Monthly Archives: April 2018

Prolonged droughts. Erratic rainfall. Fluctuating temperatures. These extreme weather events are just some of the many ways climate change is exacerbating existing challenges faced by farmers and ranchers across the globe.  According to the United Nations, more than 80 percent of the damage and losses caused by drought is to agriculture, especially livestock and crop production But instead of sitting …

By Ed Maixner EXCERPTED Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue likes to tell people that he’s a “grow it and sell it kind of guy” who is always on the lookout for opportunities to do so. Increasingly, that means understanding world population and demand growth – outside of U.S. borders. That’s because the U.S. population, at roughly 326 million strong, pales in comparison …

California grows over 400 commodities that account for one-third of the country’s vegetable production and two-thirds of the country’s fruit and nut production. For many of these crops, there are various research and technical articles available that provide fertilization information. However, this information is often hard to find and can take hours of searching the web. It was clear that …

When it comes to featuring nutritious California-grown foods, two of the best built-in ambassadors we have are in Anaheim – Disneyland and the California Adventure park. They host millions of visitors from around the world every year, providing an excellent opportunity to showcase our state’s agriculture. Disney embraced that this year with its 2018 Food and Wine Festival, featuring sustainably-grown …

Note – CDFA’s Healthy Soils Initiative includes a partnership with CalRecycle.  The composting of organic waste has important benefits – improving soil health and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.  From the CalRecycle blog The effects of global climate change are now upon us. It’s threatening lives, impacting our economy, and jeopardizing future generations. The question is now, what are we doing about …

From the USDA Each year, harmful invasive plant pests and diseases cost the United States about $40 billion in crop losses, damage to forests and vulnerable ecosystems, and expensive eradication and control efforts. It only takes one person who moves one piece of infested firewood, one infected plant, or one piece of infested fruit to spread these invasive pests to …

Note – With a focus on equine health, CDFA participates in  California’s Mosquito Borne Virus Disease Surveillance Program, which relies on sentinel chickens as well other approaches. Detections of viruses in horses that may have human health implications–like West Nile Virus–are reported to the California Department of Public Health.   By Chris Haire It was 6 a.m. and the sun wasn’t due …

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