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» June 24, 2008 «

Canning peach harvest starting

Canning peach growers will get $321 a ton for their fruit this season, a more than 12 percent increase from last year. In announcing the agreement, the association says the price reflects less production due to the April freeze. Harvest began last Wednesday in the San Joaquin Valley, about a week later than last year. Fruit quality is reported as very good and growers report using more machines to do their harvest work this year.

Navel orange harvest wraps up

California navel orange harvest has wrapped up for the season. However, consumers may still find California navel oranges in retail outlets for another 10 days or so. Remaining oranges are being shipped to retailers, which is about the time frame for oranges to complete the trip to market. Meanwhile, Valencia oranges are being picked and will soon replace the navels. About 40 percent of the Valencia crop has been harvested thus far, with most of it going to exports.

New Web page markets farm produce

Humboldt County Farm Bureau and UC Cooperative Extension have joined to develop a web page to market farm produce. Redwoodag.com and redwoodag.org are the Web site addresses as "Humboldt" and "bureau" are two words often misspelled. As summer progresses, the plan is for farmers to list their available produce and buyers such as hospitals, schools or similar businesses that need produce will utilize the webpage to obtain fresh, local produce.

Better mosquito repellent discovered

Research scientists have found a better tick and mosquito repellent. This repellent is a naturally occurring compound found in pine oil. Tests show the compound seems to deter mosquito biting and repels two kinds of ticks. The scientists are now seeking partners to bring the compound to commercial production. They've also developed an easy method to prepare the repellent and found the compound works better at repelling mosquitoes than DEET and is just as effective with ticks.