UC Blog
Ag radio welcomes new Kearney director
Ag radio personality Sean Michael Lisle of KMJ 580 am based in Fresno welcomed the new director of the UC Kearney Research and Extension Center, Jeff Dahlberg, back to California on this morning's ag radio show.
The program is broadcast from 5 to 6 a.m.; for later risers it can also be downloaded or heard on Californiaagnet.com.
Lisle caught up with Dahlberg at the San Joaquin Valley Grape Symposium in Easton on Wednesday.
Dahlberg told the reporter he is originally from the California Bay Area and spent a lot of time in the Sacramento Valley on his uncles' farms. Most recently, he served as director of the United Sorghum Checkoff Program in Lubbock, Tex."I haven't seen fog like this in a long time," he said.
Dahlberg said one idea he brings to Kearney is establishment of centers of excellence.
"I would like to start a center for on-farm green technologies," he said. "How can we bring greener technologies to farmers' fields? How can we use solar (energy) to impact electric costs?"
Dahlberg, a sorghum expert, said he is also interested in studying the crop's potential as a renewable energy crop in California.
"Sorghum is one of the few crops that span all the different renewable fuel options," he said. "You can use the grain to convert into ethanol. We have sweet sorghum, a specialty sorghum which is very similar to sugar cane. You can press the juice out and convert it into ethanol. And, we can produce a lot of biomass."
Sorghum could also be a potential water-saving forage crop, he said.
"Last time I checked, there are still a lot of dairies in this part of the world," Dahlberg said.
Dahlberg told Lisle he sees Kearney as first and foremost a resource to help keep farmers profitable.
"That's a real struggle right now," he said. "We're getting less and less farmers in the country. We need to make sure we keep those numbers up, encourage kids to get into farming. It's a good life and you can make some money doing it."
Should added sulfites be allowed in organic wines?
Some leading environmentalists in the wine industry are asking the federal government to allow sulfites to be added to wines labeled organic, according to a story in the Los Angeles Times.
Currently, for a wine to be labeled "USDA organic," it may not contain added sulfites. The chemical occurs in small amounts naturally in wines but is considered by many vintners to be an indispensable preservative.
Sulfites arrest fermentation at the desired time, and may also be added to prevent spoilage and oxidation at several stages of winemaking.
"It's extremely difficult to make high-quality wine without adding sulfites," the story quoted Andy Waterhouse, chair of the UC Davis department of viticulture and enology. "The smallest amount of mold on the grapes would cause the flavor to be different."
As a result, other eco-friendly wine labels, which may have weak or even no official standards, have filled the void - including biodynamic, sustainable and "natural" wine.
"Wine drinkers looking for a healthful, green product face confusing choices, and wineries can claim they're eco-friendly without anyone really checking," the story said.
Writer W. Blake Gray noted that several winemakers who are marketing USDA organic wines are campaigning to maintain the current standards.
"Most of the 8,000-year history of winemaking appears to be from naturally farmed, organically grown grapes without sulfites added," the story quoted winemaker Paul Frey.
Brian Fitzpatrick sells organic wines and vinegars. (Photo: B. Dawson)
Scientists don't know why four bumblebee species are in decline
Research by scientists in Illinois show that four U.S. bumblebee species are in steep decline, though they were unable to provide the reason, according to National Geographic News.
The study, published this month in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, was conducted by researchers at the University of Illinois; the decline of a fifth species - which is being monitored by UC Davis professor emeritus Robbin Thorp - is also mentioned in the NatGeo story.
The new research was based on an analysis of more than 73,000 museum collections of bumblebees and focused on 8 of the 50 known bumblebee species in North America.
The bee die-off seen in the study "look[s] very much like a pattern you'd find with a newly introduced disease," the article quoted Thorp. Thorp has been studying pollinators for decades and first noticed the decline of bumblebee species, B. franklini, in the late 1990s.
Thorp told NatGeo reporter Rachel Kaufman he will soon be working with Illinois entomologist Sydney Cameron to see if they can pick up the fingerprint of a fungus, Nosema bombii, which in the study was found to be in greater quantities on the dying bumblebees than on healthy species.
Climate change, pesticides or disease could be behind bumblebee decline. (Photo: K. Garvey)
Jones appointed interim director of UCOP budget
UC Executive Vice President Nathan Brostrom has appointed Donna Jones interim director of UCOP budget, providing overall leadership for the Office of the President budget, effective Jan. 1, 2011.
Jones, who is currently ANR budget director, is taking on the responsibilities of Michael Rancer, who is retiring from the UCOP director position. She will continue to perform budget-related duties for ANR during her one-year appointment and will remain ANR budget director. Jennifer Bunge, ANR associate budget director, will assume many of Jones’ day-to-day duties in ANR during the year.
“Donna’s joint appointment presents a wonderful opportunity for ANR to work more closely with the UCOP and systemwide budget offices,” says Kay Harrison Taber, AVP-Business Operations.
Jones brings to the job 30 years of UC budget and financial experience from her start at UC Santa Barbara in 1981 and past 15 years with ANR.
View or leave comments for the Executive Working Group
This announcement is also posted and archived on the ANR Update pages.
Lawsuit filed to block usage of methyl iodide
Environmental and farmworker groups announced yesterday they have filed a lawsuit challenging the state Department of Pesticide Regulation's decision to register methyl iodide as an agricultural pesticide, according to reports in all of California's major media outlets.
The plaintiffs also appealed to newly inaugurated California Governor Jerry Brown to reverse DPR's decision, calling it "irresponsible and illegal."
Earthjustice and the California Rural Legal Assistance Inc. believe state pesticide regulators improperly cut off public comment on the chemical's approval, didn't listen to their own scientists and failed to use good scientific data in deciding to permit methyl iodide use in California agriculture.
Lea Brooks, the spokeswoman for the Department of Pesticide Regulation, said the chemical has been studied more than any pesticide in the department's history, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
"Methyl iodide can be used safely under its toughest-in-the-nation health-protective measures, including stricter buffer zones, more groundwater protections, reduced application rates and stronger protections for workers," Brooks was quoted in the Chron.
Methyl iodide is a substitute for methyl bromide, an ozone depleter that is being phased out. UC Riverside emeritus chemist Jim Sims first proposed the use of methyl iodide as an alternate soil fumigant. It is registered to Tokyo-based manufacturer Arysta LifeScience Corp.
Some of the other newspapers that covered the story were: