Planting Seeds - Food & Farming News from CDFA

Monthly Archives: July 2018

Virulent Newcastle Disease outreach in Southern California

Virulent Newcastle Disease has been detected in San Bernardino, Riverside and Los Angeles counties. The disease has been found at a total of 74 properties – all residential. It has not been detected at commercial poultry operations. In this video, … Continue reading

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Virulent Newcastle Disease: the view from Kern County – from Bakersfield.com

By John Cox As the guy responsible for more than 2 million hens laying 1.5 million eggs per day, Jeff Peterson took no chances when news broke May 17 the chicken disease called virulent Newcastle had been confirmed in Los … Continue reading

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California hit with two heat waves in less than a month. Here’s why it matters – from Mashable

Historic heat records fell in California earlier this month. Yet, two weeks later, another mass of warm air has returned to the southern part of the state, heating the region for days. The second heat wave of July will last … Continue reading

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Apple-picking robots: College students to compete to build the best – from the University of California’s Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR)

By Pamela Kan Rice Nineteen teams of college students from top universities in the U.S., Canada and China will compete to build robots to mechanize farm work at the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers Annual International Meeting in … Continue reading

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Teachers aim to bring Ag lessons to classrooms – from Bakersfield.com

By Joseph Luiz For a few days (last week), nearly 40 local teachers got the chance to be the students. The Kern County Farm Bureau held a Teachers’ Ag Seminar. Through the seminar, teachers toured farms and other facilities, heard … Continue reading

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Virulent Newcastle Disease eradication program moves deliberately, one property at a time

The ongoing program to eradicate Virulent Newcastle Disease (VND) following detections in San Bernardino, Riverside and Los Angeles counties is a very deliberate process requiring teams of CDFA and USDA employees to go door-to-door in the search for symptoms of … Continue reading

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CDFA Secretary Karen Ross and Ag Leaders meet with Governor Brown on Trade Tariffs

CDFA Secretary Karen Ross and State Board of Food and Agriculture President Don Cameron joined a group of agricultural leaders yesterday to discuss trade issues and tariff impacts with California Governor Jerry Brown. California is the largest agricultural producer and … Continue reading

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State offering $57 million in grants to food processors to improve energy efficiency – from the Sacramento Business Journal

By Mark Anderson The state of California is offering $57 million in grants to help the food processing industry cut emissions and energy use. “This type of support not only helps the industry reduce operating costs and greenhouse gas emissions, … Continue reading

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How women helped save agriculture 100 years ago – from the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin

By Joe Blackstock One of World War II’s civilian heroes was the iconic Rosie the Riveter, who represented the thousands of women building planes and ships during the war. But Rosie’s “mother” shouldered a similar, mostly forgotten role during World … Continue reading

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USDA makes nearly $2 billion available for farmers and ranchers affected by wildfires and hurricanes

The USDA has announced that agricultural producers affected by hurricanes and wildfires in 2017 now may apply for assistance to help recover and rebuild their farming operations. Sign-ups began July 16, 2018 and will continue through November 16, 2018. “Hurricanes and … Continue reading

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