KSTE Farm Hour

SJ farmers deal blow to Delta tunnels project. CA rice harvest beginning. CA pecan industry. Old Farmers Almanac predicts cold, wet winter for Central Valley.

Sept. heatwave threatens premium Napa-Sonoma wine grapes. Divert excess winter rainstorm water for groundwater basins? Road safety tips for farm vehicles.

AB450 hopes to stop illegal workplace immigration raids. Profile of Placer County farming. Scathing report on Oroville Dam problems. Pear crop grows. Ag census.

Texas cotton takes a hit from Hurricane Harvey, CA farmers see higher fuel bills. Smaller processing tomato crop in CA. Big alfalfa yields with drip irrigation.

Counties, including Sacramento County… cities, such as Folsom and Elk Grove…indian tribes and fishing organizations… they’re just a few of the 58 groups that have filed suit against the state of California, to stop the Delta Tunnels project. History, though, is not on their side. We have the details. The state’s Department of Pesticide Regulation is set to institute further restrictions on the use of a widely used farm pesticide, Chlorpyrifos. There’s a huge Japanese Beetle infestation in Oregon. Should California’s farmers and nursery industry be concerned? And we talk about what Bayer CropScience is doing to help California’s ag industry grow crops more sustainably. All that, crop reports, and more…on this week’s KSTE Farm Hour.

Tehama County farmer John Duarte’s battle against the Army Corps of Engineers and the Waters of the United States regulations has ended, before this farmland plowing case went to trial. We have the details. Ag commodity markets tumble after the latest USDA crop forecasts are released. Build it now, fix it later. That’s the mantra for the proponents of the Delta Tunnels project. But will fixes ever be approved? We’ll tell you about the committee that will oversee any project fixes. The price of California avocados is going up. You can blame that on the drought, too. And, we talk about the benefits of cover cropping. All that, crop reports, and more…on this week’s KSTE Farm Hour.

NAFTA negotiations open this week; will farmers be treated fairly? Conservation agriculture demonstration shows water-saving abilities of no-till and cover cropping. Sacramento Valley tomato harvest picks up speed. CA rice for China? The ongoing battle for dominance in the bee hives.

High temperatures may reduce local rice production. The rush to farm mechanization. Flooded farmers sue state. Biochar and farm soil. Japan raises beef tariffs.

Hot on the heels of getting a go-ahead from a couple of Federal Organizations, the Delta Tunnels plan has been hit with the first of what promises to be several lawsuits to halt that big dig beneath the Sacramento River. We have the details. What lessons did California farmers learn from our recent five year drought? We find out. The Sacramento processing tomato crop was hit hard by the recent heatwave, we have the numbers. And, profiles of several farming families of the Capay Valley, it’s all in a new book. Plus, crop reports and pest updates…all on this week’s KSTE Farm Hour.

Water issues dominate the farm news this week, both in the fields as well as in downtown Sacramento and Washington DC. We have the details. The pressure is on to ban the use of a widely used agricultural chemical. We look at the problems that farmers would face if there is a ban. Protecting your poultry during a heat wave, we have tips. And an interview with a geomorphologist who has traveled the world studying farm soils. He says the successful farmers throughout the globe rely on three easy to implement tactics. All that, crop reports, and more…on this week’s KSTE Farm Hour!