A few news stories published recently typify UC Cooperative Extension's hand on a diversity of environmental issues in California.
Methyl bromide
The California Farm Bureau's newspaper AgAlert includes a story about research efforts aimed at helping strawberry farmers grow a successful crop in the wake of regulations that severely limit the use of the fumigant methyl bromide.
The story says UCCE soils and water specialist Husein Ajwa have had some success in reducing fumigant emissions either by applying the material through buried irrigation drip lines or by using a more effective tarp material to keep the fumigant in the soil. The research is being conducted at the Monterey Bay Academy test fields outside Watsonville.
Tree giveaway
The Tahoe Daily Tribune reported that the Tahoe Resource Conservation District and UC Cooperative Extension gave away Jeffrey pine tree seedlings to area residents effected by the Angora fire. The tree giveaway also allowed the agencies to provide the landowners home-landscaping guides and "Living With Fire" guides.
Range management help
UCCE and the Amador County Resource Conservation District are hosting a workshop designed to assist regional ranchers in the productive management of their rangeland, according to the Amador Ledger Dispatch. The story noted that open rangelands in the county are cared for in most cases by local ranchers, whose agricultural use of the land provides the rest of the county's residents with beautiful scenery. The June 16 workshop will also touch on direct marketing of meat.