "were coming back for seconds and thirds" after being served Brussels sprouts. How could this happen? The answer is something UC Cooperative Extension experts have been telling parents and schools for years. “It's been proven if they have some hands on activity with gardens and vegetables, they'll eat them......
]]> Fri, 04 Apr 2008 13:35:42 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=330&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=330 The Sacramento Bee ran an article this week about the lack of young oaks in the local foothills. The article included several comments from UCCE natural resources specialist Doug McCreary and a mention of statewide research on oak regeneration. Sacramento Bee writer Mary Lynne Vellinga reported that the overwhelming majority of oak seedlings never reach the sapling stage, much less become mature oak trees. "The limitation does not seem to be the number of acorns, or the number of plants......
]]> Thu, 03 Apr 2008 10:05:12 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=327&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=327 The Yuba County Board of Supervisors authorized the use of the 4-H Camp in Dobbins for another year, even though the youth development program had to forego its long-term maintenence of the facility, according to an article in today's Appeal-Democrat. In early March (as was reported in this blog entry), UC Cooperative Extension decided it was no longer practical for the University of California to maintain a camp all year that it used just one week each summer. In today's article, writer...... Wed, 02 Apr 2008 14:44:11 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=326&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=326 The Salinas Californian reported on a meeting in Monterey County in which UC Berkeley Cooperative Extension specialist Peggy Lemaux urged care when considering bans on genetically modified organisms. Lemaux spoke to the Monterey County Agricultural Advisory Committee, which is deciding wether to recommend a GMO ban to the county supervisors. According to reporter Dawn Withers, Lemaux said county officials must be careful about what rules will govern the use of genetically modified...... Wed, 02 Apr 2008 08:02:54 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=324&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=324 Two California newspapers ran stories over the weekend with information gleaned at the UC Cooperative Extension-sponsored niche meat marketing conference, held last week in Modesto. Conference speakers looked at unconventional production practices and uncommon meat types as ways for small-scale meat producers to set themselves apart. Today, most meat consumed in America is beef, pork and chicken and most is produced at centralized processing plants and shipped hundreds of miles before reaching...... Mon, 31 Mar 2008 10:31:49 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=321&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=321 When New York Times garden columnist Ann Raver set out to write a folksy piece on home blueberry production, she sought expertise from a UC Cooperative Extension farm advisor 3,000 miles away. Raver writes enviously about the wild blueberries her New Hampshire sister collects on the shores of crystal-clear lakes and around Maine mountaintop meadows, then intoduces information about growing the plants in Maryland backyards. Even though blueberries are thought of traditionally as a crop of the......
]]> Thu, 27 Mar 2008 10:23:49 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=319&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=319 A good quote can have a long life. That was demonstrated recently when the Chicago Daily Herald used a quip by UC Cooperative Extension farm advisor Chuck Ingels in a story last week that he uttered a month and a half ago in reference to Sacramento conditions. I mentioned the Ingels' quote in this blog on Feb. 5. In the Sacramento Bee story about postponing gardening until soil dries out, Ingels was quoted: "Soggy gardening? I try not to do it." The Chicago paper ran the story March...... Tue, 25 Mar 2008 08:57:10 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=316&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=316 Over the weekend, the Modesto Bee ran a comprehensive story on the olive industry, with a focus on the new UC Davis Olive Center. For the story, reporter John Holland spoke to UC Cooperative Extension's resident olive expert, farm advisor Paul Vossen. Vossen noted that olive oil dates to antiquity, but truly fine oil came about only in the past few decades. Stainless steel spinners and decanters replaced the old, smelly mats that had been used to drain oil from paste made of crushed olive...... Mon, 24 Mar 2008 10:51:37 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=315&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=315 A story made the rounds the past week or two about efforts by Morro Bay city officials to stop excessive use of nitrogen-based fertilizers suspected of tainting a key source of drinking water. According to the brief AP version of the story that appeared in the San Jose Mercury News, city officials are now asking farmers to voluntarily stop using nitrogen-based fertilizers. Reporter Sonya Patel sought comment from UCCE farm advisor Hugh Smith, who said asking farmers not to use nitrogen-based...... Mon, 24 Mar 2008 09:49:14 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=314&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=314 The effort to plant 1,000 oaks on a private ranch in San Luis Obispo County has been well covered in the media. The coverage now also includes a comprehensive feature story with seven color photos in the March 2008 edition of Farmer and Rancher Magazine, a publication of the San Luis Obispo County Farm Bureau. The story says 60 volunteers from the San Luis Obispo Native Tree committee, Cal Poly, local 4-H and agricultural and community groups joined rancher Jack Varian and UCCE natural......
