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4B Daily News – Saturday, November 26, 2011 Agriculture & farm Almond growers workshop An almond grower workshop planned for Tuesday, Nov. 29 in Woodland combines farm assessment with irrigation management education. The session will be held at the Heidrick Ag History Center, 1962 Hays Lane in Woodland from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. Guest speaker Carolyn DeBuse, farm advisor for Yolo and Solano Counties, will discuss irrigation scheduling and technology. Almond orchard owners and managers will complete a confidential farm assessment in the areas of irrigation, nutrient, energy, air and pest management. Besides learning and sharing information with fellow growers, participation helps tell the Almond Story about how almond growers steward the land. The information gathered from the workshops is cru- cial for highlighting almond grower achievements to public policy makers, almond/food companies and con- sumers. "Through grower participation in the program, we have collected a lot of data not only about what growers are doing related to sustainability, but in what areas growers would like more technical support and informa- tion to support continuous improvement," said Dr. Joe Browde of SureHarvest. "Our workshops are focused on providing growers with technical information from researchers and industry experts that can increase profits through improved efficiencies or production." Orland almond grower John Erickson, who attended his second sustainability workshop in Chico this March, said that the process of filling out the modules itself was educational and got him thinking differently about some of the aspects in his farming operation. "Even just looking through the list of practices, there is a lot of good, thought-provoking information," Erick- son said. "It makes you think about each part of your operation and what you are doing, and whether you can tweak things just a little to move more toward sustain- ability and improve the long-term health of the orchard." A workshop will also be held on Dec. 6 in Modesto, prior to the annual Almond Conference. The Almond Board of California is partnering with SureHarvest and the Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF) on a series of the workshops in 2011 and 2012. For information, visit the Almond Board web- site at http://www.almondboard.com/Growers/Sustain- ability/Pages/Default.aspx or CAFF?s website at http://caff.org/programs/bio-ag/almonds/. To register for a workshop, provide a participant name, address, phone number and email address to Debye Hunter of the Almond Board at (209) 343-3230 or email dhunter@almondboard.com. The second day of branding at Antelope Creek Cattle Co. was warmer with sunshine at the historic ranch, while the third day was cooler but the ropers were hot. The ground crew was busy as many times there were four calves receiving their vaccinations, ear- mark and brand at the same time. Ropers ranged in age from 9 year old Cole Bunting and 12 year old Bodie Davies to 82 year old Chuck Morris, Sr. These three roped their share of calves since the others in their pen did not give them any slack. Each day there was over 200 calves to be branded, and the first sec- tion of ropers included Alex Meroshnekoff, Willie Staggs, Chuck Morris, Sr., Jody Brown, Lance and Travis Root. Second sec- tion: Bodie Davies, Danny Brown, Chris Cunningham, and Cole Robinson. Third group was Harry and Nanc y McClure, Casey Meroshnekoff, Logan Robin- son, and Don Brown. Fourth section included Wyatt Brown, Clifford Cunningham, Jean Barton Courtesy photo Walt Brown, Bodie Robbins and Tracy Brown had caught their calves at the Antelope Creek Cattle Co. branding over the Veterans Day weekend. Dave Bennetts, and J D Bringel- son. Fifth group had Walt and Tracy Brown, Cole Bunting, Blaine Davies, and Bodie Rob- bins. And then they continued the rotation of rop- ers, since there were calves waiting in the pen. The ground crew must have been stiff and sore, but they continued working hard when they weren't roping. Back for the sec- ond and third days were Zane Kittle, Lester Gon- zales, Chase Root, Chris Bartlett, Tyler Reed, Gabe Fregoso, Deacon Murphy, and a couple others I did- n't note their names. Jim Edwards branded every calf with the historic pilot wheel brand, while Walt Brown earmarked and Greg Weber castrated the bull calves. Nancy Weber, Tracy Brown, Amanda Brown Slattery, Jaycee Bennetts, Corey Slatter, Wyatt Brown vaccinated with the shots to prevent ill- ness, and Molly Murphy collected the calf fries. The second day Ron Weber barbecued 6 racks of ribs and 8 tri tip to go with the meal he prepared. The final day Ron and Luana Weber barbecued 12 racks of ribs to go with Tracy Browns scalloped potatoes, Connie Murphys chicken enchiladas, and the beans, salads and pies. Jean Barton can be reached at jbarton@theskybeam.co m. Company backs Safeguarding American Agriculture act Sunkist Growers strongly supports the Safe- guarding American Agri- culture Act of 2011 intro- duced by Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Senator Daniel Akaka (D- Hawaii). This important legisla- tion seeks to enhance the federal government's resources in countering the economic impact of for- eign pest and disease infes- tations in the U.S. Sunkist Growers is a 118 year-old farmer coop- erative owned by thou- sands of citrus producers in California and Arizona. Until 2001, the Depart- ment of Agriculture (USDA) had responsibility for inspections of goods, including agricultural products, that enter the United States. After 9/11, the Department of Home- land Security (DHS) took over those activities and under the revised system, federal resources were pri- marily directed toward ter- rorist threats and away from agricultural priorities. Subsequent Govern- ment Accounting Office (GAO) investigations found that DHS has suf- fered from diminishing employee morale and dwindling resources for these high-skilled, labor- intensive agricultural activ- ities. Unfortunately, feder- al resources were failing as the U.S. saw huge increas- es over the decade in for- eign imports of fruit and vegetable host material for these exotic threats. As the largest agricul- tural state in the country, California is disproportion- ately affected by foreign pest and disease infesta- tions. The state's high-vol- ume sea, air and land ports carry millions of passen- gers and millions of tons of cargo annually. These entries create constant opportunities for introduc- tion and resulting econom- ic damage to the state's agricultural economy. Infestations by a variety of pest and diseases, including the Mediter- ranean Fruit Fly and the Asian Citrus Psyllid/Citrus Greening Disease have caused and threaten to cause millions of dollars in damage to California's cit- rus industry. Therefore, the farmers that comprise Sunkist Growers strongly support and applaud Senator Fein- stein's interest in raising the priority of the agricul- ture inspection role within DHS. The North State's premier supplier of stoves STOVE JUNCTION The Over 25 years of experience COMPLETE AUTO REPAIR All makes and models. We perform dealer recommened 30K, 60K, 90K SERVICES AT LOWER PRICES Smog Check starting at $ (most cars and pick-ups) 2595 + cert. Pass or FREE retest 527-9841 • 195 S. Main St. NOW OPEN! 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