Podcasts about sutter county

On this episode we talk to Max Justice from Setas Mushrooms — the innovator behind MyCoffin, biodegradable coffins made of mycelium and industrial hemp. Justice is the co-founder and CEO of Setas Eternal Living, a company that offers people a sustainable end-of life solution — with aspirations to disrupt the death industry with affordable and sustainable options. For Justice, Setas Eternal Living was logical next step in his fungus journey. He and his wife started Setas Mushrooms on their farm in Greencastle, Pennsylvania, after discovering the healing power of mushrooms during his wife's illness. Fungus changed their lives forever. In this episode we'll hear about the process of making coffins from mycelium and hemp and how this product compares to traditional burial vessels. Compared to traditional caskets that will take centuries to breakdown, Justice's coffin will biodegrade in just a few years, making it a good option for green burial.   Learn More: Setas Eternal Living https://www.setaseternalliving.com/ Setas Mushrooms https://setasmushrooms.com/ Green Burial Council https://www.greenburialcouncil.org/ Watch the WGAL News Video https://www.wgal.com/article/south-central-pennsylvania-farm-grows-mushroom-coffins/63364893 News Nuggets Shapiro Administration Announces Recipients of the Nation's First Agricultural Innovation Grant https://www.pa.gov/governor/newsroom/2025-press-releases/shapiro-administration-announces-recipients-of-the-nation-s-firs.html The public is encouraged to submit written comments to HHS and USDA related to the Scientific Report of the 2025 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee to inform the development of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025-2030. https://www.dietaryguidelines.gov/public-comment-departments Unfazed and confused, Sutter County extends ban on industrial hemp despite grower push-back= https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article299400029.html Thanks to our sponsors: IND HEMP Americhanvre Kings Agriseeds Forever Green Music Courtesy of Tin Bird Shadow  

Email Us:dbahnsen@thebahnsengroup.comwill@calpolicycenter.orgFollow Us:@DavidBahnsen@WillSwaim@TheRadioFreeCAShow NotesConservatives chalk up win as PepsiCo agrees to ‘viewpoint neutrality' in ad-buyingAlleged Hijacker Brought Back to U.S. After 32 YearsList of Cuba–United States aircraft hijackingsThe Hijacker at Pump #4Donald Trump lays out two demands in exchange for California wildfire aidWildfire of the Vanities: California's political model has failedRevived effort to put California secession on the ballot gets OK to collect signaturesCalifornia attorney general charges L.A.-area real estate agent with price gouging in wake of wildfiresHow a rumor about ICE on Muni spun out of controlYuba City and Sutter County want to skirt high PG&E rates. They found a wayCalifornia Democrats are building a giant political slush fundEdward Ring at Trump's Los Angeles Wildfire Roundtable:Trump Speaks To Los Angeles Officials, Police About Wildfires During CA TripEdward Ring: Fire prevention and resilience in California

A California woman faces charges for allegedly suffocating her preteen son, whose body was found at an RV park in Sutter County after being dead for days. A Florida Hooters girl, accused of driving while heavily intoxicated, tries to flirt her way out of a DUI arrest in Sarasota, as captured in recently released body camera footage.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On Wednesday, September 11, 2024, Capitol Weekly hosted the California Ballot Forum: 2024 Election Preview. Today's episode presents The Keynote for this event: A look at California's congressional and legislative races, with California Democratic Party Chair Rusty Hicks and Assemblymember James Gallagher, moderated by Rich Ehisen of Capitol Weekly. James Gallagher James Gallagher has represented California's Third Assembly District since 2014. Before joining the Assembly, he served on the Sutter County Board of Supervisors for six years. James earned his Bachelor of Arts degree at UC Berkeley before completing an Assembly Fellowship in Sacramento and a law degree at UC Davis, where he graduated at the top of his class. He advocates for small businesses and farmers in his law practice and is a partner in his family's farming operation. Gallagher is married to his high school sweetheart, Janna; the two live in Sutter County where they are raising their five young children. Rusty Hicks In 2019 Rusty Hicks was elected as Chair of the California Democratic Party – the nation's largest state party comprised of more than 10 million California Democrats. Prior to his election as Chair, Hicks served as both President and Political Director of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor - representing 300 local unions and 800,000 hardworking women and men. Hicks has played a leading role in a number of important political and policy efforts: in 2008, he served as the California Political Director for Obama for America. Hicks is a Veteran of the United States Navy and deployed to Afghanistan in 2012-2013. He lives on California's North Coast with his wife, Sandra Sanchez, and their constant sidekick, a chocolate lab, Charlie. The moderator was Rich Ehisen of Capitol Weekly Rich Ehisen has been a reporter and editor for almost 30 years and is currently the editor in chief at Capitol Weekly, which covers the California State Capitol in Sacramento. For two decades previous he was the managing editor of the State Net Capitol Journal, a LexisNexis publication that covers state public policy issues and trends nationwide. In that role he was also the producer and host of the SNCJ Deep Dive podcast and the SNCJ Hot Issues webinar series. He is also the producer and moderator of The Open Mic: Writers in Their Own Words, a podcast and YouTube show that features his discussions on writing with authors, reporters and writers from across the artistic spectrum. Capitol Weekly is a 501c3 nonprofit created to inform, enlighten and educate Californians about public policy and state governance, and to provide a nonpartisan platform for engagement with public officials, advocates and political interests. Thanks to our underwriters for this event: BICKER, CASTILLO, FAIRBANKS & SPITZ PUBLIC AFFAIRS, THE TRIBAL ALLIANCE OF SOVEREIGN INDIAN NATIONS, WESTERN STATES PETROLEUM ASSOCIATION, PHYSICIAN ASSOCIATION OF CALIFORNIA; LUCAS PUBLIC AFFAIRS, KP PUBLIC AFFAIRS, PERRY COMMUNICATIONS, CAPITOL ADVOCACY, THE WEIDEMAN GROUP, CALIFORNIA PROFESSIONAL FIREFIGHTERS, THE NO ON 33 CAMPAIGN, and THE YES ON 34 CAMPAIGN

As progress continues to be made on the Park Fire, officials are urging those returning to burn scar areas to drive safely. Also, Sutter County will benefit from a $13.8 million grant for Comcast to build infrastructure for low-cost, broadband internet, and residents can pick their own peaches at Chico State's University Farm today.

