Food & Farm News
» July 14, 2008 «
Farm groups expand heat-safety education 
Efforts to educate farm employees about preventing heat illness expand today (Monday). Spanish-language radio advertisements will be broadcast around the state, discussing how to prevent heat illness and why to take symptoms seriously. The California Farm Bureau sponsors the messages. A spokeswoman says the organization has also mailed heat-safety information to farmers, and has joined with other groups to sponsor heat illness-prevention seminars for farm labor contractors.
Beekeepers protect hives from heat
Shade, ventilation, plenty of water: The same strategies used to help people and animals through hot weather also apply to honeybees. When temperatures exceed 100 degrees, beekeepers make sure to locate their hives in shade and near ample water. A University of California bee specialist says worker bees collect more water to cool the hive. The worker bees spread droplets of water and fan their wings to ventilate and cool the colony.
On-farm milk price to drop Aug. 1
What went up in July will come down in August. The price California dairy farmers earn for milk will drop about 23 cents a gallon on August 1st. That more than offsets the 20-cent increase that went into effect at the start of this month. The California Department of Food and Agriculture sets the farmgate price, and analysts say they expect the volatility to continue. Declines in cheese, dry milk and whey markets led to the reduced milk prices.
Report sees higher demand for lettuce, carrots
Demand for California-grown lettuce has increased, after flooding and other weather troubles in the Midwest. A government report says California farmers planted fewer acres of lettuce this summer. The report says demand for carrots is high and the state's planted acreage has increased 4 percent. Analysts say the California broccoli crop has benefited from what they call "ideal" growing conditions.
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