A new study that can help growers and other readers estimate costs and potential returns for growing strawberries on California's Central Coast was recently released by UC Agriculture and Natural Resources, UC Cooperative Extension and the UC Davis Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics. “This study provides growers with a baseline to estimate their own costs, which can help when applying for production loans, projecting labor costs, securing market arrangements, or ..read more

Fresh fruits and vegetables are essential to a healthful diet, but it's hard to keep perishable foods on hand if one doesn't have a refrigerator or a home. To enhance the health of homeless people, the CalFresh Healthy Living, UC Cooperative Extension team in Alameda County has partnered with the South County Homeless Project to grow fresh produce for people staying at the emergency housing in Hayward. For the past seven years, CalFresh Healthy Living, UCCE Alameda has been delivering ..read more

California's farm animal welfare act, approved in 2018, fully implemented in January 2024 after delays Since being passed by California voters in 2018, Proposition 12, a farm animal welfare law, has faced a series of legal challenges that have led to uncertainty and delays in the implementation and enforcement of its requirements for the treatment of breeding pigs. A new Special Issue of ARE Update sheds light on its contentious path to eventual full implementation on Jan. 1, 2024, and ..read more

Agriculture generates $59 billion and employs nearly 400,000 individuals in California. The industry, however, is often threatened by challenges like climate change, land conversion and water scarcity. Motivated to act, Sustain Southern California – an organization associated with UC Irvine Beall Applied Innovation – hosted a roundtable discussion on Feb. 20 featuring subject matter experts including Darren Haver, director of UC Agriculture and Natural Resources' Research and ..read more

Growers invited to learn how to manage risks to fruit, nut, vegetable production UC Cooperative Extension is offering workshops in Ventura, Salinas and Tulare to help growers adapt their fruit, nut and vegetable production practices to variable climate conditions. "Growers, farm and ranch managers, and technical assistance providers can learn about the latest research and advances in managing risks to agricultural production that can result from climate change and climate ..read more

Inside a quiet classroom, Sadie, a 4-H member in Orange County, stands in front of two judges with an insulated cooler bag in hand. From it she pulls out plates, utensils and napkins and sets them down on the table. She unzips the bottom compartment and carefully reaches for a cast iron platter with golden fluffy pancakes piled on top. “Would you like syrup with your pancakes? I highly recommend it,” said Sadie, an eighth grader who is participating in the annual 4-H Food ..read more

Free webinars about food waste and nutrition in correctional systems will be presented by the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources. The UC ANR Sustainable Food Systems Emerging Issues Webinar Serieswill first cover food waste on Feb. 22. “The Sustainable Food Systems strategic initiative panel aimed to highlight innovative solutions to emerging issues within the food system from field-to-fork,” said Danielle Lee, UC Nutrition Policy Institute director of ..read more

If you raise backyard chickens or breed game fowl, UC Cooperative Extension has an app for you. The new mobile app offers information for raising healthy chickens. To test the usefulness of the UC Community Chicken app to people raising chickens, the Poultry Lab at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine will pay poultry owners to participate in a two-week study with a follow-up survey three months later. “Our study focuses on the development and evaluation of a new mobile app for ..read more

Wet winter, El Niño create favorable conditions for aerial Phytophthora pathogen With heavy rains in the forecast amid strengthening El Niño conditions, almond growers should be on the lookout for a rare disease that can cause severe damage to their orchards, according to Florent Trouillas, a University of California Cooperative Extension specialist in fruit and nut pathology. Phytophthora, soilborne microorganisms dubbed “water molds” because of their dependence ..read more

The highly contagious avian flu is being spread primarily by migratory birds, putting game birds, and backyard and commercial poultry at risk. “Poultry owners should take precautions to prevent their birds from contacting waterfowl or the habitat that waterfowl frequent because this strain of avian influenza is highly contagious,” said Maurice Pitesky, UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine associate professor of Cooperative Extension. Infected waterfowl shed the highly ..read more