From the UC Blogosphere...

'Culture' change for ag in Plumas and Sierra counties under way

A new working group has been formed in Plumas and Sierra counties to find ways to enhance and strengthen the ag sector of the region's local economy, according to the Plumas County News.

The group's planning meeting last week was facilitated UC food systems analyst Gail Feenstra and UC Cooperative Extension community development specialist David Campbell, who led a discussion about local resources — natural, human, governmental and physical — for which products and markets could be created or strengthened.

Weather and a short growing season hamper farmers and ranchers in Sierra and Plumas counties. Most arable land is in livestock or livestock feed production. In order to enhance the ag "culture," the working group discussed:

• Community supported agriculture
• A local composting facility
• A cooperative meat producers’ facility
• Farmer training to develop high-elevation growing, marketing and business skills.
• A cidery that takes advantage of the area’s heirloom apple trees and remnant orchards
• Value-added ag products such as jams and jellies made from local berries
• A year-round farmers market
• Promotion of the local fall color season in connection with harvest festivals and farm tours

One of the challenges of mountain agriculture is limited crop diversity.

For the Love of Bugs

"Where is the love for bugs?" science writer Rachel Nuwer asked in a recent article published in the New York Times.Well,...

Madagascar hissing cockroach crawls up the arm of Mick Dunning, 6, of Davis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Madagascar hissing cockroach crawls up the arm of Mick Dunning, 6, of Davis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Ralph Washington, who has a bachelor's degree in entomology from UC Davis, talks about the hissers to Mick, Emme and Molly Dunning (right). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Ralph Washington, who has a bachelor's degree in entomology from UC Davis, talks about the hissers to Mick, Emme and Molly Dunning (right). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Emme Dunning, 8, of Davis, and a hisser. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Emme Dunning, 8, of Davis, and a hisser. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Organic training farm gets funds

The College of Marin received a $233,000 grant from the California Community College Chancellor's Office, which will help the school support its organic farm until it becomes self sustaining, according to an article in the Marin Independent Journal.

The college launched the farm in 2009 as a kind of laboratory to help Marin residents and others learn the essentials of organic farming from experts like the University of California Cooperative Extension's Steve Quirt and Wendy Johnson of Green Gulch Farm, the story said.

State inspectors have been cracking down on the use of unpaid labor on California farms — ending an informal tradition of agricultural apprenticeship. The College of Marin program has emerged as an option for those who want hands-on organic farming experience.

Feared Eastern pest found in California
Growing Produce

Brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB), Halyomorpha halys Stål, was recently found in San Luis Obispo County in an incoming shipment of household items from Pennsylvania, where it is considered a serious pest. The ag commissioner’s office took immediate action to eradicate this intruder by physical removal and chemical treatments. For more information, the Growing Produce website referred readers to a post by UC Cooperative Extension strawberry and vegetable crops advisor Surendra Dara in his Pest News Blog.

Discovering Warrior Wasps

Lynn S. Kimsey is an entomologist, and has been one for most of her life.So begins the National Science Foundation's...

Lynn Kimsey with a gigantic "warrior wasp" she discovered on the island of Sulawesi, Indonesia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Lynn Kimsey with a gigantic "warrior wasp" she discovered on the island of Sulawesi, Indonesia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Weather and Weeds Workshop, November 19, 2011

Advice To Grow By WorkshopBy Andrea Peck, Master GardenerThe San Luis Obispo Master Gardeners are at it again with their...

Weather Station

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