During emergencies, power and internet outages can make it hard for rural residents to receive emergency alerts. Butte County is distributing free Alert FM devices that receive alerts via radio. Also, Bidwell Mansion in Chico remains closed this week as it undergoes renovations, and Sutter County is facing a serious budget shortfall and has issued a hiring freeze.

Episode 66 DOE ID 'Millie Doe' Ruth WaymireOn June 20th, 1984, the dismembered body of a woman was found by a group of fishermen in the Spokane River in Spokane, Washington. It was clear to authorities that the woman had been murdered, and her killer went to great lengths to ensure she could not be identified removing her hands, feet, and head. Investigators had little to go on and few clues to work with. They knew that the woman they later called 'Millie Doe' had given birth to a child less than two years before she was killed, but not much else. Years later, Millie Doe's skull was found four miles away from the spot in the river where her torso had been discovered. A Sketch of Millie Doe was created and released to the public hoping someone would come forward to ID her, but it didn't happen. Years later in 2021, DNA & genealogy revealed that 'Millie Doe' was in fact, Ruth Belle Waymire who would was 24 when she died. Ruth's family had lost touch with her, but records showed that she had married a man named Trampas D.L. Vaughn in Wenatchee Washington who died in Sutter County, CA in 2017. There was no indication that Vaughn and Ruth ever divorced. Since Vaughn never reported Ruth missing, and because the killer went to great lengths to ensure that police could not ID her body, investigators believe that Trampas D.L. Vaughn could be Ruth's killer, but their investigation is continuing, and they need help filling in the blanks. Trampas D.L. Vaughn also went by David Lee William Vaughan. If you know anything about him, or Ruth, please contact Sgt Zac Storment at the Spokane Police Department at 509-242-TIPSMillie Doe' finally has her name again; it's Ruth Waymire, and this is her story.For all things DNA: ID, visit the show's homepage:DNAIDpodcast.comTo Support DNA: ID on Patreon, visit this link:https://www.patreon.com/DNAIDTo buy DNA ID Merch, visit this link:https://www.customizedgirl.com/s/dnaidpodcastFollow DNA: ID on Social Mediaon Twitter at- https://twitter.com/DNAIDPodcaston Facebook at- https://www.facebook.com/DNA-ID-True-Crime-Podcast-103667495017418on Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/dnaidpodcast/This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/4720335/advertisement

Indigenous people are four times as likely to go missing in Montana as non-Indigenous residents. In today's newscast, National Native News looks at the state's Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Task Force. In local news, practicing Sikh and Sutter County resident, Rouble Claire, has won a $25,000 judgment after suing the county and two deputies in federal court over their handling of racist hate crimes. KVMR News Director Cláudio Mendonça speaks to Daniel Elkin, the communications and engagement director for SYRCL to get the details about the organization's Environmentalist of the Year Scholarship.  

Get the latest agriculture news in today's AgNet News Hour, hosted by Danielle Leal. Today's show covers supply chain relief falling short of expectation, recommendations to limit the spread of resistance-breaking TSWV in Sutter County and the possible trade opportunities with the Indo-Pacific Partnership if the framework ever becomes a legal agreement. Tune in to the show for these news stories, interviews, features and more.

Get the latest agriculture news in today's AgNet News Hour, hosted by Danielle Leal. Today's show covers resistance-breaking tomato spotted wilt virus spreading in Sutter County,  details on the CFLCA Gabriel Gomez-Sandoval Memorial Farmworker Scholarship applications, and immigration reform "shouldn't be controversial" when in a food crisis. Tune in to the show for these news stories, interviews, features and more.

Many travelers heading north on Interstate 5 or Highway 99 only get a fleeting glimpse of the Sacramento Valley. However, those who know this region understand and appreciate how unique and valuable it is. The Sacramento Valley is an impressive patchwork of farms and communities, living and working in harmony with the environment. A worsening drought has led to major water cutbacks. Farmers will grow less and the communities with agriculture as their foundation will be impacted. Local officials are concerned about how lost farm production will impact their communities. “Those impacts are actually huge,” remarked Colusa County Supervisor Denise Carter, who farms with her husband, Ben. “You can just measure the magnitude in dollars, revenue to the county, and that revenue to the county and to the growers is there's a trickle-down effect. You have the equipment companies, you have the chemical companies, you have the fuel suppliers. You have also the people. In a drought like this, none of us can afford to hire as many people as we normally hire.” Colusa County has an annual value of all crops produced  of more than $900 million and is America's top rice growing county. Cutbacks from the Sacramento River this year are unlike anything experienced before. Concern for drought impacts is pervasive throughout the region. “Butte County, like many rural counties throughout America and California, is the economy revolves around agriculture,” said county supervisor and farmer, Tod Kimmelshue. “The farmers make money, but also the support services that serve agriculture, also do very well when things are good. Now, if land is going to be fallowed this year in Butte County and Northern California, we're concerned that some of those support services will also not do as well. So it has quite a ripple effect going through the whole county.” As this season plays out, the Sacramento Valley will be tested. Even with a difficult year ahead, optimism remains for the long haul. “We care deeply,” remarked Yuba City City Councilmember Grace Espindola. “The diversity of community is in our blood.” Espindola said building Sites Reservoir would be an excellent step to help California weather future droughts. Jim Morris: It's late April in the Sacramento Valley and, at least here along Highway 99 in Butte County, things appear somewhat normal. The recent rain is unusual, but unfortunately the lack of rain in the winter months is an all too familiar occurrence. What we're left with is unprecedented drought, which has extended for three years and it's causing uncertainty and concern like never before. Denise Carter: Quite honestly, no one has ever seen it this bad. Jim Morris: Welcome to Ingrained, the California Rice Podcast. I'm your host, Jim Morris, proud to have worked with farmers and ranchers throughout the state for more than 30 years to help tell their stories. During that time, there have been all too many dry years, but what's happening this time has never been experienced in the Sacramento Valley. Concerns are real and rising. Butte County is one of the state leaders in agriculture, with a crop value of well over $600 million a year. Farming is the foundation of this county and of our valley. Tod Kimmelshue is a family farmer and a retired ag finance banking advisor. He's now serving on the Butte County Board of Supervisors. Tod, for someone who isn't familiar with your area, how do you convey to them what farming and ranching mean here? Tod Kimmelshue: Butte County has always been a