Alfalfa & Field Crop, Irrigation, Pest Management Field Days Coming Up Soon

Apr 21, 2014

There are Two California Alfalfa field Days coming up soon, one in the Imperial Valley and one in Davis, CA. Both heavily feature irrigation management issues, which are key to alfalfa producers in this drought year, but also a range of pest management and crop management issues.

PCA and CCA Credits are offered.

Imperial Valley Alfalfa & Field Crops Field Day

Thursday, April 17, 2014, 7:30 a.m. through Noon

Location: UC Desert Research and Extension Center, 1004 East Holton Road, El Centro, CA

Description: This field day features a wide range of studies on alfalfa/forage crops, alfalfa variety trials, drip irrigation, oilseeds, biofuels, irrigation practices, pest management, aphid outbreak, alfalfa drip irrigation, durum wheat, and crop rotation. Featuring new technology in irrigation management.

Stay for the Carne Asada Barbeque Lunch!!

For a full program see: http://alfalfa.ucdavis.edu/FieldDay/2014/agenda/DREC2014FieldDayAgenda.pdf

UC Davis Alfalfa/Small Grains Field Day

Wednesday, May 7, 2014, Davis, CA (12 Noon through 4:15)

Grains Field Day is 8:30 through noon

Location: UC Davis Agronomy Field Headquarters, Hutchison Road, Davis, CA

This field day features research on the UC Davis campus including alfalfa varieties, new weed control methods, control of aphids and other pests, switchgrass as a potential forage, low lignin trait in alfalfa, crop rotation studies with wheat, new studies on irrigation management and ideas for surviving the 2014 drought.

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Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.