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Soldier of Fortune
Gotta love those soldier beetles.They're among the good guys in the garden because they eat aphids and other soft-bodied insects.We've seen them on...
Soldier beetle (famiy Cantharidae) perched on rock purslane bud. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Hi, there! Soldier beetle looks around. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Ventura celebrates strawberries
Leading up to the California Strawberry Festival, to be held this weekend at Strawberry Meadows at College Park in Oxnard, the Ventura County Star championed the fruit's contribution to the local economy in an article published yesterday.
In 2009, strawberries contributed $515.4 million to the county's $1.6 billion of total agricultural revenues, the story said. That was up 31 percent from $393.5 million in 2008.
Ventura County agricultural commissioner Henry Gonzales said the next crop report will show growers added another 100 acres of strawberries in 2010.
"It's a good thing," Gonzales was quoted. "It says to me there's still room for growth in the production side because there's growth on the market side."
Reporter Stephanie Hoops contacted UC Cooperative Extension strawberry advisor Oleg Daugovish to get his take on the current strawberry season.
The article said Daugovish described the season as "decent."
Meanwhile, strawberry growers are feeling pressure from a controversy over a new soil fumigant, methyl iodide, which the Department of Pesticide Regulation approved in December.
"Concern about the ability to use it is great," Daugovish was quoted.
In March, Gov. Brown said he plans to take "a fresh look" at the DPR decision. Environmental and farmworker groups are opposed to methyl iodide use in agriculture, but DPR approved the pesticide's use under strict safety measures, including buffer zones and site-specific permits from local agricultural commissioners.
Strawberries make a significant contribution to the Ventura County economy.
Researching the Hedgerows
Let's hear it for the hedgerows. Picture native plants, shrub and ground cover bordering agricultural fields and providing habitat for native bees...
Cuckoo bee on gum plant in Yolo County hedgerow. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Population biologist Lora Morandin of UC Berkeley will discuss her research on hedgerows on May 18 at UC Davis.
Agritourism in agriculture's heartland
Thirty percent of the farmers offering agritourism events supplemented their regular farm income by $50,000 or more in 2008, according to a study by the UC small farm program that was covered on the front page of today's Fresno Bee. Nearly two-thirds of California agritourism operators planned to expand or diversify over the next five years.
"There is no question that there is a lot of potential for growth, and we are seeing it happen," the story quoted Shermain Hardesty, small farm program director and a co-author of the report.
In the article, reporter Robert Rodriguez described several Valley agritourism destinations:
- Visitors can stay the night on the 95-acre tree Dinuba farm of Nori and Mike Taylor.
- Farmer John Olivas lets people pick their own fruit and operates a fruit stand on his three-acre berry farm in Hanford.
- Fresno farmer Mike Smith will allow people to pick their own flowers, lavender and produce on his 40-acre organic farm. In the fall, he will operate a pumpkin patch for the public and school tours.
"We know from all the consumer trends that people are willing to pay for an authentic experience and for specialty foods," said Ellie Rilla, community development adviser for UC Cooperative Extension in Marin County and co-author of the study. "And agritourism provides that."
The research article, California agritourism operations and their economic potential are growing, was published in the current issue of California Agriculture journal.
Bringing in visitors for a dinner in a barn is one form of agritourism.
Petal Pushers
Honey bees and daisies are made for each other.The white petals and the golden centers seem incomplete without the presence of buzzing bees.Today we...
Honey bee foraging on a daisy. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Orange pollen load, the color of autumn pumpkins. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Buzzing, the honey bee leaves the daisy. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
