Download or read book Field Guide to California Agriculture written by Paul Starrs and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2010-07-06 with total page 504 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This book brings to life one of the most creative (and necessary) human endeavors and makes understandable the incredible complexity of California agriculture, one of the world's most daring experiments in feeding itself. A valuable resource that should be read by everyone—not just those of us who farm, but all of us who depend on farms."—Michael Ableman, farmer, photographer, and author of From the Good Earth, On Good Land, and Fields of Plenty. "No understanding of this state is possible without an understanding of its agriculture; that's how important this subject is."—Gerald Haslam, author of Workin' Man Blues: Country Music in California "A fascinating, intriguing, and sometimes even humorous exploration of California's agriculture, from broccoli to marijuana and beyond. At long last, a book everyday people can read to understand the state's biggest industry."—Louis Warren, University of California, Davis

Download or read book The California Nitrogen Assessment written by Thomas P. Tomich and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2016-06-14 with total page 341 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Nitrogen is indispensable to all life on Earth. However, humans now dominate the nitrogen cycle, and nitrogen emissions from human activity have real costs: water and air pollution, climate change, and detrimental effects on human health, biodiversity, and natural habitats. Too little nitrogen limits ecosystem processes, while too much nitrogen transforms ecosystems profoundly. The California Nitrogen Assessment is the first comprehensive account of nitrogen flows, practices, and policies for California, encompassing all nitrogen flows—not just those associated with agriculture—and their impacts on ecosystem services and human wellbeing. How California handles nitrogen issues will be of interest nationally and internationally, and the goal of the assessment is to link science with action and to produce information that affects both future policy and solutions for addressing nitrogen pollution. This book also provides a model for application of integrated ecosystem assessment methods at regional and state (subnational) levels.

Download or read book Chasing the Harvest written by Gabriel Thompson and published by Verso Books. This book was released on 2017-05-16 with total page 321 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Lives from an invisible community—the migrant farmworkers of the United States The Grapes of Wrath brought national attention to the condition of California’s migrant farmworkers in the 1930s. Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers’ grape and lettuce boycotts captured the imagination of the United States in the 1960s and ’70s. Yet today, the stories of the more than 800,000 men, women, and children working in California’s fields—one third of the nation’s agricultural work force—are rarely heard, despite the persistence of wage theft, dangerous working conditions, and uncertain futures. This book of oral histories makes the reality of farm work visible in accounts of hardship, bravery, solidarity, and creativity in California’s fields, as real people struggle to win new opportunities for future generations. Among the narrators: Maricruz, a single mother fired from a packing plant after filing a sexual assault complaint against her supervisor. Roberto, a vineyard laborer in the scorching Coachella Valley who became an advocate for more humane working conditions after his teenage son almost died of heatstroke. Oscar, an elementary school teacher in Salinas who wants to free his students from a life in the fields, the fate that once awaited him as a child.

Download or read book Conquest of Bread written by Richard A. Walker and published by . This book was released on 2010-11 with total page 382 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For over a century, California (CA) has been the world¿s most advanced agricultural zone, that not only out-produces every state in America, but also most countries. CA¿s landscape and Mediterranean climate have been manipulated and exploited to serve a modern business system. Here, Walker offers an overview of the agro-industrial system of production in CA, from farm to table. He lays bare the long evolution of each link in the food chain, showing how a persistent emphasis on productivity and growth allowed CA to outpace developments elsewhere in the U.S. He allows the reader to weigh the claims of both boosters and critics in the debate over the most extraordinary agricultural profusion in the modern world. Illustrations.

Download or read book They Saved the Crops written by Don Mitchell and published by University of Georgia Press. This book was released on 2012 with total page 574 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: At the outset of World War II, California agriculture seemed to be on the cusp of change. Many Californians, reacting to the ravages of the Great Depression, called for a radical reorientation of the highly exploitative labor relations that had allowed the state to become such a productive farming frontier. But with the importation of the first braceros—“guest workers” from Mexico hired on an “emergency” basis after the United States entered the war—an even more intense struggle ensued over how agriculture would be conducted in the state. Esteemed geographer Don Mitchell argues that by delineating the need for cheap, flexible farm labor as a problem and solving it via the importation of relatively disempowered migrant workers, an alliance of growers and government actors committed the United States to an agricultural system that is, in important respects, still with us. They Saved the Crops is a theoretically rich and stylistically innovative account of grower rapaciousness, worker militancy, rampant corruption, and bureaucratic bias. Mitchell shows that growers, workers, and officials confronted a series of problems that shaped—and were shaped by—the landscape itself. For growers, the problem was finding the right kind of labor at the right price at the right time. Workers struggled for survival and attempted to win power in the face of economic exploitation and unremitting violence. Bureaucrats tried to harness political power to meet the demands of, as one put it, “the people whom we serve.” Drawing on a deep well of empirical materials from archives up and down the state, Mitchell's account promises to be the definitive book about California agriculture in the turbulent decades of the mid-twentieth century.

Download or read book Weeds of California and Other Western States written by Joseph M. DiTomaso and published by UCANR Publications. This book was released on 2007 with total page 979 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This encyclopedic yet easy-to-use 2-volume set covers 262 individual entries, including a full description of 451 species and another 361 plants compared as similar species, representing 63 plant families. 13 shortcut identification tables for groups that share similar, unusual, or relatively uncommon characteristics. 2 grass identification keys - a key to all characteristics including inflorescences and reproductive parts and a key to vegetative characteristics only. 67 tables comparing important characteristics of difficult-to-distinguish weedy species. Color photos of over 700 weeds including seeds, seedlings, flowers, and mature plants. Appendix of non-native plants rarely or occasionally naturalized in California. Glossary of botanical terms. Bibliography of some of the most pertinent publications. Index to common names, scientific names, and synonyms. Each entry describes the plant category, family name, common name, and synonyms along with a summary of the important aspects of the plant’s life cycle, size, growth form, impact, method of introduction, and toxicity. You'll also find a description of the seedling, mature plant, roots and underground structures, flowers, fruits and seeds, spikelets and florets, spore-bearing structures, and post senescence characteristics for each entry. Also includes a description of the habitat where each is typically found and distribution in California, other states, and worldwide, along with maximum elevation at which the species is found. Rounding out each entry is a description of the methods of reproduction, seed dispersal, germination requirements and conditions, seed survival and longevity, early establishment characteristics and requirements, cultural practices and management options that have proven effective or ineffective in controlling infestations, and a notation of the species' inclusion on federal or state noxious weed lists.

Download or read book Ecosystems of California written by Harold Mooney and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2016-01-19 with total page 1008 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This long-anticipated reference and sourcebook for CaliforniaÕs remarkable ecological abundance provides an integrated assessment of each major ecosystem typeÑits distribution, structure, function, and management. A comprehensive synthesis of our knowledge about this biologically diverse state, Ecosystems of California covers the state from oceans to mountaintops using multiple lenses: past and present, flora and fauna, aquatic and terrestrial, natural and managed. Each chapter evaluates natural processes for a specific ecosystem, describes drivers of change, and discusses how that ecosystem may be altered in the future. This book also explores the drivers of CaliforniaÕs ecological patterns and the history of the stateÕs various ecosystems, outlining how the challenges of climate change and invasive species and opportunities for regulation and stewardship could potentially affect the stateÕs ecosystems. The text explicitly incorporates both human impacts and conservation and restoration efforts and shows how ecosystems support human well-being. Edited by two esteemed ecosystem ecologists and with overviews by leading experts on each ecosystem, this definitive work will be indispensable for natural resource management and conservation professionals as well as for undergraduate or graduate students of CaliforniaÕs environment and curious naturalists.

Download or read book The Dreamt Land written by Mark Arax and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2019-05-21 with total page 577 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A vivid, searching journey into California's capture of water and soil—the epic story of a people's defiance of nature and the wonders, and ruin, it has wrought Mark Arax is from a family of Central Valley farmers, a writer with deep ties to the land who has watched the battles over water intensify even as California lurches from drought to flood and back again. In The Dreamt Land, he travels the state to explore the one-of-a-kind distribution system, built in the 1940s, '50s and '60s, that is straining to keep up with California's relentless growth. The Dreamt Land weaves reportage, history and memoir to confront the "Golden State" myth in riveting fashion. No other chronicler of the West has so deeply delved into the empires of agriculture that drink so much of the water. The nation's biggest farmers—the nut king, grape king and citrus queen—tell their story here for the first time. Arax, the native son, is persistent and tough as he treks from desert to delta, mountain to valley. What he finds is hard earned, awe-inspiring, tragic and revelatory. In the end, his compassion for the land becomes an elegy to the dream that created California and now threatens to undo it.

