Restaurant, school closures roil CA farmers’ plans for fall vegetable acreage. Seeds for Bees.

KSTE Farm Hour

California’s farmers have some tough decisions to make, real soon, about fall and winter planting. Just how much should they plant? The loss of markets due to Covid-19 related restaurant closures and an uncertain school year could mean tighter supplies for cool season vegetables such as lettuce, broccoli and cauliflower. The dreaded “d” word - drought - is being heard more and more here in the West. The latest casualties - California and Oregon rangeland and pastureland. We’ve talked over the years on this program about the importance of cover cropping. It builds your soil and increases the presence of beneficial insects for pest control, too. But lets not forget California’s most important pollinator, bees. One organization is spearheading a drive to increase cover cropping in orchards to increase overall bee health in the state. And a nice side effect is: with more healthy bees, farmers will get larger harvests. All that, crop reports, a look at the weather for the week ahead, and a lot more…on this week’s KSTE Farm Hour.