research

The latest addition to the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR) series of crop cost and return studies describes the practices and associated costs of producing organic processing apples grown on the Central Coast, including land preparation, fertility and pest management, irrigation, labor, and harvest. The reports also include tables reporting potential profits under various price and yield scenarios. Processing apples grown in the Central Coast are typically used to make juice and sparkling cider.

Dr. Brian Hogg at the USDA in Albany, California, is seeking sites for research on a parasitic wasp that was recently found attacking bagrada bug eggs in California. 

The newest CCOF Foundation supporter Anaerobe Systems has partnered with University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) to launch a research project featuring their organic input, approved by the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA).

Dr. Brian Hogg at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service based in Albany, California, is seeking sites for research on a parasitic wasp that his team recently discovered attacking bagrada bug eggs in California. 

The wasp can attack eggs in soil, where the bagrada bug lays most of its eggs, and is almost certainly helping to control bagrada bug. The wasp develops within bagrada bug eggs and is quite tiny. 

Graduate student Thais Spiropoulos of California Polytechnic University, Pomona, in association with the University of California Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR) programs in Southern California, will be conducting a needs assessment of urban farmers who primarily use organic growing methods. This survey aims to assess the technical needs of urban farmers within non-desert areas of San Bernardino, Riverside, inland Los Angeles, and Orange counties.

University of California, Davis wants to hear from California dried fruit processors.

California is a major producer of dried fruits, and we at UC Davis want to support the production of high-quality dried products. A team of researchers in the Food Science and Technology Department is interested in developing guidance on the best practices to ensure the safety and quality of dried California specialty crops.

Organic researchers need your help in identifying the challenges that certified organic producers and transitioning organic producers face. The Organic Farming Research Foundation (OFRF), Organic Seed Alliance (OSA), and the Social and Economic Sciences Research Center (SESRC) created surveys that will help set their research priorities. 

Certified organic farmers and ranchers can take the organic survey here:
https://www.opinion.wsu.edu/organicproduction/.

Organic researchers need your help in identifying the challenges that certified organic producers and transitioning organic producers face. The Organic Farming Research Foundation (OFRF), Organic Seed Alliance (OSA), and the Social and Economic Sciences Research Center (SESRC) created surveys that will help set their research priorities. 

Certified organic farmers and ranchers can take the organic survey here:

https://www.opinion.wsu.edu/organicproduction/

The Roadmap to an Organic California: Policy Report is the next installment of a first-of-its-kind research project that investigates how organic is a solution to California’s toughest challenges.