Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/90317
Agricultureranch farm Tehama among counties eligible for farm loans Pursuant to the Secretary of Agriculture's designa- tion of an emergency in the state of California on Sept. 5, seven counties have been named eligible for USDA emergency farm loans because of physical and produc- tion losses based on damages and losses caused by drought, which occurred on Jan. 1 and continuing. In addition, contiguous counties, including Tehama County, are eligible. Farmers in all 33 counties have eight months to apply for the loans to help cover part of their actual losses. Some of the eligibility requirements are listed below: • Have suffered at least 30 percent loss of normal production directly related to the above-cited cause, • Be able to repay the loan and any other loans, • Be Unable to obtain credit elsewhere, • Have adequate security, • Have multi-peril crop insurance, if available, and • Meet other eligibility criteria. All applicants must complete a certification of dis- aster losses, which reflects the exact dates and nature of the designated disaster and how it caused the loss or damage. Crop insurance field reports may be a source for documenting losses directly related to the cited cause. The authorization from Farm Service Agency (FSA) to accept Emergency loans under this authorization expires on May 6, 2013. Applications should be filed with the FSA Service Center at 2 Sutter St., Ste. C, Red Bluff. 7th annual Farm-City Bus Tour & This year on the 7th annual Farm-City Bus Tour we toured the east- ern part of the county. The tour was sponsored by Tehama County Farm Bureau, Green Waste of Tehama, Matson & Isom, Ag Land Invest- ment Brokers. We met at the Tehama County Farm Bureau office for continental breakfast and welcome by TCFB president Sam Mudd and manager Kari Dodd. Then boarded a Mt. Lassen Transit bus for our first stop at Gracey's Tortilla Factory on 99E. Chip Gracson and Francisco Cardoso explained the process that field corn, currently shipped in from Illinois goes through to become a round corn tortilla, hot out of the oven. Deli- cious. wood ashes, and now they use 1% lime to corn weight, and seep for 10 hours. Both men men- tioned soaking the maize in limewater is important because it liberates the B vitamin niacin and the amino acid tryptophan. When maize was brought to Europe, Africa and Asia from the New World, people left out this crucial step. Those whose diet consisted mostly of corn meal often became sick — because of the lack of niacin and tryptophan The Aztec would use — with the disease pel- lagra. We saw the corn ground into masa, then the mixer, the oven and the tortillas emerging on the conveyor. still working on the tech- nical problems but hope to have the tortillas available at A& R Meats about the first of the year. They are Courtesy photo Kathy and James Brandt, far left, show some of the 35 varieties of pumpkins and gourds they grow at Julia's Fruit Stand on the TCFB Farm-City Bus Tour. students. Jean Kathy said they start- ed with three teenagers working, and this year there were 13. Her goal is to teach teenagers how to work, meet the public, make change, and to make decisions. Another goal is to teach children, pre- school upw ards, about farming when they visit on field trips. Barton their Facebook page has 1,000 friends. They are currently open 165 days, up from 90 when they started. they now accept credit and debit cards, and She told us jumbo walnuts that had fallen in the rain. They plan to plant 4 or 5 acres of grapes and make Bianchi wine, plus a new Chandler orchard where the old trees used to grow on recently pur- chased land. In the future there will be a walnut shop along the highway, instead of in the orchard. We visited Dye Creek Julia's Fruit Stand on 99E attracts visitors from 48 states and 30 to 35 foreign countries each year. The two large maps started 12 years ago after three cars from Texas and some tourists from Germany stopped at their little stand. The lure was free cold water or soda pop to get people to stop. Another interesting stop was Bianchi Orchards, with Anne & Ray, daughters Katie Bianchi and Becky Klinesteker. Grandpa Ray was taking care of one 4 month old twin grand-daughter while Grandma Anne had the other. wife's death lose lawsuit FRESNO (AP) — The phony lives of a prominent Fres- no doctor and his wife, whose death was faked after she posed for years as French royalty in horse show circles, were undone in court when they lost a real estate fraud law- suit. Calif couple who faked tiffs that the couple concocted the elaborate story to inflate the selling price of their 15-acre Parlier horse ranch in 2008. ''In all my years I have never seen anything that match- A Fresno County jury agreed Thursday with the plain- es this,'' said attorney Daniel Spitzer, who represents the couple who bought the property. Dr. Michael Weilert testified during the trial that he faked his wife's death because she is ''very ill and her desire was to be dead. She wanted to be left alone,'' the Fresno Bee reported. The case, while about real estate, served to