very strong farming community and we're very lucky also, to have an agricultural university here, Chico State, which trains farmers and agricultural people. We grow several different crops here, mostly almonds, walnuts and rice, and agriculture has a great deal of impact in this area. Jim Morris: I think many from afar think California weather is absolutely perfect. And we certainly have some perfect times, but we're in a bit of a rough stretch right now to be sure, not only the winter freeze for almonds, but also the awful drought entering year three now. Prime examples of how this has already been an agonizing year for many. What are your concerns about drought impacts? Tod Kimmelshue: The drought has had a huge impact on our water supply in this area. Much of Butte County rice is grown with surface water. And, when we have a drought, the reservoirs don't fill up, and so there's not enough water for the rice crops in this area. The other water source we have in Butte County are aquifers. And most of the orchardists in this area use the aquifers. However, those aquifers have been declining as well during the drought. Jim Morris: When land is idle and crops aren't abundant, what is the effect on non-farmers in your area? Tod Kimmelshue: Butte County, like many rural counties throughout America and California, is the economy revolves around agriculture. The farmers make money, but also the support services that serve agriculture, also do very well when things are good. Now, if land is going to be fallowed this year in Butte County and Northern California, we're concerned that some of those support services will also not do as well. So it has quite a ripple effect going through the whole county. Jim Morris: I've lived in Butte County, and I know Butte Strong is more than a slogan, it's a way of life. Looking back to the Camp Fire in Paradise, several years back, the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California history. This region struggled mightily, but came through and rebounded. How much will your area need to rely on its resiliency to whether this latest setback? Tod Kimmelshue: Well, this is just another setback in many that has affected Butte County, and we consider ourselves very resilient. We've made it through some of these really terrible disasters. Drought is just another disaster that may impact us here in Butte County and probably will impact us economically. So we believe that we will weather this storm, just like farmers weather many different storms and weather conditions, and we will come out of this in the next couple years when we get more rain. Jim Morris: Colusa County is America's top rice growing county. Its crop values usually exceed $900 million a year. There are legitimate concerns about how this year will play out due to water cut backs. The biggest drought impacts are along the Sacramento River. Denise Carter and her husband, Ben, farm in this county. She's also a county supervisor, a role she served for nearly 15 years. Her background includes an engineering degree from UCLA. Denise, can you convey your concerns about the drought from the perspective as a grower and someone who's working on behalf of your county? Denise Carter: As a grower, I would say the cutback is significant. For us in our situation, since we are a settlement contractor along the river, with our 18 percent of Sacramento River water that we are going to receive, we are dedicating that to our rice crop. So we will grow basically half of what we normally grow. It's a small quantity and we grow organic rice, and obviously there's a real need in that market. So we're doing our little part with the water we have, to grow a little bit of rice. Jim Morris: How about your community that you represent and your concerns about those impacts? Denise Carter: Those impacts are actually huge. You can just measure the magnitude in dollars, revenue to the county, and that revenue to the county and to the growers is there's a trickle-down effect. You have the equipment companies, you have the chemical companies, you have the fuel suppliers. You have also the people. In a drought like this, none of us can afford to hire as many people as we normally hire. So quite frankly, that's my biggest concern is having jobs for people. And if we don't have jobs for people, what are they going to do? Are they going to leave their area? So, eventually maybe we will have more water, hopefully next year, will those people come back? Many of these employees have been in this county for years and have lived here and farmed here for years. And in Colusa County, agriculture is the number one industry. We are an agricultural-based county. So consequently, it's going to have a big hit on our county. Jim Morris: You mentioned economics, but I caught a bit of emotion, too. People know each other here, they're concerned for each other. So how emotional is this year going to be? Denise Carter: I think everybody knows each other in this community and there's going to be significant job loss in the county. People in this county do really take care of others in this county. I truly, truly believe that, and I've seen that so many times, but the magnitude of this job loss is going to be significant. And we have farmers who aren't going to be able to afford to hire as many people. And they're also not going to get the hours that they're used to getting. I was actually talking to someone about, at a tomato processing facility and they say, "People aren't going to be working 12 hour days. They'll be working 8 hour days." Denise Carter: Because again, you can hire more people at 8 hour days or maybe you don't even have enough product, but you can hire more people if they have less hours, and maybe that's enough to keep people, at least, going. I had a conversation a couple days ago at our local paint store. And I asked him how things are going. And he said, "They're going okay. The big projects are still happening, but what I'm not seeing is the walk-in traffic, the people coming in who want to just paint a bedroom." And I think it's because people can't afford to, quite honestly. There are priorities, food, shelter and transportation. Jim Morris: Agriculture, by nature, is cyclical. Have you seen or heard from other people, anything like what's happening this year? Denise Carter: No one has ever seen it this bad. And, you couple the lack of surface water with the strain on our groundwater and it's kind of a perfect storm right now. And it's very frightening from a lot of different aspects. Jim Morris: Grace Espindola legally immigrated at the age of two and has been a trail blazer, including becoming the first Mexican-American elected to the Yuba City, City Council. And Grace, can you tell me a little bit about your background and also the diversity of this area? Grace Espindola: I came to this country at a very young age. I was two years old, carried by my mother with one luggage and we were destined to come to Colusa. My father was working there in Colusa with Mayfair Packing Company. So he had established a place for us to live. So here we are, I'm now a City Council member. Jim Morris: That is so awesome. And reading from your biography at the age of 12, you began working in the orchards of Sutter County and your work has evolved into a variety of jobs, including fast food, a waitress, dishwasher, housekeeper, retail, insurance, home health, clerk, secretary, counselor, and many other jobs. So you have seen many different sides of this Sacramento Valley economy. How much is agriculture intertwined with all of the