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Monthly Archives: August 2015

European Grapevine Moth nearing eradication – from the Napa Valley Register

Posted on August 31, 2015 by Office of Public Affairs

By Barry Eberling A $59 million, six-year battle has all but eliminated a grape-maiming invasive pest that struck the heart of Napa’s wine country. Napa County has spent $9.8 million and the wine industry $49 million fighting the European grapevine … Continue reading →

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Dairy farmers consider drip irrigation – from the Modesto Bee

Posted on August 28, 2015 by Office of Public Affairs

By John Holland At last check, 75 percent of grape growers in California used drip or other low-volume irrigation methods. The rate was 71 percent for almonds and 63 percent for canning tomatoes. Dairy feed crops? Not so much. The … Continue reading →

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New West Nile Virus detections in horses

Posted on August 27, 2015 by Dr. Annette Jones, California State Veterinarian

A dangerous disease, west Nile virus, has returned to California this summer. The disease has been detected in four horses – two in Riverside County, one in Tehama County, and one in Shasta County. Two of the horses have died … Continue reading →

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From the Growing California video series – Drought Landscaping

Posted on August 26, 2015 by Office of Public Affairs

The latest segment in the Growing California video series, a partnership with California Grown, is “Drought Landscaping.”

Posted in Climate Change, Drought, Specialty Crops | 1 Comment

Young farmers educated, indebted – from the Sacramento Bee

Posted on August 25, 2015 by Office of Public Affairs

By Edward Ortiz Sonoma farmer Andrea Davis-Cetina didn’t discover her passion for farming until she went to college. She entered Hampshire College in Amherst, Mass., intending to study photography but, during a stint on the campus farm, found herself enjoying … Continue reading →

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Video: the Tree of 40 Fruit – from National Geographic

Posted on August 21, 2015 by Office of Public Affairs
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From PPIC – If Drought Continues: Environment and Poor Rural Communities Most Likely to Suffer

Posted on August 20, 2015 by Office of Public Affairs

URBAN AREAS IN BEST SHAPE, FARMERS ADAPTING BUT VULNERABLE From the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) Water Policy Center SAN FRANCISCO, August 19, 2015—If the California drought continues another two to three years, the state will face increasingly acute … Continue reading →

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From the Department of Water Resources – NASA Report: Drought Causing Valley Land to Sink

Posted on August 19, 2015 by Office of Public Affairs

SACRAMENTO, CA — As Californians continue pumping groundwater in response to the historic drought, the Department of Water Resources today released a new NASA report showing land in the San Joaquin Valley is sinking faster than ever before, nearly two … Continue reading →

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Glimpses of California’s water future – from the Los Angeles Times

Posted on August 19, 2015 by Office of Public Affairs

  By Peter King A sprawl of sewage treatment plants, recharge basins and desalination facilities, stretching out across an industrial backlot near Rancho Cucamonga. A collection of slender, solar-powered telemetry towers rising from an almond orchard in the San Joaquin … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservation, Drought | 1 Comment

Wasps used to protect citrus trees from fatal disease – from the Los Angeles Times

Posted on August 19, 2015 by Office of Public Affairs

By Geoffrey Mohan They look like grains of black sand inside a prescription vial. But each speck is a wasp that is lethal to the offspring of the Asian citrus psyllid, an aphid-size bug that spreads the bacteria that cause … Continue reading →

Posted in Asian Citrus Psyllid, HLB, Integrated Pest Management (IPM), Invasive Species, Uncategorized | 2 Comments