Strawberries

Recording of February 14 UCCE Annual Strawberry Production Research Meeting

In case you missed it because of other obligations or you simply want to re-view favorite parts of our February 14 UCCE Annual Strawberry Production Research Meeting our Program Support Unit has provided me with a recording of the whole show.

It was a very good meeting, from start to finish interesting, well presented topics by leaders in the field.  Thanks to all who worked hard to make this event such a success!

Here is the link. 

 

https://youtu.be/GlkIhtatZWY

Current Chill Calculations for the Central Coast - CIMIS Station #129

I had a local grower in our area call me last week about comparing the amount of chill accumulated so far this growing year, so I directed him to the UC Davis Fruits and Nuts site, which has a great chill calculator and also affords the opportunity to compare to the past years.  There are two stations in the Watsonville area, #129 is behind the old Driscoll's research office off of San Juan Road in Pajaro, # 209 is closer to the shore and would be more moderated by the sea.

 

https://fruitsandnuts.ucdavis.edu/chill-calculator

 

I use the Utah model, which subtracts chill accumulation when temperatures go over 65 degrees Fahrenheit.  I believe this is a good model since it reflects a lot going on with the plant's physiology.  

 

Summary to Monday February 19 looks like chill this year is pretty well in line with years past.  I did in fact pull some strawberry plants out at the end of January for a root starch, total non-soluble carbohydrate and sugar analysis to see how additive the effects of this chill are to critical components of the plant's physiology once it is in the ground.  Stay tuned.

 

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2024 Annual Strawberry Production Research Meeting - February 14

The 2024 UCCE Annual Strawberry Production Meeting will take place on ZOOM this coming February 14.  Registration link is here:

 

https://na.eventscloud.com/782075

 

A very good line up of speakers this time with lots of new material to partake and ponder!  Agenda linked below.

2023 Cost of Production for Fresh Market Raspberries Now Available

Hope you are all having a great holiday week.  I've been spending time in and out of work, doing some walking in the woods and thinking through the game plan for 2024.

Meanwhile, together with my colleagues Farm Advisor Emeritus Laura Tourte and Jeremy Murdock and Brittany Goodrich of the UC Davis Agricultural and Resource Economics department, we've completed the update of our cost of production study for fresh market primocane raspberries grown on the Central Coast.  Costs, in particular those for labor, have gone way way up so it was good to revise the study. As with our other cost of production studies, this raspberry study includes a summary of the cultural system, breaks down the costs and expected returns, with tables at the end for expected returns under a range of yield scenarios.

We very much appreciate all the input we got on this study from local growers and industry workers, who generously gave a lot of their time in providing input to make this study a good one.  Couldn't have done it without you!!

 

The file is attached below.

Look forward to seeing you all in 2024. 

Six Minutes to Transform the Way You Run an Effective Meeting

I was noodling through the Internet the other day when I came across this gem from tech titan Jeff Bezos, who most of you know runs Amazon. In short, Jeff runs his general meetings quite differently than most of us do. For one, he spurns Powerpoint presentations (which he says are easy for the presenter, but not so much for the listener) in favor of everyone reading a very well crafted memo about the subject at hand after the meeting has begun (he calls this a "study hall"), and once everyone has completely read the memo only then discussing the topic with one another.  His point is that after people have read the whole memo, they are all literally on the same page and now can engage fully in the subject. He even goes as far to say that there is an aesthetic beauty to such a meeting because of the level of people can involve themselves into it.

Those of you have participated in meetings with me know that I tend to ask a lot of questions and make comments because I am working on getting my arms around the subject that simply l will not be able to if I am just sitting there listening.  Given the closer level of engagement on offer with Jeff's method of running meetings, I have to confess I am impressed, and seems to me worth giving it a shot sometime.

What I am NOT on board with is that Jeff does not stay to a strict schedule and his meetings often run overtime.  This is anathema to me, and will not happen on my watch.

Still, for my extension colleagues and others who are involved in getting ideas and information across at a meeting in a meaningful and effective way this is worth a try.  

 

 

 

 

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