people here? Grace Espindola: One hundred percent of our community is connected to ag business or ag industry. One of the things that my mom said to me when I was 12 years old, that the reason that she thought I was going to be successful, is because I knew how to pick walnuts faster than any other kid. So having that kind of experience, working out in the orchards and knowing the value of the farm worker, working with the farmers and within the city of our city, who purchase a lot of consumer goods, it is a relationship. It is a community and that's what the value is. Jim Morris: And the Yuba Sutter area is amazing for agriculture when you look at walnuts, peaches, prunes, of course, rice. And so, what are your concerns specifically for agriculture, as we look at a year that we haven't seen before, a third year of drought? Grace Espindola: The biggest concern is having enough water for all of us. As a city, as an ag business, as a community, do we have enough water? Well, fortunately we are in a better situation than other parts of our state, that is good. But in the future, what would that look like? So we, as a community, part of my mission, part of my priority, working with farming community, working with local businesses, working with the farm workers and their families is to be able to come up with solutions that we can both live with. And I'm also working with the State Water Board, DWR, for that voice to be heard from local community members. Jim Morris: How much do people care for each other in this region? Grace Espindola: We care deeply. The diversity of community is in our blood. That in a farmer when you have, there's a family, and sometimes farm workers in that farming industry become part of the fabric of family. My family, working for Mayfair Packing Company, we had that connection and I have continued to utilize that philosophy in my work as an elected official, but, at the same time, as just another person who is trying to do the right thing for all of us. Jim Morris: I can feel your positivity and it is a very challenging year. How positive are you that through perseverance, this region is going to make it through? Grace Espindola: I have everything to believe that we're going to make it through. We have to be much more mindful on how we utilize water. We have to connect all of this, in order to be able to live amongst the needs of how we're going to utilize the water when it becomes less. But, when we have extra water, we also have to know how to store it, how to keep it, to utilize it for those times when we have droughts, like we are in now. Jim Morris: Sites Reservoir would be an excellent addition to California moving forward. Grace Espindola: I completely value Sites Reservoir. I went up there and did a tour and seen firsthand, and I see the entire benefit of all of our community. It will offer many jobs, it will bring economic boost, but most of all, what we all need, is we need to reserve water and be prepared for when those moments of drought, like we're living now, so let's get this built. Jim Morris: That will wrap up this episode, but you can find out more on the drought and on our podcast at calrice.org. We will keep you updated as the year progresses. I appreciate Tod Kimmelshue, Denise Carter and Grace Espindola for their time, comments and concerns for our region. Thanks for listening.

Talkin' Fanfic  Episode No. - 209 Episode Title - Interview with elsi   Sara sits down to talk with elsi, aka Prince_of_Elsinore, an incredibly talented author who has spent many thousands of words exploring the heart of the relationship between the characters of Dean and Sam Winchester from Supernatural. Sara and elsi cover the show itself (that finale!) and discuss three of elsi's works centered around Sam and Dean over the course of their lives together. elsi speaks in depth about the differences between gencest and Wincest, and the thin and not-so-thin lines that form the fascinating gradient between. elsi explains their love for this “ultimate ship” and why the heart of a good Wincest fic treats “problematic” aspects of the ship directly, in a way that feels honest, unafraid, and faithful to Sam and Dean themselves as characters.  Other topics include: writing style, “Id fic”, letting subtext tell the story and do the heavy lifting, and how elsi's experience in fanfiction has informed and differed from their professional, original writing experiences, and why fanfiction isn't just “the minor leagues” of the publishing writing world, but an artistic pursuit entirely of its own. Bulletin Items!  Talkin' Fanfic will be LIVE with The Fanfic Maverick Podcast at PLANET COMICCON in Kansas City! Saturday April 23rd at 1pm. See website for tickets, schedule, etc. Let us know if you're coming! Episode References Work - “Baton Rouge” by elsi Work - “Understand the Undernetting” by elsi Work - “December, Sutter County” by elsi elsi's ‘deserted island' book - Poetry by Wisława Szymborska elsi is reading - "CivilWarLand in Bad Decline" by George Saunders elsi is reading - "Nonrequired Reading" by Wisława Szymborska  Ao3 Collection - “Wanted Man” Challenge  elsi rec - author: nigeltde elsi rec - author: deadlybride  elsi rec -author:  damnablebell  elsi rec -author: flesh, aka fleshflutter elsi rec -author: Edwardina   elsi rec - "Carry Me Over the Sky" by killabeez (SPN Wincest) elsi rec - "Splinters" by Morgan (SPN horror western)   elsi rec - "Squint into the Sunset | Glare into the Gloaming" by Dyed_Red  elsi rec - “I've Got A Hand For You” by Edwardina  Contact and Credits: Music: Kyle Laurin "In the Air Tonight" (Twitter: @cobrakylemusic) Tumblr: talkinfanfic.tumblr.com  Instagram: @talkinfanfic Email: talkinfanfic@gmail.com  Reading excerpt music: “Pensive Mood Guitar and Cello” by Musictown (pixabay)

Since fundamental changes were made to the way rice straw is managed following harvest in the early 1990s,  Sacramento Valley rice country has steadily grown as a vital rest and refuel stop for millions of birds.  Local rice fields not only provide habitat for nearly 230 wildlife species, the value of rice fields for the environment is proving to be even greater during drought years, because there is less water on the landscape and fewer habitat options. What's next for the environmental crop? If promising research by the Rice Commission and UC Davis pays off, Sacramento Valley rice fields may one day help dwindling salmon runs. The third year of field work for the salmon project has just completed, and the last of the baby salmon raised on Steve Neader's Sutter County rice farm have been released and are heading out to the ocean. Through sophisticated tagging, their journey will be studied. The ultimate hope is that rice fields specifically managed for this purpose will provide an even greater role in preserving and enhancing the California environment. “I'm extremely optimistic about it,” remarked Andrew Rypel, one of the study leaders and professors in the Department of Wildlife, Fish & Conservation Biology at UC Davis. “All of the data we have collected points to the fact these fields are going to be helpful for, not just salmon, but lots of native fishes.” There were new elements in the latest year of the project that will ultimately help researchers adapt the habitat management strategy and understand prospects for future success.  “This is the first time we've ever done the project on full size rice fields, with about 125 acres devoted to testing the practice at scale, “ said  Paul Buttner, Environmental Affairs Manager of the California Rice Commission. “One of the things we needed to make sure is that we could allow the fish to move freely through all of the checks in the field and out of the field when they want to, which is called volitional passage. We put in specialized boards with holes and notches to allow the fish to move through the system entirely.” Buttner stressed the importance of partnerships to make this multi-million dollar project successful, including the scientific research from UC Davis and other technical partners. “It would not be possible without funding, that comes first and foremost from USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service,” he said. “They provided over half of the funding for the project. All of the funding they provide has to be matched with private sector contributions, both financial and in-kind. Syngenta and State Water Contractors have really stepped up with major contributions, and we have a long list of other sustaining contributors as well.  The full sponsorship list can be seen at http://salmon.calrice.org/#Sponsors.” As the salmon left the rice fields to start their journey to the ocean, it was a somewhat emotional time for researcher Alexandra Wampler of UC Davis. “I'm very excited,” Wampler said. “I can't wait to track their migration to the ocean. We have a very dense receiver array, so we should be able to track each step they take, and it's going to be very exciting.” It will take a while longer to determine the viability of the project, but those involved remain optimistic that, perhaps one day, Sacramento Valley rice fields will add a significant new area to their environmental benefits. “I think that rice fields have the same opportunities for the salmon as they did for waterfowl,” said Carson Jeffres, research ecologist at UC Davis. “It's a little bit different. It takes different opportunities because fish can't fly, so you have to make it available for them, as opposed to having it just available for them to fly to. There's those same possibilities that we have, and I think that we've really turned a big corner in doing that, and we're starting to see those benefits being realized on the landscape right now.” Episode Transcript Jim Morris: The environment holds special importance in California, and salmon represent one of the most beleaguered species in what now is year three of a major drought. There is a ray of hope in the form of a partnership being lived out in the rice fields of the Sacramento Valley. Jim Morris: Welcome to Ingrained, the California Rice podcast. I'm your host, Jim Morris, proud to have worked with the state's farmers and ranchers for more than three decades to help tell their stories. Environmental stewardship among the rice industry is unparalleled. Not only do Sacramento Valley rice fields serve as a vital part of the Pacific flyway migration of millions of ducks, geese, shorebirds, and other species, those same fields offer great promise to help salmon. Jim Morris: I'm at the UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences, where researchers play a pivotal role in exploring how local rice fields might help salmon. I'm speaking with research ecologist, Carson Jeffres. First of all, Carson, salmon in California have been struggling. What are some of the factors that have led to that decline in their population? Carson Jeffres: They face multiple threats, both in the freshwater environment where we've experienced drought for multiple years. We're on our second major drought in the last 10 years, which is probably much more of a long term drought. Water and fresh water environments is limited, but also there's other factors from thymine deficiency coming back from the ocean. It's just one thing after another that they've experienced over the last, probably, a hundred years. Now, we're starting to see the culmination of climate change and management really affect the populations. Jim Morris: Rice fields may help in two different areas. Can you comment on those? Also, your degree of optimism that these two areas may significantly help. Carson Jeffres: There's two ways that those, what we think of as historic floodplains, which are not rice fields, can benefit the salmon. One of them is that, unlike birds, fish can't get to the dry side of the levee, but we can take the food that grows on the dry side of the levee and the rice fields and pump it into the river for the fish that are out migrating to the ocean. The other way that rice fields are used for salmon during their out migration, is that in the flood bypasses. In particular, is that when we have flood events, many of those habitats are rice fields now, and fish can use them during their out migration. If we manage those habitats well, we can benefit salmon during their out migration on those habitats, and the food that we grow that they consume, and they get big, and then they head out to the ocean. Jim Morris: In a larger picture, reactivating the floodplains of the Sacramento Valley, do you see multiple benefits from that, not only just for salmon? Carson Jeffres: Many species rely on these habitats, from waterbirds, the waterfowl, there's the waiting birds, there's fish, there's groundwater recharge. There's lots of benefits from having floodplains activated in the Central Valley. For human uses, for wildlife, it's really a win-win to see those habitats inundated. Jim Morris: Fish food, and rice fields, how nutrient rich is that, and how optimistic are you that can make a difference? Carson Jeffres: Fish food is really interesting in that what happens is as the rice double breaks down, when it's flooded, is it's basically carbon that's being released in the water. Carbon is the currency of energy in the floodplain. When carbon is released, microbes eat it, and zooplankton can eat it, and that's creating food for the salmon. It's really that ability to create that carbon out and make it usable for the animals in the system. That's what happens when you flood during the non-growing season. Jim Morris: How important is it to consider the long term in this process? I imagine the salmon population probably won't rebound immediately, but steps need to be taken to help this important part of our environment. Carson Jeffres: This is a problem that's been constructed over the last 150 years, since the Gold Rush. We shouldn't expect that we're going to fix it in one, or two, or five years. This is a long term idea that we need to change. The decisions that we're making now are something that will affect the future. Understanding that we have climate changing, being able to be plastic with our decision making, and our management, is really important. Jim Morris: Rice fields have helped a lot with the Pacific Flyway and are essentially surrogate wetlands in California. Do you feel that they might be able to play a similar role down the road for salmon? Carson Jeffres: I think that rice fields have the same opportunities for the salmon as they did for the waterfowll. It's a little bit different. It takes different opportunities, because fish can't fly. You have to make it available for them, as opposed to having it just available for them to fly to. There's those same possibilities that we have. I think that we've really turned a big corner in doing that. We're starting to see those benefits being realized on the landscape now. Jim Morris: Andrew Rypel is a professor and the Peter Moyle and California Trout chair in cold water fish ecology at UC Davis. Andrew, this is year three of field work of the pilot salmon project between UC Davis and the Rice Commission. At first glance, it may sound