KSTE Farm Hour

The Camp Fire in Butte County continues to burn. Now the largest, deadliest fire in California history, we update evacuation sites for livestock and household pets, and how you can help. Will Congress pass a farm bill before New Year’s? We have an update. We focus on the ag commodities that will be highlighting your dinner table this coming Thursday: turkeys, sweet potatoes, and cranberries. (Yes, there are cranberries grown in California.) More and more farmers are raising livestock, crops…and their grandchildren. We have a report on how grandparents can better cope with that major task. All that, crop reports, and more…on this week’s KSTE Farm Hour. Let’s get started!

Farmers suffered a couple of economic hits in last week’s voting on ballot propositions, regarding water and livestock. We take a look at the results of Propositions 3 and 12. California’s dairy farmers now have a federal milk marketing order. We’ll tell you what that means. Growers are getting more grief due to ongoing tariff and trade issues, but be glad you’re not a soybean farmer in North Dakota. We’ll tell you why. All that, crop reports, and more…on this week’s KSTE Farm Hour.

Farmers, ranchers and every Californian is wondering…when is it going to rain? We take a look at the dry conditions here and throughout the West. A group of state legislators who represent Delta area farmers want the EPA to disallow a one point six billion dollar loan that could speed up construction of the controversial delta tunnels project. Are internet speeds picking up in california’s farm country? We have an in-depth report of the push to get more rural Californians high speed internet access. And, we have tips for walnut growers to protect their young trees when a sudden freeze occurs. All that, crop reports, and more…on this week’s KSTE farm hour.

Christmas came early for Central Valley farmers, or did it? President Trump recently signed a memorandum that directs federal agencies to speed up their environmental review of major Western water projects as well as develop plans to suspend or revise regulations that hamper water deliveries to farmers but at the expense of providing water for migrating salmon and smelt. But what are the chances those changes could be implemented? Not good, according to previous Supreme Court rulings. We have the details. If it’s Halloween, it must be bat week. We talk with a local expert about the benefits of having bats residing on your farmland. All that, crop reports, and more…on this week’s KSTE Farm Hour. Lets get started!

October is a scary month in Northern California. The warm, dry windy weather puts our area in high fire danger, especially rural farms and ranches. And that threat is compounded with PG&E’s new policy of shutting down electrical power to many areas of rural Northern California for days at a time whenever it gets dry and windy. We have that report. Milk production is up, but prices are uncertain. Thinking of putting in a new crop or starting a farm from scratch? We talk about a great University of California website that lets you know the actual costs, along with the potential returns. And we visit with a Northern California explorer, seeking out Gold Rush era fruit and nut trees, plants that may hold the keys for the future of California agriculture. All that, crop reports, and more…on this week’s KSTE Farm Hour.

More tariff troubles for California’s farmers, as China imposes new fees on popular commodities from here, including wine, fruit and tomato products. We have the details. It looks like smoke taint of wine grapes is becoming a problem. We have the story of one California wine company refusing to buy the grapes of a grower from a wildfire area. Which ag products are taking a big hit in the Southeast due to Hurricane Michael? We have an update. The Trump administration has given the OK for more Ethanol fuel, but is E15 (that’s fuel with a 15% ethanol content) going to be a problem for your farm equipment? All that, crop reports and more…on this week’s KSTE Farm Hour.

Dairy farmers scored a big win last week: more of their products can be sold in Canada. We have an in-depth report on the progress of the successor to NAFTA, the U.S. Mexico Canada Trade agreement. It’s apple season here in Northern California, and in the Sierra foothills, it’s the key product in that area’s burgeoning agritourism business. Also, we report on progress of the Farm Bill that’s stalled in Congress, plus the latest crop reports. All that, and more, on this week’s KSTE Farm Hour.

Many California farmers are having a great harvest season, but where are the buyers? Trade woes and tariff disputes are making for a very uncertain autumn. We update the latest on the tariff battles, and take a look at the possible ramifications of a Farm Bill that may expire September 30 unless Congress takes quick action. We have a report on the latest advances in drone technology for the farm, and we offer up a primer on cover cropping. All that, crop reports, and more…on this week’s KSTE Farm Hour.

Record rain, heavy winds have pummeled the Carolinas. We take a look at the damage to farms in that area, and if there will be any impact on prices for the affected crops that are grown here in California. Here in the west, the drought situation is getting a bit worse, we'll tell you where. Yet another multi-million dollar settlement in a land-ripping Waters of the United States case in Tehama county was announced. This time, it was an out of state farm management firm that will be opening their wallets. What were the top 3 farm and ranch products from california last year? you think about that, we'll tell you later...on this week's KSTE Farm Hour. Let's get started!

The nation is closely watching the destructive advance of Hurricane Florence in the southeastern United States. Among the casualties are that region’s farm crops that are still in the field, and that may play a part in fluctuating commodity prices for those crops grown here in California.

Driving through the Sacramento Valley, you may have noticed nut orchards popping up in what used to be rice fields. And this has rice growers worried, for a number of reasons. We talk with a Colusa County rice grower about those impacts. We update agricultural tariff worries, the farm bill progress and the latest crop reports, on this week's edition of the KSTE Farm Hour.