]]> Fri, 14 Mar 2008 12:06:32 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=311&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=311 UC Davis Cooperative Extension apiculturist Eric Mussen appeared on ABC's Good Morning America today in an interesting nearly four-minute-long segment on bees. The story opened with scenes from a 1978 horror movie "The Swarm," and then dispelled myths about Africanized honey bees, aka "Killer Bees." Mussen said contrary to bees' portrayal in movies, "Bees are not out to get you. You probably can't get further from the truth." The story then turned to colony......
]]> Wed, 12 Mar 2008 12:14:05 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=307&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=307 The Sacramento Bee today ran a story about research by a retired Texas A&M professor that points to wood decay following a wildfire as a major source of carbon in the atmosphere. The professor, Thomas Bonnicksen, is quoted in the story as saying the effects of wildfire negates any efforts to reduce California's carbon footprint. "No matter what anybody does in California to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, as long as these forests are burning, they are wasting their time,"...... Wed, 12 Mar 2008 10:15:33 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=306&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=306 Hidden camera footage of animal treatment at a Chino slaughterhouse has raised public interest in meat production. A few days ago, the San Gabriel Valley Tribune (Los Angeles County) ran a piece to shed light on the types of cattle that enter the food chain. Jim Oltjen, livestock specialist with the department of animal sciences at UC Davis, told reporter Mark Petix, "They're all edible," including Hereford, Angus, Waygu and dairy cattle. In addition, "If you did a blind taste...... Tue, 11 Mar 2008 10:07:06 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=304&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=304 The media were on hand last Friday when 4-H member Laura Webber led a group of fellow 4-H'ers in planting 15 trees at Elkus Ranch near Half Moon Bay to launch her 4-H Million Trees initiative. The San Mateo County Times posted a story today. It outlined Laura's lofty goal - to inspire 4-H clubs across the nation to join her in planting one million trees to help combat global warming. "Fifteen down, 999,985 to go," wrote reporter Julia Scott. She also recorded Laura's......
]]> Mon, 10 Mar 2008 13:36:55 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=303&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=303 The Riverside Press-Enterprise ran a story over the weekend about the recovery of native plant species in Southern California deserts recently burned by wildfire. The article says scientists believe it is too soon to determine how plants will recover. Reporter Gail Wesson gathered the bulk of her material for the story at the UC Natural Resources Continuing Conference, held last week in Palm Desert. She quoted conference speaker Jan Beyers of the U.S. Forest Service as saying a lot of native......
]]> Mon, 10 Mar 2008 10:01:50 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=302&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=302 A story in the San Francisco Chronicle yesterday called into question the current USDA and CDFA attempts to eradicate the light brown apple moth in Bay Area communities. According to UC Santa Cruz botanist Daniel Harder, cited by reporter Jane Kay, "It's not such a nasty pest." The reporter also spoke to UC Davis entomology professor James Carey. He said the plan to completely eradicate LBAM "won't work." "The pest has been here so long and is so widespread . . . it's......
]]> Fri, 07 Mar 2008 09:40:09 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=298&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=298 The Modesto Bee ran a story yesterday about a new book by Beverly Mills and Alicia Ross titled "Cheap. Fast. Good!" The article provided 10 common sense tips for readers for saving money on groceries and keeping food prices from busting your budget. In offering resources, the paper prominently listed UC Cooperative Extension, with the phone number of the Stanislaus County office, a provider, the article said, "of nutrition classes and publications on frugal food tips." In...... Thu, 06 Mar 2008 08:17:08 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=296&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=296 Keith Matheny of the Desert Sun joined UC natural resources advisors, specialists and professors on a field trip to view the aftermath of the Paradise Fire, where 3,000 acres burned in 2005, and the Sawtooth-Millard Complex Fire, where 35,000 acres burned in 2006. Matheny noted in the article that much of the plant regrowth is invasive species that are threatening the recovery of native plants and creating more fuel for wildfires in the future. The article quoted Dee Zeller, a naturalist at...... Wed, 05 Mar 2008 09:28:02 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=293&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=293 In the wake of last fall's devastating Southern California wildfires, UC Cooperative Extension natural resources advisors are gathering in Palm Desert March 4 and 5 to discuss wildfire reasons, resilience and recovery. The news media have been invited and have shown interest, so the likelihood is high the conference will result in press coverage. A news release distributed by the UC Riverside news service is available online. The conference begins with field trips the morning of the 4th to...... Tue, 04 Mar 2008 06:52:15 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=292&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=292 UC Cooperative Extension made two appearances in the news over the weekend, one covering the planting of 1,000 trees at the coast, the other the possible closing of a mountain camp. The Salinas Californian covered the tree planting day sponsored by UC Cooperative Extension on the Central Coast. UCCE natural resource specialist Bill Tietje said the planting day, mentioned in this blog in February, "couldn't have been more perfect." About 75 people showed up to help, and the weather...... Mon, 03 Mar 2008 10:38:39 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=291&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=291 The Los Baños Enterprise ran a story today about a UC Cooperative Extension project aimed at increasing visibility for Merced County agriculture. ANR program leader Maxwell Norton, who is also a farm advisor in Merced County, figures highly in the article. He is the person who mapped three trails through the county that people can drive to see one of Central Valley agriculture's most beautiful displays: fruit trees in full bloom. He told the paper that, when preparing the blossom trail......