Download or read book Introduction to California Plant Life written by Robert Ornduff and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2003-07-24 with total page 366 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: California's remarkably diverse plants range in size from the stately coast redwoods to the minute belly plants of the southern deserts. This is the only concise overview of the state's unique flora, its plant communities, and the environmental factors that shape them. 156 illustrations.

Download or read book Citrus Production Manual written by Louise Ferguson and published by UCANR Publications. This book was released on 2014-04-09 with total page 443 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Citrus production is complex, requiring a delicate balancing act during the growing season and lots of preparation. This new manual covers the many steps in the process in a clear and accessible way. This manual also details the latest horticultural and disease issues affecting citrus production. From deciding scion variety and rootstock, to establishing an orchard, to managing production, to postharvest handling, you'll find it all here in a readable format. Colorful photos and clear diagrams and illustrations guide you through important concepts. Chapters cover: History Botany and Physiology Orchard Establishment Pest and Disease Management Postharvest Handling

Download or read book Pistachio Production Manual written by Louise Ferguson and published by UCANR Publications. This book was released on 2016-12-02 with total page 346 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The long-awaited Pistachio Production Manual from the University of California is here! The combined knowledge of 42 UC and industry experts and years of research and field trials are brought to fruition in this long awaited, 321-page manual. From an overview of the state of the industry to physiological disorders, the 8-part manual covers everything you need to know. Chapters cover topics including orchard design; rootstocks and cultivars; planting and training young trees; weed, insect, mite, and vertebrate management; irrigation and salinity management; disease management; and physiological disorders including alternate bearing, nut blanking and shell splitting. Over 200 color photographs and 60 diagrams, charts, and tables illustrate key points. The back cover includes a photographic guide to the developmental stages of the pistachio.

Download or read book Science Breakthroughs to Advance Food and Agricultural Research by 2030 written by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2019-04-21 with total page 243 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For nearly a century, scientific advances have fueled progress in U.S. agriculture to enable American producers to deliver safe and abundant food domestically and provide a trade surplus in bulk and high-value agricultural commodities and foods. Today, the U.S. food and agricultural enterprise faces formidable challenges that will test its long-term sustainability, competitiveness, and resilience. On its current path, future productivity in the U.S. agricultural system is likely to come with trade-offs. The success of agriculture is tied to natural systems, and these systems are showing signs of stress, even more so with the change in climate. More than a third of the food produced is unconsumed, an unacceptable loss of food and nutrients at a time of heightened global food demand. Increased food animal production to meet greater demand will generate more greenhouse gas emissions and excess animal waste. The U.S. food supply is generally secure, but is not immune to the costly and deadly shocks of continuing outbreaks of food-borne illness or to the constant threat of pests and pathogens to crops, livestock, and poultry. U.S. farmers and producers are at the front lines and will need more tools to manage the pressures they face. Science Breakthroughs to Advance Food and Agricultural Research by 2030 identifies innovative, emerging scientific advances for making the U.S. food and agricultural system more efficient, resilient, and sustainable. This report explores the availability of relatively new scientific developments across all disciplines that could accelerate progress toward these goals. It identifies the most promising scientific breakthroughs that could have the greatest positive impact on food and agriculture, and that are possible to achieve in the next decade (by 2030).

Download or read book Managing California s Water written by Ellen Hanak and published by Public Policy Instit. of CA. This book was released on 2011 with total page 500 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Pests of the Garden and Small Farm written by Mary Louise Flint and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 1998 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Authoritative text enables readers to identify pests quickly and to prevent, correct, or live with most common pest problems. 250 color photos, 100 drawings.

Download or read book Up and Down California in 1860 1864 written by William Henry Brewer and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 1974 with total page 630 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The journal seems to contain information for everyone regardless of one's interest...Each page of this almost six hundred page journal is crammed with facts and descriptions. So much of interest is contained in every entry that each re-reading will reveal many interesting incidents or observations not quite grasped on the first perusal....This book will be a valuable source to all students of California or United States history and to the casual readers as well.

Download or read book Labor Management in Agriculture written by Gregory Encina Billikopf and published by University of California Agricultu Agricultural Issues Cente. This book was released on 2003 with total page 266 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Cultivating a Movement written by Irene Reti and published by University Library, Uc Santa Cruz. This book was released on 2012 with total page 326 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A synergistic web of visionary farmers, activists, educators, and researchers is transforming the food system in Central California and beyond. This sampling of narratives is drawn from the first extensive oral history of organic and sustainable farming. It documents a multifaceted and interdependent community of change-makers who speak for themselves, offering a window into the dynamic history of a movement.