UC Blog
Bee hives targeted by thieves
A Chowchilla beekeeper lost more than 400 hives to thieves this month, but with networking and investigation, was able to find the hide-out and get his bees back.
UC Cooperative Extension farm advisor Shannon Mueller spoke to KMPH Channel 26 News about the heist.
"They (farmers) are paying about $180 a hive, so those hives are worth a lot of money and because of that, we’ve seen a real increase in the theft of colonies," Mueller said.
In all, the stolen bee colonies were worth about $120,000, according to an article in AgAlert.
"The good news is after some tips from other local beekeepers and some searching, we found the missing bees and called the local sheriff's department," beekeeper Brian Long was quoted in the AgAlert article. "We just got lucky and got enough tips that led us to the bees."
Still, Long estimates he lost between $12,000 and $15,000 after hundreds of bees died in the commotion.
Beekeepers and farmers cannot afford the loss of any bees. Between February and March, California's 750,000 acres of almonds require an estimated 1.2 million bee colonies for pollination. UC Davis entomologist Eric Mussen told AgAlert reporter Christine Souza that strong colonies of bees may be scarce this season.
"Despite these problems, it seems that every year the lure of almond pollination fees entices enough beekeepers to bring their bees to California to meet the needs of the almond growers," Mussen said.
Shannon Mueller appeared on an evening news story about the bee heist.
Local food and farming conference a sell-out
Nevada County's first Sustainable Local Food and Farm Conference, slated for this Saturday, is already a sell out, testifying to the growing interest in local food production in this Sierra Nevada foothill community.
Strong grassroots efforts to link consumers with farmers are making Nevada County a force in the foothills, according to an article about the conference in The Union.
“It's one of the more advanced areas. There's kind of that mindset already here,” the article quotes Roger Ingram, county director and farm advisor for UC Cooperative Extension in Nevada, Sierra and Placer counties.
Keynote speaker at the event is Joel Salatin, a self-described "Christian-libertarian-environmentalist-capitalist-lunatic farmer." Salatin's Virginia farm is featured prominently in Michael Pollan's book The Omnivore's Dilemma and the documentaries Food Inc. and Fresh.
Salatin’s philosophy of farming emphasizes healthy grass on which animals can thrive in a symbiotic cycle of chemical-free feeding, according to Wikipedia. Cows are moved from one pasture to another rather than being centrally corn fed. Then chickens in portable coops are moved in behind them, where they dig through the cow dung to eat protein-rich fly larvae while further fertilizing the field with their droppings.
According to the Union article, the Nevada local food movement gained steam in 2005 when a small band of farmers, advocates and citizens - including UC Cooperative Extension in Nevada County - started the Local Food Coalition, and from that Nevada County Grown.
“There just seems to be this great burgeoning interest in this,” said Jeri Ohmart, Food Systems and Organic Outreach Program Assistant for the University of California's Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program, based at UC Davis.
Nationally known farmer Joel Salatin is a keynote speaker at the local food conference.
Fresno Bee's food writer departing for Hawaii
The Fresno Bee's ag-savvy food writer Joan Obra has decided to put aside her word processor and return to her parents' Hawaiian coffee farm. It is an enormous loss for the Valley and its agriculture industry. Obra is a rarity among food writers, publishing as much about farming as restaurants and recipes.
"I'm going home," Obra wrote in her weekly column published today. "In a way, it's a testament to my time in the Valley: Local food producers have inspired me to become one of them."
In today's piece, which she said isn't her last, Obra wrote about local treats that she believes capture the history, culture, climate and flavor of the central San Joaquin Valley.
Fresno Bee reporter Joan Obra.
Statewide YFC program org chart unveiled; No VSP for ANR
Statewide YFC program org chart unveiled
The organizational chart for the new Statewide Youth, Families and Communities Program has been released. The new program encompasses the administration and leadership for the 4-H Youth Development Program (4-H YDP) and Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP), as well as other ANR youth, nutrition, family and community programs.
