Western Farm Press News Archive

Mandarins growing in appeal

May 13, 2009

A popular holiday treat, mandarin oranges are only getting better....

Farmers hope to gain media support

May 13, 2009

Farmers hope to gain media support with 'The Hand That Feeds U.S.' project....

Obama budget riles farm groups

May 12, 2009,

By Forrest Laws
Farm Press Editorial Staff

The Obama administration is continuing to push for a $500,000 cap on direct payments, a new limit on total farm program payments and elimination of cotton storage credits in its budget proposals for fiscal year 2010....

New marketing, regulatory programs leader

May 12, 2009

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the appointment of Rayne Pegg, legislative and policy adviser for the California Department of Food and Agriculture, as the new administrator of USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service....

California Crop Weather update

May 12, 2009

At the start of the week (May 4), high pressure aloft was beginning to rebuild over California in the wake of a frontal system which brought precipitation to the northern portions of the state, according to the Sacramento, Calif. field office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS)....

Blueberry, blackberry field days May 19-20

May 12, 2009

Farmers interested in learning more about growing blueberries or blackberries can learn from the experiences of other growers and University of California researchers at two days of berry-themed events this May....

Safe trucking for agriculture

May 12, 2009

The American Trucking Associations’ Agricultural and Food Transporters Conference (AFTC) recently released the “Manager’s Guide to Safe Trucking During Agricultural Planting and Harvest Season.”...

Biocontrol for a wide-ranging thrips

May 11, 2009

A pest with a voracious appetite may have met its match in a predatory mite being evaluated as a biocontrol agent by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists in Fort Pierce, Fla., in collaboration with University of Florida researchers....

Initial almond forecast – 1.45 billion pounds

May 11, 2009

The subjective (initial) forecast for 2009 California almond production is 1.45 billion pounds (shelled), 9.7 percent below the 2008 revised production of 1.6 billion pounds....

Organic Initiative available to Arizona producers

May 8, 2009

The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is accepting applications from May 11 to 29 for a new initiative under the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). ...

Inspire fungicide gains almond approval

May 8, 2009

California’s Department of Pesticide Regulation has granted Section 18 emergency exemption approval of Inspire fungicide from Syngenta for use on Alternaria in almond orchards Butte, Glenn, Kern and Tehama counties....