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Peoplecommentabout my adventures traveling, and you have an oppor- tunity to join a group of us aboard the Mt. Las- sen Motor Transit bus on Wednesday, Dec. 14 when we see Irving Berlin's "White Christmas," the musical, at the Golden Gate Theatre, orches- tra seating, in San Fran- cisco. Bing Crosby origi- nated the role in the movie singing "White Christmas." We stop at Pier 39 for lunch at a seafood res- taurant, and then the bus drops us off at the theater. It is so nice to not drive in the city traf- fic, especially when we come out of the theater as evening rush hour starts. There are a few seats still available, but please don't delay. Please call Mt. Lassen Motor Tran- sit at 529-2722. Next week we are going to see "Lion King" at the Or- pheum Theater. ••• Farm-City Week is an annual celebra- tion hosted by Tehama County Farm Bureau, and a bus tour of Te- hama County agriculture is a feature that spot- lights agriculture for the public. The Oct. 28 issue of the Daily News covered the first part of the tour at Cal Fire and Northern California Pecans, Inc. and was covered by Ju- lie Zeeb. Richard Buchner, Co- operative Extension Ser- vice rode on the bus and informed us about the orchards and agriculture we were passing, be- cause the old walnut or- chards were spaced fur- ther apart than the new plantings. Garry and Ginger Vance have a pecan or- chard and processing plant in the southern part of the county. From the high way you see walnut and olive trees, but continuing on there were hedge-rowed pecan trees. It was interesting to learn you have to stress the trees to get them to yield, and they use wa- tering, fertilizer and hedge-rowing. Pecans are the only North Amer- ican native nut, and they came from the south- eastern states that have lots of rainfall. If you should plant 100 nuts, you will get 100 different pecan trees. That is why there are 165 "improved" varieties of pecans. Black and yellow aphids attack pecan trees, and cause a sticky residue. The nuts are dried in large bins, and they are later in harvest- ing than almonds and walnuts, so we saw clus- ters of pecans on some trees. Our next stop was Ab- bey New Clairvaux in Vina, and Bill Smith, a volunteer told us the his- tory of the land and the stones used to rebuild the chapter house. The wrong variety of grapes were planted, and the wine wasn't very good, but made wonderful brandy. John in the wine tast- ing room, told us about the two soils that the Ab- bey has. The St. James block is Vina loam, with a high water table, and the grapes are grown on dryland since there is moisture 16 feet down for the tap roots of the grapes. Greek grapes have been planted here, and they win "raves" from people who know. The Poor Souls block is on the banks of Deer Creek with gravel and river rock, with Tuscan and Los Molinos loam. Petite Syrah and Bar- barra are grown here, and the Barbarra wins competitions. We sampled Treb- biano 2015, an Italian grape that was aged in oak, close to a Chardon- nay, from the Pour Souls block. Aimee, 2013 Napa Val- ley was an Old Vine Zin- fandel, and the vines were 85 years old. The vines will probably be pulled out because they don't produce as well as younger vines. Our third wine for tasting was Syrah, St. James 2014. Not sure which one I liked best. It was raining, as we ate lunch inside a tall building at Andersen & Sons Walnut Shell- ing, in Vina. Inside each room there were 1.5 mil- lion tons of walnuts. Pat Andersen told us that 65 million pounds of walnuts were pro- cessed here. They re- ceive walnuts from Tu- lare to Shasta counties. The machinery can un- load 50,000 pounds in 14 minutes. Since 1904 there has been an Andersen in the Vina area. When the boys got out of school there were 300 acres of nuts, and now there are 3,000 acres on their farms. They can steam pas- teurize walnut meats on site, to kill any e-coli, lis- teria, etc. and they bag customers brands here in Vina. Next week they would start pulling product for domestic and export sales. I wish you could have been with us to hear John Pitter talk about relationships for a small business man. "Friends help friends when you have cows." Pitter was an ag teacher for 32 years, but there have been cows on the place for 36 years. Starting out, C. Roy Carmichael sold him six pair of Hereford cows and calves. Carmichael helped, by allowing Pit- ter to pay him when the calves were sold. The young couple had two jobs to support the cows, since his wife Linda worked in plant nurseries and he taught school. They bought 80 acres of permanent pas- ture, and the interest was $14,000 a year. 15 years ago it took $400 a year to run a cow, and in 2015 it takes $900 a year. The average cowherd in the United States is 48 cows, and the average rancher is 58 years old. The costs just escalate, and you need to know your cost. If you don't, you won't make it. Pitter sells his calves at 9-10 months of age. Last year they were $2.65 a lb; and this year $1.13. The livestock indus- try needs to have trace- ability. We have ear tags, and identify the calf when it is born. Beef Quality Assurance means you treat your animals well, and your workers or friends need to know how to handle and vaccinate animals. Water is a big issue, and we need to keep in- formed about Waters of the U.S. The small ranchers and farmers are thankful for Shasta Livestock and Orland Auction Yards, because we are fortunate to have auction yards nearby. Russell Pitter, John and Linda's son, told us about starting a busi- ness while still in college 5 years ago. He manufac- tures custom metal prod- ucts; can build bumpers and flat beds on trucks, and make repairs on alu- minum trailers. 