Master Gardener Conference opens to public, #ClimateChange news, more
Longer days of summer = more time to read and more time to garden. ICYMI, some #goodreads, an important video…and an invitation to register for an amazing statewide gardening conference …
Cover crops deliver bee forage
In a previous guest post for UC Food Observer, I quoted my FarmLab message to third graders: “Crops’ are what we grow for people, and ‘cover crops’ are what we …
Progress in Sustainable Agriculture Must be Supported
Federal Support for Sustainable Agriculture is at Risk Last week, I was in Washington, D.C. for a Farm Bill symposium that the Berkeley Food Institute organized in collaboration with American …
“Clean floors” give way to cover crops
Clean Floors When I was a kid, you could evaluate a lemon grower with a look at his orchard floor. A “clean floor” was a sure sign of good stewardship. …
Guest Blog: 5th generation farmer Chris Sayer
Planting cover crop in an orchard isn’t exciting work. Fill the seeder and drive. Refill the seeder and drive more. Sometimes a stick might jam in the seeder’s mechanism and …
Three Voices on Today’s Agriculture
At UC Food Observer, we salute those who are working to make agriculture more sustainable. These three stories paint a picture of today’s challenges and present interesting solutions inspired by …
Q&A: Traci Bruckner, Senior Policy Associate, Center for Rural Affairs
“If we want rural communities to thrive we have to address agriculture consolidation and the policies that facilitate such consolidation. We cannot think that throwing a few million dollars here …
A solution to Iowa’s nitrate problem
In January, NPR’s Dan Charles reported that the city of Des Moines, Iowa – concerned about human and environmental health impacts and rising water treatment costs – intended to sue …