The troubling aspect of a positive 2011 PDP report by the federal agencies overseeing food production and food safety in the U.S. is that there are certain environmental groups that will never be satisfied with any testing the agencies do....More
It is imperative to sustain the efficacy of newer integrated pest management tools currently available which makes insecticide resistance management more important than ever....More
At the project’s core is discovering solutions for ever tightening and costly water supplies in the West and how cutting-edge technologies can help specialty crop growers produce more crop with less water.
Beekeepers will soon be allowed to use Apivar to treat honey bee colonies for Varroa mites, one of the leading causes of global honeybee population decline and a contributing factor in CCD....More
Forget freegans or extreme eaters, Arthur Boyt, 73, is the roadkill version of Hannibal Lecter. There is nothing — absolutely nothing — he won’t eat....More
The California citrus industry is in fast-track mode to enact solutions to keep Fuller rose beetle eggs out of Navel orange shipments exported next year to Korea....More
The elimination of Fuller rose beetle eggs on Korea-bound Navel shipments could be the responsibility of the California citrus industry effective in 2014, says Jim Cranney, president of the California Citrus Quality Council, Auburn, Calif.
DPR Director Brian Leahy is concerned about urban encroachment into agricultural areas. Pesticide exposure issues are coming increasingly from urban use....More
Whitefly adults are showing up on early melons; more so than last year. This is a bit surprising since several freeze events occurred this winter, particularly in the south Yuma Valley and the east county....More
A new bill seeks to clarify that Clean Water Act permits are not required for the lawful application of Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA)-approved pesticides....More
Nitrogen use has been elevated to the No. 1 spot on the list of issues confronting California agriculture. A proactive educational approach has headed off an onslaught of legislation leading to new regulations or taxes....More
Four beekeepers and five anti-pesticide groups have filed a lawsuit against the EPA for allegedly failing to protect pollinators from neonicotinoid pesticides....More
Mined phosphorus is a dwindling resouce; recycled phosphorous from human and animal waste for plant fertilizer could ease demand for the increasingly expensive rock-mined element....More
I now know of farmers who say they hardly ever open the laptop anymore, because they can conduct most of their farm business on their smartphones. There are many very creative apps for that and farmers are taking full advantage of them....More
Under current federal aviation rules, drone use for commercial purposes is prohibited in the United States. By many estimates, there will be thousands of drones in U.S. skies by 2020....More
Farmscrapers may be billed as futuristic towers, but that is an understatement — the stunning designs look like an agricultural version of Blade Runner, but the descriptions smell of pie-in-the-sky dreams....More
Could a robot honey bee actually pollinate an orchard or crop field? With a carbon fiber body and titanium wings, researchers say a mechanized honey bee is leading a microbot charge toward real world applications — agriculture included....More