Monterey

Every time we see a pollen-packing bumble bee take flight, we think of the 300,000-pound Spruce Goose, which was never flight-worthy (well, except for its brief flight on Nov. 2, 1947).

When the monarchs return to southern California and central Mexico to overwinter, the residents rejoice. When the bumble bees emerge from their nests in the spring, we, too, rejoice. They are like the swallows of Capistrano and the monarchs of Pacific Grove.

In January, the California Weed Science Society held its annual symposium in Sacramento and WOW, what a conference! This year's conference theme was Addressing Diverse and Dynamic Challenges in Weed Management.

Did you miss today's Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) certification event at the Monterey County Cattlemen's Association's Spring Meeting?

Remember to join us on February 18 at the King City Fairgrounds Pavilion Building from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm to get your Beef Quality Assurance certification and enjoy lunch with the Monterey County Cattlemen at their Spring Meeting.

The Monterey County Cattlemen's Association will be having their Spring Meeting on Thursday, February 18, 2016 at the King City Fairgrounds Pavilion Building from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm. San Benito and San Luis Obispo County ranchers are invited, too! Click here for the Spring Meeting flyer.

Richard Smith, Farm Advisor and Tricia Love, Research Assistant University of California Cooperative Extension Monterey County SUMMARY The current automated weeding machines use cameras to detect plants, and a computer algorithm to process the image, calculate which plants to keep/remove, and activa...

Ah, rain! It's good for the drought and it's good for the rain beetles. If you've never seen a rain beetle (genus Pleocoma) no worries. Most people haven't, either.

Oh, what a treasure to bee-hold! If you've ever visited UC Berkeley's Hastings Natural History Reserve in the upper Carmel Valley, Monterey County, and admired the yellow-faced bumble bees and other native bees foraging on vetch and lupine in the meadows, that's a scene you'll never forget.

Is the overwintering monarch butterfly population along California's coast increasing or decreasing? "So far, far the picture is rather mixed for the number of monarchs in California," according to Matthew Shepherd, communications director for the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation.