Food & Farm News

» August 17, 2011 «

Garbanzo bean harvest gains momentum

After a three- or four-week delay, the garbanzo bean harvest is under way in Northern California. The California Dry Bean Board says the quality of beans harvested so far has been good, with quantity higher than originally expected. Fewer acres of garbanzos have been planted, because rains during the planting season caused some farmers to shift direction and plant other crops. Garbanzos are among the six main varieties of dry beans grown in California.

Farmers finish winter wheat harvest

During the past week, the final winter wheat fields were harvested in California, catching the state up with the majority of other, similar wheat crops around the country. According to US Agriculture Department crop progress reports, California's harvest ran two or three weeks behind last year's. The most recent crop production forecast anticipates California farmers will produce more than 1 million tons of winter wheat, a 16 percent increase above last year's total.

Olive crop drops

After record production a year ago, California olive trees have taken a rest this season, and the crop will be 65 percent smaller than last year. Government crop forecasters say farmers expected a smaller crop after the record 2010 crop stressed many olive orchards. But poor weather during the bloom period also hurt the crop. Nearly 60 percent of California olives go into oil, with the remaining 40 percent being canned as table olives.

Farmers log on

Nearly 70 percent of California farmers have access to computers and more than half use their computers to conduct farm business, according to a newly released U-S Agriculture Department report. The report also found that the number of farms with Internet connections has risen almost 20 percent nationwide during the last decade. Farmers listed DSL as the most common method of accessing the Internet.