like a wild concept, but good things are happening. Can you provide an overview on the project? Andrew Rypel: What we're trying to do this year is to really scale out some of the lessons we've learned from previous years, such that we're working on production scale rice fields, working with growers, using the infrastructure that they already have in place, and trying to do things to help fish, to help salmon, using that infrastructure. Jim Morris: Let's talk about that infrastructure. How suitable is a rice field to raise salmon? Andrew Rypel: Well, we think it's very productive habitat. When you look at the river habitat that salmon have been using in recent years, it's functionally equivalent of a food desert. What this is really about is activating the floodplain, activating the food factory that already grows food for people, but now might grow food for fish, and grow salmon to be big and healthy. Jim Morris: To have this work, you really do need quantifiable data, and of course, good results. How are those achieved? Andrew Rypel: Using sound science. What we're really trying to do here is get down in the weeds, get down in detail with the kinds of questions that managers and agencies are really interested in here. Trying to understand how well salmon move through the infrastructure, through the modified rice ports that we have, how well they survive in the fields, how well they egress out to the river, out to the bypass, out to the ocean, these sorts of really nitty gritty science questions that are hard to do, but we need to really advance the practice. Jim Morris: What level of optimism do you have that this will ultimately work and help the salmon population? Andrew Rypel: I'm extremely optimistic about it. Everything we've collected so far, all the data we've collected, points to the fact that these fields are going to be helpful for not just salmon, but lots of native fishes, but the key is to really do the hard work, do the science, to work with the agencies that manage these fisheries, and these stocks, to address their questions, to do things in a partnership-oriented method, and to move the practice forward. Jim Morris: When you talk about native fish, I have seen some of your writings on that. That's an area of passion for you. It sounds exciting that maybe salmon are just the first part and there could be other species that could be helped by rice fields. Is that one of your hopes? Andrew Rypel: Absolutely. Many of the native fishes in the Central Valley are adapted evolutionarily for floodplains. Though we only have 5 percent of the natural floodplains left, we have 500,000 acres of these rice fields. We think they can be used smarter to help lots of native fishes, including salmon, but including a lot of other are kinds of native species, things like Sacramento black fish, and Sacramento perch, and maybe even smelt, who knows, but a lot of these species evolved to exploit the food rich areas of these floodplain areas, which rice fields can still provide. Jim Morris: Oftentimes, when you have fish and farming, particularly in California, can be rather adversarial. What's different about this arrangement as far as you see? Andrew Rypel: Fish and farms have been pitted against each other for a really long time in California. But to me, that's becoming somewhat of an old trope, and something that we need to get past. This is a great example of an interesting project where fish conservationists, growers, can work in collaboration to really help the resource, while still helping make food for people. That's the kind of thinking that we need in California. That's the kind of thinking we need in the world. This is just one example of how a project like that can come together. Jim Morris: Paul Buttner is environmental affairs manager with the California Rice Commission. Paul, it hasn't been easy at all times, but after three years of field work, what are your thoughts about the potential viability of this project? Paul Buttner: Well, Jim, I'm very encouraged about the possibilities for this project. As you know, what we're really trying to accomplish is to do for fish, what we've done for birds, for many, many years, that is develop habitats that's ideal for them. Of course, there's a lot more challenges with the fish side than the bird side. Of course, the birds fly over the habitat. They see it, they come down, they use it. With fish, it's all about the plumbing. It's how do we get the fish there? How do we get them off of the fields? These are the types of questions that we're really trying to answer. Jim Morris: What were some of the new areas that you were working in this year? Paul Buttner: Well, first of all, this is the first time we've ever done the project on full size rice fields, 125 acres or so, with five or six checks. One of the things we needed to make sure is that we could allow the fish to move freely through all of those checks, and out the field when they want to. It's called volitional passage. We put in specialized boards with holes and notches, allowing the fish to move through the system entirely. Jim Morris: Carrying this out takes a lot of coordination, creativity, and partnerships. Let's talk about the latter. How vital are partnerships to make this effort a success? Paul Buttner: Yeah, this is a very significant project. We're in phase two. Both phases are pretty expensive. They cost about $1.2 million apiece. Tremendous amount of science being done by UC Davis, and our other technical partners. It's a really significant endeavor and it would not be possible without funding that comes first and foremost from USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Services, which has provided over half of the funding for this project. Of course, all of the funding they provide has to be matched with private sector contributions, both financial and in kind, and Syngenta and State Water Contractors have really stepped up with major contributions, and then we have a long list of other sustaining contributors as well. Jim Morris: We've come to the final day of the third year of field work for the salmon project. Alex Wampler of UC Davis, you've been here through the start. What are your thoughts as the fish are going to head from the rice fields out to the ocean? Alex Wampler: I'm very excited. I can't wait to track their migration to the ocean. I suspect the fish will make it out in about 14 days. We have a very dense receiver array, so we should be able to track each step they take. It's going to be very exciting. Jim Morris: Is it at all emotional? You're kind of in a different area. You're working with living things. We sure hope that the salmon will ultimately be helped by all of this. Alex Wampler: Oh, yes. It's very emotional. I care about these fish deeply. I've hand raised them since they were eggs, in November. I suspect that they will do very well out at sea. It feels great to know that our efforts, and our research, are going immediately to species survival and helping these endemic and endangered species have a great chance while working within human boundaries. Jim Morris: Hopefully, those same rice fields that provide major benefits for wildlife, especially during drought years, will also play a valuable role in restoring salmon, an icon of the California environment. Jim Morris: That will wrap up this episode. Thank you to Andrew Rypel, Carson Jeffres, Paul Buttner, and Alex Wampler for their comments about this promising project. You can find out more at podcast.calrice.org. Please subscribe and leave us a review. Thanks for listening.

