Southern California is especially dry, with wildfires continuously posing a serious risk for farmers and ranchers. Avocado growers say that they are still recovering from the widespread fires they faced last fall.
“There are about 50,000 acres of avocados in the state of California, and there are about 4,000 acres of avocados that were within the footprint of the mountain fire burn area, and I know, you know, some of those are orchards that were completely destroyed. Some of them it just blew through very quickly as a flash fire and did varying levels of damage. So, they lost a lot of crop for this season, but the trees may bounce back,” according to Chris Sayer, a fifth-generation farmer.
With such varying degrees of damage on nearly 8% of the state’s acreage, Sayer says that the true test of the condition of the trees will come at harvest this summer.
Alissa White with American Farmland Trust joined us to provide insight into climate resilience efforts and strategies to help farmers manage weather-related risks.
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Prompt removal of Christmas trees and careful handling of decorations reduce winter fire risk during an already high-demand season for emergency services.
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The New Year is here, but in Oregon, some ranchers and livestock producers are still trying to recover from record wildfires back in 2024.
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Key signs of the U.S. beef herd’s recovery are improved pasture conditions, lower feed costs, and increased regulatory alignment and support for producers to implement targeted grazing practices.
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Dr. Mark Svoboda with the National Drought Mitigation Center discusses a new global drought report and resources to help operations increase drought resilience.
October 07, 2025 11:58 AM
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September 23, 2025 03:34 PM
American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) economist Danny Munch explains how the Emergency Livestock Relief Program application process differs from other USDA aid programs.
September 18, 2025 01:39 PM
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U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins today issued a new memorandum to modernize and strengthen America’s wildfire prevention and response system.
September 15, 2025 04:56 PM
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