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Issues confronting beekeepers and honey producers

Farmers cope with wind damage to orchards

Difficult decisions lie ahead for farmers who lost trees during last weekend's windstorms. If a part of an orchard was blown down, it may not produce enough of a crop to stay profitable. If the orchard contained older trees, the farmer might remove the entire block and start over. But plant nurseries have already sold all their young, replacement trees for this season. Farm advisors say farmers with wind losses may remove entire blocks of trees and order replacements for next fall.

Beekeepers, honey producers gather

A first-of-its-kind summit of beekeepers and honey producers begins in Sacramento today (Wednesday). Delegates to the National Beekeeping Conference will seek to focus research on issues confronting beekeepers and honey makers. Chief among those is colony collapse disorder, which causes beehives to empty suddenly as the bees die. The conference marks the first joint meeting of national groups representing beekeepers and honey producers.

Vegetable fields are slightly smaller this winter

Vegetable planting in California has dropped slightly. A government report issued yesterday (Tuesday) says farmers will harvest fewer acres of broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, celery and iceberg lettuce during the current quarter of the year. The cuts in California planted acreage range from 1 percent to 8 percent. The report says cooler-than-normal weather in winter growing areas has slowed growth of many vegetables.

High-quality date harvest winds to a close

With date harvest nearing an end in the Southern California desert, marketers say quality has been fine but harvest volumes have been down a little. Date palms tend to produce heavier crops in alternate years, and this season marked the "light" year of the cycle. Consumers should be able to find California-grown dates at retail outlets throughout the year as they are shipped from cold storage. The weekend storms did not produce high winds in the date growing region so little damage has been reported.

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