It took longer than normal, but fortunately it is happening. A shallow amount of water is showing up in rice fields throughout the Sacramento Valley – essentially a welcome mat for the 10 million ducks, geese and other wildlife migrating through our area for their annual Pacific Flyway journey. This year was the driest in a century in California. The water shortage led to about 100,000 fewer acres of rice planted in the Sacramento Valley. It also threatened to leave many rice fields without a shallow amount of water after harvest, which helps decompose leftover straw and provides vital wildlife habitat. Fortunately, through an innovative new program and a large recent rainstorm, the outlook for migrating wildlife has improved. “We went from historic drought to record-setting rain, and it has helped,” said Luke Matthews, Wildlife Programs Manager with the California Rice Commission. “It has saturated the soils and added a bit of water to creeks, streams and reservoirs. It's definitely going to benefit migratory birds, but one storm doesn't change a couple of years of drought. We're not out of the woods yet, but definitely hope here.” Matthews said a new program funded by the California Department of Water Resources will be a huge help. It provides for about 42,000 acres of rice fields to be shallow-flooded for birds, along with about 12,000 acres of private wetlands. Sutter County rice grower Jeff Gallagher has participated in many conservation programs, including this effort to provide more water for wildlife. He said wildlife viewing is good and getting better by the day. “It's nice to be able to come to work every day and see thousands of geese and ducks, as well as tons of shorebirds,” Gallagher remarked. “It's a good thing for everybody!” Among those closely monitoring the Pacific Flyway migration is Jeff McCreary, Manager of the Western Region for Ducks Unlimited, a key conservation partner with the Rice Commission and other stakeholders. McCreary said the Sacramento Valley is perhaps even more valuable for migrating wildlife this year, due to water shortages elsewhere on their journey. “What we're seeing with the dry conditions in the Klamath Basin and the Great Salt Lake is that birds are not staying in those locations, they're moving on quickly and coming to the Sacramento Valley earlier than they normally would,” McCreary said. “We're seeing lots of ducks and geese really early. This recent rain actually provided more habitat in the Sacramento Valley, because it's shallowly-flooding up the dry rice fields unexpectedly. We thought there would be a lot more dry ground out there all the way into the middle of winter, when the rains have typically come. Now, we're seeing rain on the landscape, which is right in the nick of time, because this is when the birds are starting to come. We're cautiously optimistic about how things are going to progress this winter.” He said those in the Sacramento area have a great opportunity to see the amazing sights from the millions of visiting birds, through local wildlife refuges. Ducks Unlimited just completed a major project at the Gray Lodge Wildlife Area in Butte County, making the auto tour loop safer and providing better access to viewing these stunning birds. Episode Transcript Jim Morris: It's an amazing annual spectacle. The Pacific Flyway wildlife migration through the Sacramento Valley is one of the largest waterfowl migrations you'll find anywhere. It has been a difficult year in the Sacramento Valley, but seeing why rice is the environmental crop, seeing all of the birds in the fields provides a chance to exhale and appreciate something beautiful. Welcome to Ingrained, the California Rice Podcast. I'm your host, Jim Morris, proud to have worked with California farmers and ranchers for more than 30 years to help tell their stories. The water outlook in California has improved as we get deeper into fall, but we have a long way to go, according to meteorologist Alexander Mellerski of Western Weather Group in Chico. Alexander Mellerski:  We saw a pretty significant atmospheric river event slam into California. We saw multiple inches of rainfall across the state ranging anywhere from right about three inches up north of the valley near Redding, a little bit farther south in Chico and then near Oroville about four to five inches kind of in that range. And then even down further south in the Sacramento area, we got about five to six inches of rain, maybe even a little bit more kind of closer to the foothills. So pretty significant rainfall. And, to put that into perspective, for all of last water year, so in 2020 to 2021, the water year, Sacramento for example, got anywhere from about six to seven inches of rain the entire water year. So this one storm gave us about 75 percent roughly of what we got all of last year. Jim Morris: It's pretty amazing, but we're not out of the woods in terms of the drought? Alexander Mellerski: In terms of the drought. No, unfortunately I would say, one event, that's by no means is indicative of getting us out of a drought. Jim Morris: Conditions are better, but the drought continues. And while we hope for several more storms at the right time, that's far from guaranteed, I'm near the Sutter-Yuba county line at Gallagher Ranch near Rio Oso. Jeff Gallagher, it was a stressful year for water. How did it treat your operation? Jeff Gallagher: It's definitely been one of the most challenging years we faced. Starting out the season we were cut way short on our water. We get all of our water out of the Camp Far West, which our allocation got cut about 80 percent back. So, we ended up planning about 65 percent of our ground this year had to leave out a little over a third. So, it was definitely tough here. And then we're getting through harvest, got kind of an early storm here recently, and we have a few fields still left to cut. It has definitely been a tough year. Jim Morris: Too little the front, too much on the back end, boy that is tough. So you have participated in wildlife conservation programs. It's great to see the wildlife in the rice fields and those tremendous benefits. How do these programs help you carry out what you can to help the birds? Jeff Gallagher: We've been working with the Rice Commission and Luke the last three, four years now, and the programs have just been really great. Anything we can do to kind of co-exist with the environment, help that area out and ourselves production wise, it just kind of fits really good. We're doing kind of our straw decomposition anyway in the fall. It creates this great habitat for all the waterfowl. And plus, it's just nice to be able to come out to work every day and see thousands of geese and ducks and tons of shorebirds in the spring. And so it's just a good thing for everybody. Jim Morris: And when you do look out at the fall and we're going to have a lot more wildlife coming into our region, favorite wildlife that you see? Jeff Gallagher: I would have to say the ducks and geese. I think we get here, we'll get some geese, snow geese, and