AVALON, Calif. (AP) -- Birth control for bison?
That's what conservationists are giving a herd on Santa Catalina Island in an attempt to reduce the population. Females over the age of 2 will be injected with a contraceptive under a five-year experimental program that begins Friday.
...
Friday, November 20, 2009 11:06 AM
FRESNO, Calif. (AP) -- A federal appeals court in San Francisco has rejected three grape growers' challenge to a mandatory advertising campaign for California table grapes.
Susan Neill Fresh Fruit and Lucas Brothers companies, both based in Visalia, and Delano Farms Co. claimed the C ...
Friday, November 20, 2009 2:34 PM
SACRAMENTO -- As Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger wrapped up a string of ceremonies to sign historic legislation guiding management of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, some old battles continued.
Touting another element of the federal government's proclaimed involvement in Delta issues this ye ...
Thursday, November 19, 2009 11:41 AM
California farm groups say they hope the state's proposed heat-illness standard can be enacted as quickly as possible.
The Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board held a special meeting on Monday, Nov. 16, to bolster public input. The rules outline when shade and other accommodatio ...
Thursday, November 19, 2009 11:39 AM
SACRAMENTO -- Stakeholders of food production in California say a growing polarization is challenging the state's efforts to produce a long-range visioning plan.
The tension is growing between production agriculture on one side and localized and organic production on the other.
"I th ...
Thursday, November 19, 2009 10:43 AM
California's navel orange growers expect the current harvest to yield a high-quality, abundant crop.
Growers in the Central Valley and elsewhere have been taking oranges off the trees for about a month, and they started shipping about two weeks ago.
What they're finding is that the q ...
Thursday, November 19, 2009 10:44 AM
REDDING, Calif. -- Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin will be the kickoff speaker at the 61st annual Sierra Cascade Logging Conference in February.
Tickets to see Palin, the 2004 GOP vice presidential candidate, went on sale this week.
Conference spokeswoman Nadine Bailey said it hasn't ...
Thursday, November 19, 2009 10:28 AM
Long-term plans based on work of ex-rocket scientist
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) -- Imagine Oregon's Coast Range becoming the land of the giant coastal redwood -- the tallest tree on Earth, the one you can drive your car through.
Some tree farmers are doing more than imagining. They're planting at l ...
Thursday, November 19, 2009 11:59 AM
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- An Indian tribe has filed a lawsuit to stop the development of a 5,000-acre gated resort community on a sprawling ranch some 60 miles north of Los Angeles that it claims as tribal land.
The lawsuit filed last week in federal court in Fresno argues ...
Thursday, November 19, 2009 3:32 PM
In California, producers expect to sell about 15 million birds this year, with as much as 45 percent of sales coming during the holidays, reports the California Poultry Federation.
The activity comes as both supply and demand for turkeys appear to be up this year. As of Sept. 30, there were 69, ...
Thursday, November 19, 2009 11:24 AM
With help from the federal government, California water officials hope a new department will bring needed efficiency to a water-trading system that has caused frustrations among farmers.
The Water Transfer Office was created in early November within the state Department of Water Resources. For ...
Thursday, November 19, 2009 11:48 AM
Members of California's agriculture board say streamlining the system for approving water transfers will require public agencies and the general public to adopt a new mindset.
The California State Board of Food and Agriculture has devoted much of its time this year to grilling state offic ...
Thursday, November 19, 2009 11:47 AM
Some new and prospective farmers in the West will get some help as a result of federal grant funds recently given to Washington State University and a pair of California organizations.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture awarded $17 million to farmer and rancher training programs nationwid ...
Thursday, November 19, 2009 11:55 AM
A University of California Web site has been launched to help owners of small- to mid-sized growers of fresh products with business and marketing.
The site covers various factors of successful farming, including budgeting, managing cash flow, targeting particular segments of the market an ...
Thursday, November 19, 2009 10:18 AM
AUBURN, Calif. (AP) -- A strong storm expected Friday and Saturday could drop more than a foot of snow at the highest elevations of the Sierra.
The National Weather Service says snow levels will start at about 5,000 to 6,000 feet of elevation Friday morning, dropping to around 3,000 ...
Thursday, November 19, 2009 9:04 AM
VALLEY CENTER, Calif. (AP) -- State agriculture officials have expanded and established quarantines in northern San Diego County to counter two insect infestations.
The California Department of Food and Agriculture announced Wednesday that the quarantines were intended to minimize the spre ...
Friday, November 20, 2009 1:19 PM
FRESNO, Calif. (AP) -- A federal judge says the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation should have considered the environmental impacts before moving forward with a plan to protect a threatened California fish species.
The Fish and Wildlife Service rewrote its rules governing the management of the delta sm ...
Wednesday, November 18, 2009 11:18 AM
TAHOE CITY, Calif. (AP) -- A historic Lake Tahoe fish hatchery will become home to a public science exhibit.
University of California-Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center officials say they secured sufficient funding to open the exhibit in July 2010 in Tahoe City.
UC Davis ...
Sunday, November 15, 2009 9:34 AM
At least until a Dec. 4 court hearing, the sugar beet industry remains in the dark on whether it will be prohibited from using Roundup Ready seeds next year.
In September, federal Judge Jeffrey White ordered USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service to produce an environmental imp ...
Saturday, November 14, 2009 12:03 PM
California State Sen. Jeff Denham, R-Merced, has criticized the historic water legislation reached by state lawmakers last month for failing to guarantee new water supplies.
Denham, who represents Central Coast and San Joaquin Valley agricultural areas, echoed the criticism the plan has s ...
Saturday, November 14, 2009 1:03 PM
California officials say a translation gaffe shouldn't result in any immediate impact to the state's citrus industry.
During the first week in November, a well-known website in Argentina translated a California Department of Food and Agriculture press release addressing the state's effort ...
Saturday, November 14, 2009 1:03 PM
Six farm groups have declared support for a bill to add an agriculture-specific offsets program to Senate legislation addressing climate change.
Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., and five co-sponsors introduced the legislation on Nov. 4.
In a letter sent to the bill's co-sponsors, the ...
Saturday, November 14, 2009 1:03 PM
If you see a grove of short, densely planted olive trees in California, chances are they're part of an olive oil boomlet.
While the table olive industry has struggled, the acreage of the fruit grown for oil has increased dramatically in the past five years. A majority of the state's rough ...
Saturday, November 14, 2009 1:03 PM
A family-owned vineyard company in California has filed for bankruptcy protection, but the firm's managing member says its financial outlook is secure.
Salisbury Vineyards of San Luis Obispo County, Calif., has filed for Chapter 12 bankruptcy, which is geared specifically to family farmers who ...
Saturday, November 14, 2009 12:03 PM
MODESTO, Calif. (AP) -- A Modesto man is in critical but stable condition after a trench he was digging collapsed onto him.
The man, identified by a family member as Kyle Oosterkamp, was working on the family farm when the collapse happened around 9:30 a.m. Thursday.
Mark Ooster ...
Saturday, November 14, 2009 4:34 PM
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A coalition of environmentalists filed a lawsuit Thursday to stop the development of a 5,000-acre gated resort community on the sprawling Tejon Ranch property some 60 miles north of Los Angeles.
The lawsuit filed in Kern County Superior Court argues that county officials ...
Saturday, November 14, 2009 3:33 PM