Posts Tagged: dairy

California cows going to 'greener pastures'

At the World Ag Expo in February, nine states had booths designed to recruit California dairy operators out of the Golden State, reported the Los Angeles Times.

South Dakota Governor Dennis Daugaard himself made a personal appeal for the state, where ag officials estimate that a single dairy cow creates $15,000 in economic activity each year.

In recent years, an average of 100 California dairies have closed annually, said Leslie "Bees" Butler, UC Cooperative Extension specialist in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at UC Davis.

"Ten years ago, California was the low-cost producer," Butler said. With low milk prices and high feed costs, "it's become more difficult to dairy here."

Tweaking feed recipes can go a long way toward protecting farmland in and around dairy farms
Joshua Emerson Smith, The Merced Sun-Star

Overfeeding salts and other minerals to dairy cows can negatively affect soil and groundwater quality, according to a research report in the Journal of Dairy Science by Alejandro Castillo, UC Cooperative Extension advisor in Merced County.

"This is going to be important for the sustainability of our dairy farms," he said. "We need to try to see the future and imagine the sustainability of our dairy farms and maintain the business for a long time."

A new lease on life
The Davis Enterprise

A series of photos by Sue Cockrell from the recent "groundbreaking" ceremonies for the new home of UC Agriculture and Natural Resources in Davis.

When oysters and cows collide

California’s scenic Marin County is home to two thriving industries that were once in conflict – oyster farming and dairy farming.

In order to grow healthy and marketable oysters, the farmers depended on clean water in Tomales Bay. But regulations meant to protect the bay from cattle runoff were so strict that dairy farmers feared they could no longer stay in business.

Now, with help from David Lewis, director of UC Cooperative Extension in Marin County, these two communities have found creative solutions that allow both kinds of farmers to share this beautiful and fertile region. Find out how in a four-minute report by Kristen Simoes on UCTV Prime Cuts, “Cooperation Trumps Conflict in Tomales Bay.”

UCCE takes part in 2012 EcoFarm Conference

A daylong bus tour offered as part of the annual EcoFarm Conference at Asilomar Feb. 1-4 was led by representatives from Organic Ag Advisors, Community Alliance with Family Farmers and UC Cooperative Extension, according to a post by Caitlin Keller on the Daily Dish, a Los Angeles Times food blog.

Monterey County UCCE farm advisor Richard Smith led a tour of innovative farms along the Central Coast.

Asian citrus psyllid at Coachella Valley's doorstep
Guy McCarthy, Parl Desert Patch

Asian citrus psyllid has been found in eight residential locations in the San Gorgonio Pass, according to a CDFA official. The pest was detected in Cabazon, Banning and Beaumont.

"So far these are the eastern-most detections in Riverside County, so we would like to treat this area to knock down the population, and prevent it from spreading to the Coachella Valley," said Debby Tanouye, CDFA state branch chief of pest detection/emergency projects.

Milking industry for all it has
Rick Longley, Willows Journal

UC Cooperative Extension and the California Dairy Quality Assurance Program hosted North Valley Dairy Day in Orland Feb. 6. The morning session focused on financial matters and the afternoon focused on feeding practices, pasture management and bovine illnesses.

"They do a nice job," dairy producer Jason Osburn said. "I try to attend whenever they have one."

Learning about new practices in the industry and getting up to speed on what is happening in areas outside Orland also interest him, Osburn said.

World's first LEED Platinum winery, brewery and food-processing labs

A new winery, brewery and food-processing complex at the University of California, Davis, is the most environmentally sophisticated complex of its kind in the world, one that promises to unravel scientific enigmas and solve practical problems related to foods, beverages and health.

The $20 million, 34,000-square-foot teaching-and-research complex is the first winery, brewery or food-processing facility expected to earn LEED Platinum certification, the highest environmental rating awarded by the U.S. Green Building Council. It is intended to become self-sustainable in energy and water use.

Neal Van Alfen, dean of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at UC Davis, said, "It will serve as a model for industries throughout the nation that are also committed both to environmental excellence and production efficiency."

The complex houses a brewery, general foods-processing plant, milk-processing laboratory, and a teaching-and-research winery which will serve as a test bed for production processes that conserve water, energy, and other resources. The complex is adjacent to a 12-acre teaching-and-research vineyard.

Its environmentally friendly features include on-site solar power generation, a large-capacity system for capturing rainwater and conserving processing water, and many other features. The facility is expected to be carbon zero in carbon emissions.

Read more about the facility and take an online tour at the facility’s website.

Traces of dairy antibiotics reach groundwater

A very small amount of antibiotics administered to dairy cattle makes its way into shallow groundwater, according to research by UC Davis Cooperative Extension groundwater hydrologist Thomas Harter.

The results of Harter's research were outlined in a UC Davis press release distributed last week and picked up by the Sacramento Bee, an LA Times blog and other media outlets.

"Our next task is to determine whether these particular antibiotics are further degraded before reaching domestic and public water wells," Harter was quoted in the release.

California dairies typically give antibiotics to young cows, and to nonlactating adult cows. The news release said health officials are concerned that antibiotics could travel from manure lagoons into drinking water for people and livestock. Harter said that the health effects of antibiotics in drinking water at the low levels he detected are not known.

Harter's study was conducted at two large freestall dairy operations in the San Joaquin Valley with a total of more than 2,700 milking cows and 2,500 heifers. The research was published Aug. 10 in the American Chemical Society's online journal Environmental Science & Technology.

Dairy cow.

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