Last June, AVP Barbara Allen-Diaz announced the restructuring of nutrition education, youth and community programs with the goals of improving the communication between county and state offices, identifying new opportunities for collaborative efforts, streamlining administrative functions, maximizing funds and other resources, and realigning the goals of these statewide programs with ANR's Strategic Vision 2025.
“By integrating ANR’s youth, families and communities programs into a single program, which incorporates the full research - extension continuum, we will assure more interdisciplinary collaboration to address urgent issues facing California youth, families and communities,” said Allen-Diaz.
The director of the Statewide Youth, Families and Communities Program provides statewide programmatic leadership as well as administrative and operational support to youth development and nutrition education programming. This position is under recruitment, with interviews scheduled for Feb. 15 and 16.
Reporting to the associate vice president of Academic Programs and Strategic Initiatives, the director convenes and chairs the YFC Senior Leadership Team, which is composed of the associate director of 4-H program policy; chair of EFNEP Leadership Council; associate director of 4-H youth development- research; associate director of nutrition - research; associate director of family & communities-research; associate director for development and director of the 4-H Foundation; and YFC management services officer.
The Statewide YFC Program works collaboratively with and complements the Healthy Families and Communities Strategic Initiative priorities and other critical issues affecting California youth, families and communities and develops strategies for effective organizational responses. The development of policy, program guidance, outreach, educational curriculum and professional development for ANR’s youth, families and communities programs will be consolidated under the newly formed YFC statewide program.
The Statewide YFC Program organizational chart can be viewed at http://www.ca4h.org/files/70906.pdf.
No VSP for ANR
The UC Davis campus has announced it is offering its Voluntary Separation Program (VSP) again as an opportunity for employees to self-identify their willingness to voluntarily resign their UC Davis employment.
ANR has made the decision to NOT offer the VSP to ANR employees located either on or off campus.
If you have questions, contact Robert Martinez, human resources coordinator, at (530) 752-3467, ramartinez@ucdavis.edu, or Linda Manton, staff personnel executive director, at (530) 752-0495,lmmanton@ucdavis.edu.
View or leave comments for the Executive Working Group
This announcement is also posted and archived on the ANR Update pages.
New California ag secretary has many UC ties
Gov. Brown's newly appointed secretary of agriculture, Karen Ross, brings numerous University of California connections to her new office.
An article published yesterday in California Farmer magazine says Ross is a member of:
- The Center for Cooperatives at UC Davis
- The Dean's Advisory Committee for the College of Agriculture and Environmental Science at UC Davis
- The Program Advisory Committee for the UC Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program
- The Board of Fellows & Visitors for Viticulture and Enology at UC Davis
Ross was designated ANR's delegate to the national Council for Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching in 2008, and served as a member of the UC President’s Advisory Commission on Agriculture and Natural Resources.
In 2007, Ross received an "Award of Distinction" from the UC Davis CAES.
"Karen is an excellent sounding board for what issues are on the minds of growers and the kinds of research and education needs that would most impact their efforts to stay competitive in what has become a global wine business,” the award announcement quoted Jim Wolpert, former chair of the Department of Viticulture and Enology. “The department wanted to recognize her for her leadership both in California and nationally."
Most recently Ross, the former president of the California Association of Winegrape Growers, has served as U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack's chief of staff. Some lament the fact that Ross's California connection will be lost at the federal level and believe the fallout could be aggravated by other California power losses, according to an article in the Fresno Bee.
But state ag leaders support the appointment, said the California Farmer article.
"Karen Ross is well-suited for the role of food and agriculture secretary. She has firsthand knowledge about the many challenges farmers and ranchers face each day, not just in California but throughout the nation," the story quotes Paul Wenger, California Farm Bureau Federation president.
Rich Rominger, CDFA Secretary under then-Governor Brown from 1977 to 1982, said Gov. Brown selected the best person for the job.
"Karen Ross is the leader we need to address the critical issues of agriculture, water, clean energy development and climate change," Rominger is quoted.
Ross's appointment must be confirmed by the California State Senate.
Karen Ross