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We are pleased to announce that a new series of 26 instructional videos on vegetable production is being launched through the University of California’s Agricultural and Natural Resources You Tube channel beginning this coming Monday, May 13^th. We encourage you to sign up at the You Tube channel to begin receiving weekly reminders of new video “premieres” that will be released every Monday morning at 8 o’clock.

Professors from four California universities, UC Davis, Fresno State, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, and Chico State, at which vegetable production courses are offered, teamed up to prepare and produce the videos. The series covers a full range of related topics and while primarily focusing on California, also includes topics from beyond the State as well.

We encourage your help in getting the word out about this series.
If I can be of further help, please call me at (559) 303-9689.

Farm

We are pleased to announce that a new series of 26 instructional videos on vegetable production is being launched through the University of California’s Agricultural and Natural Resources You Tube channel beginning this coming Monday, May 13^th. We encourage you to sign up at the You Tube channel to begin receiving weekly reminders of new video “premieres” that will be released every Monday morning at 8 o’clock.

Professors from four California universities, UC Davis, Fresno State, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, and Chico State, at which vegetable production courses are offered, teamed up to prepare and produce the videos. The series covers a full range of related topics and while primarily focusing on California, also includes topics from beyond the State as well.

We encourage your help in getting the word out about this series.
If I can be of further help, please call me at (559) 303-9689.

Farm Progress article coverage: https://www.farmprogress.com/extension/uc-video-series-teach-about-vegetable-production?NL=WFP-01&Issue=WFP-01_20190510_WFP-01_37&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_2&utm_rid=CPG020000030

Press release copy is below:

New video series to spark interest in vegetable production of the future

A 26-episode weekly video series will debut May 13 on YouTube to help train the next generation of vegetable crop workers and increase their use of effective stewardship practices in vegetable production.

Projections for near-future retirements of people working in California’s agricultural production, marketing and post-harvest handling sectors indicate severe re-staffing needs in the coming years. Technological advances have reduced manual labor in agriculture, but increased the need for skilled labor to maintain the sustainability of the vegetable industry.

“We already see it happening,” said Jeff Mitchell , UC Cooperative Extension vegetable crops specialist. “Robotic machines are now used for lettuce-thinning in Salinas, but these technologies must be serviced by an educated workforce with knowledge in both mechanics and science.”

Mitchell assembled a team of professors from California’s public universities with agricultural programs – UC Davis, Chico State, Fresno State and CalPoly San Luis Obispo - to pull together a series of videos designed to spark the interest and begin training future farmers and ag workers in sound agronomic, economic and environmental stewardship skills. The team received financial support from the California Department of Food and Agriculture Specialty Crops Block Grant Program.

“We know that maintaining California’s leading role in producing abundant, safe vegetables is critical not only to Americans’ health, but also to the state’s economy,” Mitchell said.

The video series is offered on the UC Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR) YouTube page on a playlist titled “Expanding the Capacity and Training of a New Generation of California Vegetable Producers.” UC ANR is the outreach arm of the University of California which, among other services, provides agricultural research, teaching and advising in all California counties.

Each Monday morning from May 13 through Nov. 4, a new video will premiere in the playlist. The video length ranges from 47 minutes to 7 minutes. The videos will also be made available to high school and college ag professors to use in the classroom.

“We believe that this series of videos on vegetable production will have broad interest beyond the classrooms,” Mitchell said. “The agricultural industry, students in other parts of the United States and the world, and the broader public all have an interest in understanding how the vegetables we eat are produced at the ever-increasing scale at which they are needed.”

The videos depict state-of-the-art technologies and techniques that are in use in many production regions of California today, vegetable farming systems used in other parts of the world, and increasingly popular cottage farming systems that are popping up in urban areas for easy access to healthful foods.

To receive a notification of each video premiere, follow the UC ANR Twitter feed at http://twitter.com/UCANR .

Today, our Marketing & Sales series continues with information on the Produce Traceability Initiative (PTI), including a Q&A with Top 10 Produce founder, John Bailey.

Many members of our farming community are already familiar with PTI regulations and have found labeling solutions that work for them. However, if you’re new to these requirements or are thinking of selling your product outside of direct to consumer sales channels, this is important information to know.

Read on to learn more about how the PTI was developed, what type of labels are required for your product, and why Top 10 Produce may be a great starting point if you’re a small farmer looking into labeling solutions!

http://blog.farmsreach.com/marketing-sales-series-pt-9-labeling-solutions-the-produce-traceability-initiative-pti/

Hot off the presses: the first blog in our mini-series interviewing a few respected leaders in the CA sustainable farming and agriculture movement who recently retired to a life of a bit more free time and freedom! In our first post, we share highlights (+ full transcript) from our conversation with Shermain Hardesty, former Director of the UC Small Farm Program.

Click to peruse her reflections on the past 30 years serving CA farmers and pontifications on the future of sustainable farming in California, including what new farmers should be tracking most closely, the future of Cooperative Extension, the role small farmers have in our future food system, and more... Enjoy!

Hot off the presses: the first blog in our mini-series interviewing a few respected leaders in the CA sustainable farming and agriculture movement who recently retired to a life of a bit more free time and freedom! In our first post, we share highlights (+ full transcript) from our conversation with Shermain Hardesty, former Director of the UC Small Farm Program.

Click to peruse her reflections on the past 30 years serving CA farmers and pontifications on the future of sustainable farming in California, including what new farmers should be tracking most closely, the future of Cooperative Extension, the role small farmers have in our future food system, and more... Enjoy!

