Kern

Hear that buzz? California almond pollination season is approaching. The season usually begins around Valentine's Day, Feb. 14, but we usually see the first-of-the-year almond blooms in mid-January in a hot spot near the Benicia marina. That's where we saw them on Jan.

UC Davis researchers have bred a new walnut variety designed to provide growers a way to harvest earlier and boost the harvest efficiency of California's $1.6 billion walnut industry.

UC ANR Strategic Communications' Linda Forbes and Ricardo Vela made a video highlighting many of UCANR's 2020 accomplishments. The video is posted on YouTube at https://youtu.be/9puxX_HAC1s and the script is below.

According to County Health Rankings & Roadmap, Kern County's food insecurity rate of 23.8% exceeds California's rate of 18%. Almost 74% of Kern County adults are overweight or obese, posing chronic disease risks such as heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

Douglas Amaral is the new pomology, water and soils advisor in Kings and Tulare counties Douglas Amaral joined UCCE in Kings and Tulare counties as pomology, water and soils advisor on Oct. 1, 2020.

According to KidsData.org, almost 74% of Kern County adults are either overweight or obese. Furthermore, 2018 data from Department of Education Physical Fitness tests indicated that Kern fifth graders overweight or obese rates at 44.9%, were 5% higher than the state average.

Organic farming continues to expand in California and now includes more than 360 commodities, according to a new University of California report.

Happy 2021 everyone! My realistic hope is that 2021 has fewer surprises than popped up in 2020.

An international team of researchers has established a connection between ancient Indian rock art painted in a Kern County cave and a common California plant that was used by Native Americans in their sacred rituals.

The safety of the weed killer glyphosate, the active ingredient in some well-known Roundup products, has been the subject of attention recently because of lawsuits that connected the chemical to cancer in humans. Based on extensive scientific research, U.S.