75% of his custom- ers are return, and 25% learned about him from past customers, so he didn't have to take out loans. Agriculture in Tehama County is huge, and he is trying to find some- one he can afford and does quality work to help fill the jobs. He teaches welding part time at Butte College, and the good students all get jobs paying more than he can pay. His generation is on social media, and he has put pictures of products he made on Instagram that resulted in inquires as to cost, with custom- ers in Texas and British Columbia. Pitter can now buy bigger sheets of steel, with his 3 D program. He commented that every time he turns around, he has to have a new permit. Sounded like a farmer to me, the way you have to have permits to spray insecticides, etc. JeanBartonhasbeen writing her column in the Daily News since the early 1990s. She can be reached by e-mail at jbarton2013@gmail.com. JEANBARTON By Rachel D'oro The Associated Press ANCHORAGE, ALASKA The landscape is virtually tree- less around a coastal hub town above Alaska's Arc- tic Circle, where even sum- mer temperatures are too cold for boreal roots to take hold. Amid these unforgiving conditions, a creative kind of farming is sprouting up in the largely Inupiat com- munity of Kotzebue. A subsidiary of a local Native corporation is us- ing hydroponics technol- ogy to grow produce inside an insulated, 40-foot ship- ping container equipped with glowing magenta LED lights. Arctic Greens is harvesting kale, various lettuces, basil and other greens weekly from the soil-free system and sell- ing them at the supermar- ket in the community of nearly 3,300. "We're learning," Will Anderson, president of the Native Kikiktagruk Inu- piat Corp., said of the busi- ness launched last spring. "We're not a farming cul- ture." The venture is the first of its kind north of the Arc- tic Circle, according to the manufacturer of Kotze- bue's pesticide-free system. The goal is to set up simi- lar systems in partnerships with other rural communi- ties far from Alaska's min- imal road system — where steeply priced vegetables can be more than a week in transit and past their prime by the time they ar- rive at local stores. There are other tools for extending the short grow- ing season in a state with cold soil. One increasingly popular method involves high tunnels, tall hoop- shaped structures that cover crops. But the season can last year-round with indoor hy- droponics, which uses wa- ter and nutrients to grow vertically stacked plants rooted in a binding mate- rial such as rock wool. Anchorage-based Verti- cal Harvest Hydroponics, which builds enclosed sys- tems out of transformed shipping containers, part- nered with Kikiktagruk. The 2-year-old company also sold the system to a farmer in the rural town of Dillingham. "Our vision is that this can be a long-term solution to the food shortage prob- lems in the north," said Ron Perpich, a company founder. "We're hoping that we can put systems any- where that there's people." But the operations have challenges, including steep price tags. Startup costs in Kotzebue were around $200,000, including the customized freight con- tainer and the price to fly it in a C-130 transport plane from Anchorage, 550 miles to the southeast. The town also relies heavily on expensive diesel power, so operations could eat into profits. In addition, moving ten- der produce from its moist, warm growing enclosure to a frigid environment can be challenging. And farm- ing can be a largely foreign concept to Native commu- nities with deeply imbed- ded traditions of hunting and gathering. Still, the potential ben- efits outweigh the down- sides, according to Jo- hanna Herron, state mar- ket access and food safety manager. Grown with the correct nutrient balance, hydro- ponics produce is consid- ered just as safe as crops grown using other meth- ods. "It's not the only solu- tion," Herron said. "Hydro- ponics is just a piece of it, but certainly an excellent thing for communities to look into." ALASKA Arcticfarming:Town defies icy conditions with hydroponics The Tehama County De- partment of Agriculture will be conducting Con- tinuing Education training for certified applicators 10 a.m. to noon Tuesday, Nov. 15 at the Tehama County Agricultural Building lo- cated at 1834 Walnut St. in Red Bluff. A duplicate class will be offered 10 a.m. to noon Tuesday, Dec. 8 at the same location. Certified private applica- tors are required to obtain two hours per year con- tinuing education in order to renew their certification or they are required to re- take the private applicator examination. A private applicator cer- tificate is required for per- sons that use restricted pes- ticides or if they train em- ployees in pesticide use safety. Two hours of laws and regulations credit for state qualified applicators has been approved. There is no charge to attend the class, however space is limited, so pre-reg- istration is required. To register for the class or for additional informa- tion, call 527-4504. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Pesticide application training to be offered CONTRIBUTEDPHOTO Tons of pecans drying in bins at Northern California Pecans, Inc. as viewed on the annual Farm-City Bus Tour. SF musicals; Farm-City bus tour recap WILL ANDERSON Will Anderson, president of the Native Kikiktagruk Inupiat Corp., stands inside his Native corporation's new indoor hydroponics farm in Kotzebue, Alaska. 525 Antelope Blvd, Red Bluff (530) 527-5272 Locally owned & operated FULLSERVICETIRESHOP 9 locations throughout California & Oregon Tires•Brakes•Alignments•Shocks Celebrating 43 Years Mon.–Fri.8am-5pm•Sat.byappointment wwwnortherncountiesroofingsystems.com FreeEstimates 530-356-0686 Owner on site Lic# 955662 • Residential • Commercial • New Construction Patrick's Pumping SepticPumpingServices Red Bluff, CA Garet Patrick Owner/Operator 530-366-6899 4patricks@att.net Available 24/7 RUNNINGS ROOFING and CONSTRUCTION SheetMetalRoofing ResidentialCommercial • Composition • Shingle • Single Ply Membrane ServingTehamaCounty 530-527-5789 530-209-5367 NoMoney Down! 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