California agriculture is poised to match the growing demands of the world's booming population and expanding wealth, concluded AgAlert editor Ching Lee in her story about the California Ag Summit last week at UC Davis.

Asking where agriculture is heading requires considering the forces that are driving both the supply side and the demand side, said Daniel Sumner, director of the UC Agricultural Issues Center.

As people's incomes go up, they tend to demand more dairy and meat products. California leads in U.S. dairy production, Sumner noted, and other agricultural sectors are linked to dairy, such as alfalfa and other feed crops. Demand for grains usually goes up with people's income, as more of those commodities are used to feed livestock, he said.

The challenge facing agriculture is trying to feed more people in a world that is richer and more urban on basically the same land area with less water, said Alex McCalla, professor emeritus at the UC Davis Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics.

As blueberries have become more a popular plant for home gardening, variety choices have blossomed, wrote Laura Christman in the Redding Record Searchlight.

When it comes to flavor it's hard to go wrong with any variety of homegrown blueberry, said Manuel Jimenez, a University of California Cooperative Extension farm advisor specializing in blueberries.

"All the varieties that ripen on the plant are good," said Jimenez, who is based in Tulare County.

Among the varieties Jimenez recommends are Misty, Reveille, Sharpblue, Star, Legacy, Emerald and Jewel.

The best time to plant blueberries is in the fall, when the ground is warm and plants can establish roots, Jimenez said. However, most nurseries don't feature them in fall. The biggest selection of blueberry plants is available now.

Paul Vossen encourages Florida growers to try olive production.

Reporter Ryan Raiche covered a meeting at the University of Florida Citrus Research and Extension Center where UC Cooperative Extension farm advisor Paul Vossen introduced growers to olive production and marketing and offered citrus growers the opportunity to taste a variety of olives and olive oils.

“This is not a slam dunk, because this is a really peculiar crop that needs really specific things in order to flower and fruit,” Vossen said.

Olives thrive in a dry climate where it’s not too hot and not too cold. Vossen said rain during bloom season could wipe out the crop.

Ojai man appointed to Regional Water Quality Control Board
Ventura County Star

There's no need to re-wash pre-washed greens.

Even the cleanest kitchens can teem with harmful pathogens - on cutting boards and in salad spinners, on knives that just sliced raw chicken, on damp, well-used cloth towels.

"In brief, consumers don't wash up very well and may contaminate produce due to dirty hands and dirty sink," emailed Christine M. Bruhn, director of the Center for Consumer Research at UC Davis. That's especially a problem with salad greens, since they never get cooked.

Schoch spoke to food experts from Kansas State University and the University of Maryland who also recommended pre-washed greens not be re-washed.

California apprenticeship building future producers
Amy Trinidad, Sheep Industry News

The American Sheep Industry Association is teaming up with the state sheep associations to expand the Let’s Grow initiative to include mentor programs for beginning sheep producers. 

“There is a real movement as far as people wanting to get back to the land. In some ways, it’s like the 1960s and 70s, only with a whole bunch of bigger challenges,” says Roger Ingram, University of California Cooperative Extension farm advisor.

Shepherds need to know how to run animals in a variety of environments, be able to identify common and uncommon pasture and range plants, know range nutrition, identify potential poisonous plants, be able to quickly asses the health of the flock and be able to take the appropriate steps in field conditions to fix problems, Ingram said.

Mild winter shifts the start of the growing season
Heather Hacking, Chico Enterprise Record

The lack of rain has meant some Butte County almond growers have already irrigated twice, and some are starting a third run with the water. They would rather not water at all, and often don't need to this time of year, said Joe Connell, UC Cooperative Extension farm advisor.

It can cost about $40 to apply 12 inches of water to one acre, he said. Growers will think carefully before pumping if it looks like another storm is on the way. The most recent rain provided water to the first foot of soil, depending on the soil conditions. But almond growers will want the soil irrigated 3 to 4 feet down by bloom time.

Almond trees in the area will likely begin to bloom around Valentine's Day this year, about a week earlier than normal. 

Yuba-Sutter beekeepers abuzz on research
Jonathan Edwards, Orland Press Register

Losing bees to colony collapse disorder is not good for Yuba-Sutter. Beekeeping brought in about $3.9 million to area beekeepers in 2010, the last year for which data is available. On average, beekeepers have lost nearly one-third of their colonies each year since 2006.

That number likely skyrocketed last year as dwindling colonies drove higher prices. A shrinking supply of vibrant hives nearly doubled the price of a colony, from $33 to $58 between 2009 and 2010, according to the Sutter County Crop Report. The price nearly tripled again and is holding at about $150 a colony, said Eric Mussen, an apiculturist with UC Cooperative Extension at UC Davis.

"It just shot up," he added.