expose the bizarre life of the reclusive former National Raisin Queen from the Central California farming community of Lind- say. Genevieve Sanders to Genevieve de Montremare in 1991 and passed herself off as a genetics expert in high-end Friesen horse circles. She even pretended to be a grief- struck employee when the buyers visited the property, testi- mony showed. Testimony showed the woman changed her name from Our hosts were Kathy and James Brandt, as we saw 35 varieties of pumpkins and gourds in the Pumpkin Patch. This is the 6th year for pump- kins. We learned more about agri-tourism at this stop, and received a recipe for pumpkin soup. Kathy makes the many signs that are dis- played. James shared stories about the heirloom tomatoes. Seven years ago his sister told him that they were the thing to plant, but Tehama Co. wanted red tomatoes, not weird colors. We have finally developed a taste for heirlooms 7 years later. Another lesson was green beans planted between the young wal- nut trees. It cost more to pick them, than they could sell them for. The tomato seeds are planted in the green houses Feb. 1 in order to have home grown toma- toes when the fruit stand opens. With so many tomatoes, they go to nine farmers markets as far away as Susanville and Burney using college The Walnut Shop, was where we sampled Chan- dler natural walnuts, so creamy and smooth in flavor. I expected the usual taste on my tongue, but this was nice. Then Katie had delicious cinnamon glaze and honey glaze walnuts for us to sample. On the porch was a plate of homemade cookies with coffee. In the shop they have for sale Antelope Creek Farm sauces, Larson honey, Pacific Sun and Lucero olive oils, plus dried plums, pottery bowls, as well as wal- nuts, in the shell and cracked, etc. A big bin of walnuts was in the center of room. Preserve, managed by The Nature Conservancy and it is multiuse with grazing and hunting on the 37,000 acres. They had used a prescribed burn with help of Cal Fire to control the medusa head and star thistle in one of the fields. A fall hike on November 10 will be up the canyon to a cave, about 5 miles round trip. We smiled when we were welcomed to Mill Race Dryer by Jim Edwards, Tyler and Mary Christenson when one mentioned it was like a wedding, when you clean-up the place. Everything sparkled, and Mary had white linen table clothes, center pieces of walnuts, pome- granates, cowboy boots with greenery to enjoy with our Carne Asada, beans, rice, spinach salad, and fresh tortillas. Dessert was prune cake topped with walnuts or almonds. Tyler told us prune plums go in the dryer the heat is 185 degrees, to break down the wax on the skin of fruit. My home dehydrator is not hot enough, and why I didn't get prunes in the end. Saturday, October 27, 2012 – Daily News 9A The sugar in the fruit is a preservative. When the fruit comes out of the dryer, they will cure the prunes by turning them before shipping to the processor. They turn by dumping a bin into a funnel that drops the prunes into another bin. Mark Gilles of Sunsweet reminded us that food safety is important with Califor- nia prunes, because the fruit is harvested by machines and doesn't touch the ground or human hands. We hope you will join us next year during Farm-City Week for the 8th annual farm tour. Each year I learn some- thing new about agricul- ture in Tehama County. Anne and Becky told about the wonderful Class 1 Vina loam their orchard is located on, with volcanic ash and alluvial soil that is 20 to 40 feet deep, and water 17 feet down. We were in a 3 year old Chandler orchard, and there were harvest lasts for about three weeks. Five to six trees will fill a harvest bin with 1,200 to 1,300 lbs of French plums. A truck will haul 40 bins with grower identifica- tion. They receive 20 trucks in a day with about 500 tons of fruit. At the dipper, a bin is dumped into water where the fruit is washed, twigs and leaves washed away. Then to trays, with 26 trays in a stack. The fruit is dried in tunnels, using natural gas for heat, taking 18 hours per tray. Christenson said prunes are like wine, location and tempera- tures make differences. The more sugar the bet- ter the taste and the bet- ter they dry. When the Over 25 years of experience The North State's premier supplier of stoves STOVE JUNCTION COMPLETE AUTO REPAIR recommened 30K, 60K, 90K SERVICES AT LOWER PRICES All makes and models. We perform dealer Smog Check starting at$ (MOST CARS & PICK-UPS) 527-9841 • 195 S. Main St. +$ 825 certificate 2595 20% OFF select models Tues-Sat 9am-5pm • Closed Sun & Mon Don't be left in the 5A>6! Serving Butte, Glenn & Tehama Counties 22825 Antelope Blvd., Red Bluff 530-528-2221 • Fax 530-528-2229 www.thestovejunction.com Jean Barton can be reached at jbarton2013@gmail.com. Community Clip? e-mail: clerk@red- bluffdailynews.com or Fax: 527-9251 An interesting demonstration were the screens used to size the fruit. Size 40 is used for whole unpitted prunes. Size 65 is pitted con- sumer packing. Size 80 is juice and sometimes pitted for industrial products. Size 100 is used for prune juice and 120 or smaller is cattle feed. The