UC Blog
Suburbanites fight regs that limit food production
City dwellers are fighting local governments in communities across the nation to permit the production of food in their residential gardens, according to a story that appeared in San Diego's North County Times over the weekend.
The story, written by Raquel Maria Dillon of the Associated Press, opened with the frustrations of LA flower grower Tara Kolla, who produced poppies, sweet peas and zinnias on her 21,000-square-foot lot to sell at a farmers market. Neighbors complained to the city about dusty pots, odorous compost and flies - and prevailed.
Nevertheless, the story said growing plants in urban areas to eat or for profit is becoming more popular. "People are putting edible plants in the front yard," the story quoted UC Cooperative Extension Master Gardener Sue Ehrhardt.
The reporter gave the following examples of nationwide interest in the urban farming trend:
- Farms in San Diego County are getting smaller and more numerous. A few years ago, six acres was the average farm size; now it is four.
- In Detroit, the city planner is part of a work group rewriting regulations that currently ban growing crops and raising livestock for profit.
- Seattle has loosened its rules for backyard goats.
- New York City is taking steps to legalize beekeeping.
- In Los Angeles, the city council is clarifying city policies on urban farms.
The UC Master Gardener Program offers extensive information on the California Gardening Web site to California residents who wish to grow food or create an aesthetically pleasing landscape.
California Gardening Web site.
Giannini book documents family's gifts to UC
A new book with historical and contemporary information related to a generous 1928 gift to UC supporting agricultural economics will be available to the public April 15, according to a UC Davis news release distributed yesterday.
The new publication, titled A.P Giannini and the Giannini Foundation of Agricultural Economics, is being sold through the ANR catalog for $50 for softcover and $75 for hardcover.
The Giannini name has been long associated with UC. Amadeo Peter Giannini, founder of the Bank of Italy (which later became the Bank of America), donated $1.5 million to build Giannini Hall for the College of Agriculture at UC Berkeley and to establish the Giannini Foundation of Agricultural Economics, according to the release.
Currently, the foundation supports activities in agricultural, resources and environmental economics at UC Davis, Berkeley and Riverside. Research conducted through the foundation has focused on issues such as price instability, management of surplus production, design of marketing institutions, impacts of water development, and competition for water, land and labor.
The new book, edited by UC Davis emeritus professors Warren Johnston and Alex McCalla, contains:
- Proceedings of the Giannini Foundation of Agricultural Economics’ 75th Anniversary Symposium, held in spring 2006
- Giannini Foundation annals, spanning 1928 to 2009, including membership and leadership information, honors and awards, list of doctoral recipients, and foundation activities and publications
- Archival materials that document the history of agricultural economics at the University of California, early foundation history, and reflections from oral histories and biographies of selected members
- A collection of historical documents and news clips associated with the gift to the University of California.
Amadeo Giannini in 1922. (Photo: Wikipedia Commons.)
Light brown apple moth eradication unlikely
A recently certified report on light brown apple moth asserts that the pest, native to Australia, cannot be eradicated from California.
"Given the increases in LBAM population densities and the extent of contiguous spread of LBAM observed over the past 2 years, coupled with a lack of area-wide management tools, eradication is no longer feasible in California," the USDA report says.
The "area-wide management tools" referred to in the report includes aerial pheromone spraying, which drew the ire of many environmentalists. Instead, control will be attempted with twist-ties that release pheromones and with the release of sterile moths to disrupt breeding.
According to the AAAS ScienceInsider blog by Ingfei Chen, CDFA concurs with the USDA finding. The agency's main goal is to "contain, control and suppress" the pest, Chen wrote. An article in the Stockton Record said ag officials will still try to eradicate small, discrete infestations such as those found in Manteca and Tracy.In an article about the strategy change, the Santa Rosa Press Democrat noted that the January-March 2010 issue of UC's California Agriculture journal included a peer-reviewed article about LBAM control in New Zealand. The article said the moth “is successfully managed” there with modern pest control techniques. LBAM was an economically important pest from the 1960s to 1980s in New Zealand, and developed resistance to broad-spectrum insecticides, but today a combination of biological control and judicious use of selective insecticides keep LBAM at bay.
Chen said in her blog that the new focus on pest control, rather than eradication, is what some critics of LBAM eradication, including UC Davis biodemographer James Carey, have been advocating for some time. Chen is the author of a lengthy profile of Carey and his LBAM views that appeared on the AAAS Science Web site in January.
LBAM is in California to stay.
Drought tolerance found on cowpea genome
By comparing the DNA from cowpea plants that did poorly in low water conditions with those that did well, an African scientist studying in the Netherlands has traced the location of drought tolerance on the cowpea genome, according to a press release from the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture posted yesterday on SeedQuest.com.
The research, conducted at Wageningen University, will help breeders and farmers produce crops with higher yields despite the changing climate. Cowpea is an important food source in arid areas of West Africa, where over 200 million Africans eat the legumes and feed the tops to their cattle.
The story said similar work on the cowpea genome was reported by researchers at UC Riverside and scientists at the two institutions are comparing notes on the outcomes of their research to see areas of agreement.“If both parties are able to find areas of agreement or concurrence, such areas of the genome would be of immense benefit when marker assisted selection is to be applied in cowpea breeding," the release quoted cowpea breeder Christian Fatokun, who supervised the work for IITA. "So what will take about 10 years to accomplish could be done in three years or even less."
Because cowpea is traditionally cultivated on small farms, very little detailed research into the crop has been conducted, the release said. But that is now changing.
Research to increase cowpea yield is led by UC Riverside and supported through the Generation Challenge Program with funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. More on the UC Riverside cowpea genome mapping program is available in this October 2009 news release.
Cowpeas and other legumes.
ANR transfers Analytical Lab to CAES
As part of ANR’s restructuring to meet budget constraints, the Analytical Laboratory was among several programs to be eliminated or consolidated.
In the case of the Analytical Lab, ANR will transfer the lab to the UC Davis College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences effective July 1.
“The Analytical Lab has been an exceptional resource for ANR research,” said Barbara Allen-Diaz, Associate Vice President – Academic Programs & Strategic Initiatives, “and I am pleased that ANR academics will have continued access to the lab.”
CAES will assume responsibility for the lab, its associated personnel, assets and equipment as of July 1, with Dirk Holstege, director, continuing to lead the operation. ANR will support the lab’s payroll through Sept. 30.
View or leave comments for the Executive Working Group
These announcements are also posted and archived on the ANR Update pages.
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