Agriculture

Fresno County is consistently one of the top producing agricultural counties in California and the United States. In 2023, 62,900 farm operations on 23.8m acres produced a total gross production value of $8.6b. This was an increase of $494m or 6.

Horticulture is the cultivation of plants as ornamentals or for the production of food. When things go wrong (plants grow poorly or not at all), horticulturists sometimes turn to products that can cure, revitalize, invigorate, stimulate or enhance the growth of their plant or crop.

Every winter, millions of migratory birds fly south to warmer locales, passing over California Central Valley dairies and poultry farms. Many of these wild waterfowl are carrying the virus that causes avian influenza, based on the U.S.

It was good to see Sonoma County's "Queen Bee," Ettamarie Peterson of Petaluma, bee honored on the cover of the December edition of Bee Culture magazine. She often submits articles for the magazine. I decided it was time her to be featured and wrote a two-page article, illustrated with six images.

There have been a number of calls about damage to citrus tree trunks. Lemon is especially delicious, it seems.

Farmers placed clumps of soil into metal mesh baskets, submerged the baskets into jars of water, then watched to see if their soil held together. The slake test, conducted at the Soil Health Field Day in Woodland, measured soil health.

En el condado de San Diego existen ms de cinco mil pequeas granjas, pero, de acuerdo con el Censo Agrcola del 2022, menos del 2 por ciento son operadas o pertenecen a una persona negra, indgena o de color incluyendo a los de decendencia asitica, hispana o nativa de Hawi o las Islas del Pacifico.

El fuego ha sido parte de la administracin indgena de tierras en California desde tiempos inmemorables. Estas prcticas contra incendios estuvieron profundamente conectadas a tradiciones culturales, formas de alimentacin, mejoramiento y resiliencia de paisajes.

As California faces new challenges, University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources has been hiring UC Cooperative Extension experts with different skills to help Californians, including residents in urban areas.

As we come to the close of the 2024 growing season there is time to think about how to improve in the upcoming year. Please consider implementing some of these tips on irrigation management as you prepare for the 2025 season.