Food & Farm News

Audio Actuality

Impact of recent precipitation on the water supply
mp3 | Real Audio (Real Player required)

Archives

2013
2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009
2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005

» May 6, 2009 «

Good cherry crop predicted

Damage to the cherry crop from weekend rain was minimal. Only the early varieties were ripe, and farmers picked whatever was ripe before the predicted rain fell. Ripe cherries are vulnerable to rain, and farmers won't relax until all the fruit has been picked. Weather for the next 10 days is predicted to be mild with no rain. Cherry harvest should increase, but how soon the fruit appears in retail outlets is not certain. Projections are for a good size crop, depending on the weather.

Storms add a little to water supplies

Recent storms have improved the California water outlook. However, there has not been enough rain to remove the drought designation. Electronic sensors show the snowpack now at 67 percent of average—a one-percent increase from the last measurement, taken April 30. Because much of the precipitation came as rain, the impact on water supplies won't be known until later this month when the water reaches the reservoirs. Shasta is at 76 percent of average for this date; Oroville is at 71 percent.

Better lettuce variety available

A newly developed lettuce variety may mean less management required to grow the vegetable. The new version is resistant to bacterial leaf spot, which plagues iceberg lettuce in the cool, damp conditions that exist in growing areas in spring and fall. Farmers must treat lettuce to prevent the disease, which causes black spots on lettuce. With seed for the new variety now available, the environment and consumers will benefit.

Egg production up, prices down

Egg production increased in California in March, but prices farmers earned declined. A federal government report says Golden State hens produced 449 million eggs in March—an increase of 49 million from February and an increase of 13 million from March 2008. Prices farmers earned for their eggs were 3 cents per dozen more than January, at an average of 73 cents per dozen. But in March 2008, farmers earned $1.33 per dozen.