Good Morning Ya'll,

My name is Jacob Roberson and I am the Food Safety Regional Lead for Tulare, Fresno, Madera, and Merced counties for a non-profit organization called Community Alliance with Family Farmers (new to Fresno area). CAFF is well established all over California except for the Central Valley which is where I am based out of (Fresno to be exact). I wanted to use this post as a source to contact farmers who are struggling with food safety and cannot afford to hire an outside consultant to come to their farm, perform assessments, help with documentation, and get their farm ready for a 3rd party audit. I perform the same duties as an outside consultant but my service is no cost to the farmer. CAFF is a non-profit organization looking to better food safety standards and procedures practiced on small farms / farms at a disadvantage (financial hardships, language barriers, new farmers, etc.).

Food

Good Morning Ya'll,

My name is Jacob Roberson and I am the Food Safety Regional Lead for Tulare, Fresno, Madera, and Merced counties for a non-profit organization called Community Alliance with Family Farmers (new to Fresno area). CAFF is well established all over California except for the Central Valley which is where I am based out of (Fresno to be exact). I wanted to use this post as a source to contact farmers who are struggling with food safety and cannot afford to hire an outside consultant to come to their farm, perform assessments, help with documentation, and get their farm ready for a 3rd party audit. I perform the same duties as an outside consultant but my service is no cost to the farmer. CAFF is a non-profit organization looking to better food safety standards and procedures practiced on small farms / farms at a disadvantage (financial hardships, language barriers, new farmers, etc.).

Food safety is a growing concern and I believe every farmer should have GAPs (Good Agriculture Practices) established on their farm/ranch even if they are not covered by the new FSMA (Food Safety Modernization Act) produce and preventive facilities rule.

If you feel my free service may benefit you and/or your company, do not hesitate to contact me. My phone number is 559-730-8435 and email is jacob_roberson@outlook.com. If you prefer, you can contact me through farmsreach as well but I would prefer the other two methods of contact (phone and email).

If you know of someone who could benefit from my service as well, please give them my contact information.

Best Wishes,

Jacob Roberson

I'm looking to purchase a commercial 20 gallon lettuce dryer. Does anyone have any suggestions. I've been looking at Hobart Models.

We are looking for a simple but semi automatic harvest tote washer. A year or so ago I came across one or two on the web. But no mas. Thanks Ken

Howdy—I'm looking to source a vendor for cardboard flats, quart, and pint boxes, for a new farm cultivating gourmet mushrooms. Blank would be ideal, but a vendor that can do printing would be fine, too. My client (I'm their designer) is new to farming, so any additional advisement on packing processes/methods/equipment to help them get going, would be super appreciated. They're rather determined to do this "all on their own," and I'm wary it can really be that easy. :D

Happy growing/eating, and thanks in advance! :)

Hi, I was wondering if anyone had any egg washing equipment or possibly a grader that they would be interested in selling.

Or, if you would like, please share where you found the best deal on your equipment.

thank you!

Dear farmers!

We're a small team on a big mission - to make precision agriculture concepts affordable and accessible to even the smallest of farmers. We need some input to be smarter about what we're building.

Our name is Farm Dog (http://farmdog.ag/) and we'll gladly send a Farm Dog hat to the first 50 people that will answer the 25 questions in this survey form: http://goo.gl/forms/88SywcPrlt

Yours,

Michael Hermon

Co-founder and CTO

Farm Dog

The Grange Farm School is looking for a special kind of student. You think holistically rather than in parts. You see the importance of asking high quality questions. You are innovative, ambitious, persistent, and collaborative. You want to be part of the new face of agriculture that will transform our world for the better.

Our 14 week residential, Student Program offers you the tools and confidence to manage a successful agricultural enterprise, whether in farming, ranching, or related fields. You will live and work on a beautiful 5,000 acre ranch with diverse vegetables, grains, fruit trees, and livestock. Guest instructors and staff members provide a comprehensive curriculum in business management, industrial arts, animal husbandry, soil and ecology, and crop production, supported by an understanding of the theory and history of our food systems. You will leave with hands-on practical experience, and

The Grange Farm School is looking for a special kind of student. You think holistically rather than in parts. You see the importance of asking high quality questions. You are innovative, ambitious, persistent, and collaborative. You want to be part of the new face of agriculture that will transform our world for the better.

Our 14 week residential, Student Program offers you the tools and confidence to manage a successful agricultural enterprise, whether in farming, ranching, or related fields. You will live and work on a beautiful 5,000 acre ranch with diverse vegetables, grains, fruit trees, and livestock. Guest instructors and staff members provide a comprehensive curriculum in business management, industrial arts, animal husbandry, soil and ecology, and crop production, supported by an understanding of the theory and history of our food systems. You will leave with hands-on practical experience, and a framework for thinking outside the box, creative decision making, and communication that improves your business planning, community networking, and relationship building .

Grange Farm School programs are designed for practical people who are ready to make a difference in the real world. Students with a desire to enter a career in agriculture equipped with essential skills, knowledge, and resources. Students who want to be among the million new farmers, ranchers, and small businesses this country needs in order to transform agriculture through creative and profitable enterprises.

Grange Farm School is part of the movement to make that happen. Are you ready to join? Then take the next step by contacting us at info@grangefarmschool.org or visiting our website or blog: http://www.grangefarmschool.org OR http://www.grangefarmschool.wordpress.com