Monthly Archives: January 2014

USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) reminds producers that the sales closing dates for several crop insurance programs are almost here. Producers need to make sure to sign up, review, or change their crop policies before these dates have passed. January 31, 2014 is the last day to buy or change a policy for Adjusted Gross Revenue, apples, cherries, chile peppers, …

By Geoffrey Mohan A rapidly mutating virus has leaped from plants to honeybees, where it is reproducing and contributing to the collapse of colonies vital to the multibillion-dollar agricultural industry, according to a new study. Tobacco ringspot virus, a pollen-borne pathogen that causes blight in soy crops, was found during routine screening of commercial honeybees at a U.S. Department of Agriculture …

Andre Casasola / Orange County Water District Purified water from Southern California’s Groundwater Replenishment System exceeds state and federal drinking water standards. The water seen here is fresh from the facility.   After touring a plant that turns sewage into quaffable water in parched and sunny Southern California, visitors are offered a glass of the water to drink. Most get …

CDFA Secretary Karen Ross (far left) appears with Governor Brown today in San Francisco as he declares a drought state of emergency in California. A link to the Governor’s news release may be found here: http://www.gov.ca.gov/news.php?id=18368   Secretary Ross with KNBC-TV reporter Patrick Healy

By Cathie Anderson Mai Yang Vang, only 28 years old, has already come full circle in her life. She’s now a board member at the nonprofit that inspired her passion for environmental justice as a teenage student at Sacramento High School. In fact, she and other board members of Winters’ Center for Land-Based Learning recently learned that the very program that introduced Vang …

By Mary MacVean Most students are exposed in school to efforts by food and beverage companies to sell food or gain brand loyalty, despite a decline in some kinds of commercial enterprises, including in soda machine contracts, researchers reported Monday. High school students get the most exposure, and for almost 64% of elementary school students, the most common type of …

CDFA’s Fertilizer Research and Education Program (FREP) is excited to announce the debut of the Nitrogen Management Training Program for California certified crop advisers (CCAs). Since October 2012, FREP has collaborated with the California Certified Crop Adviser Program and UC Agriculture and Natural Resources to develop and implement a voluntary nitrogen management curriculum specifically targeted for California Certified Crop Advisers. …

By J.J. De Forest Area ranchers battling the worst drought ever recorded are facing some tough decisions-sell off some of their stock or spend money to buy feed and water to keep the herd going. The Little Lake Valley should be a sea of green grasses this time of year instead the fields are covered in the brown stubble left …

Governor Brown’s proposed budget for 2014-2015 reflects a fiscal outlook that, while positive, continues to exercise caution. There are prudent investments in infrastructure with a focus on schools, health care and public safety. The budget also pays down debt. For CDFA, there is a proposal to build infrastructure to combat climate change and facilitate greater environmental stewardship that would provide …