]]> Fri, 29 Feb 2008 10:27:15 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=287&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=287 Two reporters with McClatchy Newspapers, Dorothy Korber and Carrie Peyton Dahlberg, collaborated on a story this week that gave two UC Davis nutrition experts the chance to share their no nonsense nutrition advice with readers. Among other publications, the story appeared in: The Age (Australia) The Detroit Free Press The Portsmouth (New Hampshire) Herald According to the story, nutrition professor Judith Stern said scientists don't yet...... Thu, 28 Feb 2008 10:54:19 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=285&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=285 On the way to and from the California Farm Conference in Visalia this week, I couldn't help but notice that many peach and almond orchards are coming into beautiful pink and white bloom. The fact hasn't gone unnoticed by the press. Last week reporter Heather Hacking of the Chico Enterprise contacted UCCE farm advisor Joe Connell for his take on the season. Many San Joaquin Valley counties have mapped out Blossom Trails, a great way to appreciate the presence of agriculture in the......
]]> Wed, 27 Feb 2008 13:15:42 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=283&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=283 Over the next two days, the California Small Farm Conference is being held in Visalia. The Fresno Bee included a detailed roundup of the conference in last Friday's paper, giving high mention to Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, a sponsor of the event. The conference was established in 1982 by the UC Small Farm Program. The program is still involved, but the conference has taken on a life of its own. More than 400 small-scale farmers from around the state are expected to be on hand today for a...... Mon, 25 Feb 2008 07:48:01 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=282&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=282 Media interest in the Haagen-Dazs gift of $100,000 to fund UC Davis honey bee research is incredibly strong. The story was picked up by 167 outlets, according to Google News. Kathy Keatley Garvey, a writer in the UC Davis Department of Entomology, said the Haagen-Dazs gift points to the value of media communications. The donation is the direct result of a release Garvey wrote about bee breeder Sue Cobey, which appeared on the UC ANR Web site. Ketchum Communications read the article, called......
]]> Fri, 22 Feb 2008 09:45:09 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=281&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=281 A story distributed by UC Davis news service and posted on the ANR news Web site about a $100,000 gift from Haagen-Dazs to study colony collaspe disorder of honey bees was picked up widely by the news media. Associated Press reporter Julianna Barbassa included information about the gift and an effort by personal products maker Bert's Bees to raise awareness about the threat to honey bees in her story, which moved on the wire service early this morning. The Haagen-Dazs gift to UC Davis is......
]]> Thu, 21 Feb 2008 13:14:04 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=278&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=278 When a new health fad hits the airwaves, reporters know they can turn to UC Cooperative Extension for sound, sensible input. That's what Barbara Feder Ostrov of the San Jose Mercury News did for a story on chia, a food best known for the fact that it grows, curiously, on the outside of pots. Who hasn't see the television commercials showing pots shaped like animals or even a human head spouting the green grass-like growth of chia seeds? According to Ostrov's article, chia seeds are the...... Wed, 20 Feb 2008 10:57:53 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=277&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=277 The Associated Press launched a story yesterday about a resurgence of interest in growing food in home gardens, the result of "twin movements to eat local and pinch pennies." For the article, the newswire conducted a telephone interview of UCCE 4-H Youth Development and Master Gardener advisor Rose Hayden-Smith. "You always see an uptick in gardening activity in keeping with economic conditions - consumer-driven waves that emulate recession and inflation-driven......
]]> Tue, 19 Feb 2008 13:20:32 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=275&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=275 The (Redding) Record-Searchlight ran a piece over the weekend with information about laws going into effect aimed at protecting new homes in California from the ember storm that precedes a fire and lingers after flames pass, as well as the radiated heat and flames of a wildfire. Reporter Laura Christman wrote that Steve Quarles, UCCE wood durability advisor, said the question whether the new laws increase costs will depend on a home’s size and design. Roofing and siding shouldn’t make much......
]]> Tue, 19 Feb 2008 10:03:25 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=274&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jewarnert@ucdavis.edu(Jeannette E. Warnert) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=274