Food & Farm News
Real Audio» February 5, 2007 «
Snow levels drop below half of average
How dry is it? Snow surveyors who visited the Sierra for the state's monthly measurement (Friday) found levels as low as 37 percent of average. Overall, the Sierra snowpack stands at only 43 percent of average, following a dry January. But water officials note that rainfall patterns can change quickly, and that much of the winter remains ahead. Water storage in the state's reservoirs remains above average for the date.
More oranges to begin reaching market
Citrus-fruit marketers say they're working slower, but harder, to bring a constant flow of high-quality fruit to market. Prices for navel oranges have come down partway from levels reached after last month's damaging freeze. The farmers group California Citrus Mutual says additional inspections assure the quality of oranges harvested after the freeze. The California Citrus Growers Association says it expects harvest of undamaged fruit to increase in the coming week.
Marketers see jump in chicken-wing demand
Did you eat some chicken wings on Super Bowl Sunday? The big game is always a big sales day for chicken wings, but marketers report unusually strong demand this year. The California Poultry Federation says no one knows exactly why. Most California farmers sell their birds under contract to specific producers, and farmers are negotiating prices for their chickens. High corn prices have brought a 20-percent jump in the cost farmers pay for chicken feed.
Long Beach teacher earns statewide award
An Urban Farmyard at a Long Beach elementary school teaches students where their food comes from ... and it led to a statewide award for one of their teachers. Dianne Swanson, a second-grade teacher at Los Cerritos Elementary in Long Beach, has been named Outstanding Teacher of the Year by the California Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom. Swanson ties all teaching subjects to the farmyard, where students grow vegetables, flowers, herbs and California native plants.
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