farming & ranching

By Roberta FirovedNo longer is the term crop duster acceptable in referring to the professionals who apply crop protection materials from airplanes. The term was coined over eighty years ago when airplanes used dusting materials.  Today, the techn...

I had occasion one morning several weeks ago to drop by Jim and Steph Barrie’s place in Thermalands (just northeast of Lincoln).  Mutual friends from southeastern Oregon who winter their cattle with Jim and Steph had left some “Shepherd’s Sc...

Lauren LaGrande comments on upcoming activities in Maxwell, a rice farming community in Colusa County. Lauren LaGrande is the latest in a family farming tradition that began nearly 100 years ago. She is a student at Maxwell High School and is active in...

Rice grower Brian Barrett describes some new steps he is taking to help shorebird habitat on his farm.Brian Barrett is a third generation rice farmer from Maxwell. Upon graduation from California State University Chico with a degree in Agricultural Bu...

As of this evening, we're just about done lambing - only 3-15 ewes left to lamb.  Within the next week, we'll be entirely done.  All in all, it's been a successful lambing season.  While I would have liked more precipitation during the s...

Grower Punch Haskell comments on the earlier start to preparation of Sacramento Valley rice fields.Punch Haskell grows rice in Colusa County and is part of a family farming operation that began approximately 60 years ago.

By Jim MorrisMy job provides plenty of visits to rice farms and one of the things I enjoy most is observing the diversity of wildlife.  Whether it’s a flock of Snow Geese, a romp of River Otters or a Giant Garter Snake slithering by, the variety...

Acting Chief of the USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service Jason Weller visited California rice country and provided these comments about rice growers helping wildlife.

An early spring.For the past three years, every rice grower in the Valley has remembered it, hoped for it, and eventually adapted to life without it.  It tempted us each time, temperate weather late in February and March, only for the rains to com...

Growers throughout the Sacramento Valley are preparing for the upcoming season. Mike Daddow comments on getting equipment in the field: He also comments on the first steps growers take before planting the crop:  Mike Daddow ~ Farming in Sutt...