specklebelly geese packed in pretty thick down here. And just to drive across the field and see thousands and thousands of birds sitting out there. And then they all get up at once. I mean, it's definitely a sight to see and something that we look forward to every year. Jim Morris: Luke Matthews is Wildlife Programs Manager with the California Rice Commission. When we look at the weather this year and getting water on the rice fields, the conditions have improved a little bit for wildlife. Can you comment? Luke Matthews: We went from historic drought to record-setting rain and it's definitely helped. It's saturated the soils. It's added a little bit of water to creeks, streams, reservoirs, stuff like that. It's definitely going to benefit migratory birds, but one storm doesn't change a couple years of drought. So we're still not out of the woods, but definitely some hope here. Jim Morris: So we really do need the wildlife programs and there is one that's unfolding right now. Can you comment on how that will help the Pacific Flyway? Luke Matthews: So we have a program that's funded by the Department of Water Resources and it is to help get more flooded acres out this winter, given the drought conditions on both rice and on private wetlands. So, really just an effort to increase the amount of flooded landscape this year, because we knew there wasn't going to be much with surface water without any sort of program. Jim Morris: This is shallow flooding of rice ground. And how many acres should be involved with this? Luke Matthews: That's correct. We're looking at very, very strategic use of this water. It'll be shallow. For the rice we have about 42,000 acres enrolled. And then on the private wetland side, we've got about 12,000 acres. Jim Morris: Rice is amazing in terms of its environmental value. The Central Valley Joint Venture, in 2020 I believe, has some new numbers. It's very impressive. Can you relay those numbers? Luke Matthews: The Central Valley Joint Venture puts out a plan every couple years and the most recent one cited the food resource use from agriculture of waterfowl and that's that ducks in the Sacramento Valley rely on rice for 74 percent of their nutritional needs. And then for geese, it's even higher, that rice provides 95 percent of all their nutritional needs for geese in the Sac valley. Jim Morris: That's a lot of food when you consider seven to 10 million ducks and geese are spending their fall in winter in Sacramento Valley rice country in adjacent wetlands. There is already stress as these birds arrive because of dry conditions elsewhere. So how important is the Sacramento Valley to keep these migrating birds comfortable, fed and rested before they continue their journey? Luke Matthews: Well, in a normal year, the Sac valley is very important because it's sort of the final resting ground for a lot of these birds that migrate south along the Pacific Flyway. So they spend a lot more time here than most of the other areas. This year, I'd say it's even probably more important, because their key staging areas in the Great Salt Lake, up on Klamath, in Oregon - those are all historically dry right now. So as they come down on their migration, they're experiencing low food availability, low resting and loafing habitats. So when they get here, they're in worse body condition we assume. And so that just means that this year, the habitat we can provide is going to be utilized more aggressively, more heavily and be even more important. Jim Morris: Innovative conservation programs are only possible through collaboration with outstanding partners, Jeff McCreary is director of operation for the Western Region of Ducks Unlimited. Jeff, how is the Sacramento Valley leg of the Pacific Flyway proceeding for ducks? Jeff McCreary: Well Jim, we're in the heart of the Pacific Flyway and the Central Valley, and particularly the Sacramento Valley, is key for the wintering habitat for the Pacific Flyaway migrating birds, ducks, geese, swans, all those great charismatic megafauna that you see out there in the rice field this time of year, but we're in a Pacific Flyway drought. And, although we've just had record rain in the Sacramento area, we're still incredibly dry, exceptionally dry all across the Western United States. So, while things are definitely better here in the Sacramento Valley, it's still challenging in two of the other main migration habitats within the Western US, that's the Klamath Basin and the Great Salt Lake, both of which have seen record dry years along with the Central Valley. Jim Morris: So the drought continues and how important are the rice fields of the Sacramento Valley? Obviously very important, but even more important this year because these birds really need to rest and refuel now in our area more than ever. Jeff McCreary: Absolutely. In the Sacramento Valley, winter flooded rice provides up to 70 percent of the energetics for these wintering birds and what we're seeing with the dry conditions in Klamath Basin and the Great Salt Lake is that birds are not staying in those locations. They're moving on quickly and they're coming to the Central Valley, the Sacramento Valley, earlier than they normally would. As we drive around the northern part of the valley here, we're seeing lots of ducks. We're seeing lots of geese and this is October. This is really early. The peak of the migration is in mid-December. What we're seeing here is that this recent rain has actually provided more habitat in the Sacramento Valley because it's shallowly flooding up these dry rice fields unexpectedly. We thought there was going to be lot more dry ground out there all the way into the middle of the winter when the rains have typically come. But now we're seeing rain on the landscape and it's right in the nick of time because this is when the birds are starting to come. And I think we're cautiously optimistic about how things are going to progress this winter. Jim Morris: I mentioned at the start of our conversation, the importance of partnerships, probably more important this year than ever, because of the limited water supply. Your view, Jeff, on the importance of partnerships to best protect wildlife and our region as a whole. Jeff McCreary: Partnerships are essential for effective conservation without a good suite of partners, nothing's going to happen on the landscape and that's private landowners, that's nonprofit groups, that's federal and state agencies, local governments, water districts, when they can all come together. What we can do collectively is greater than we would've been able to do individually. I think one great example is a recent memorandum of understanding that was signed between Ducks Unlimited, California Rice Commission, Northern California Water Association and California Trout. And we're working to re-envision the Sacramento Valley's floodplain ecosystems so that the valley can support sure, ducks, but also rice agriculture and fish. It's a complicated system that we have with the floodplains and the rivers, but we think that there's space and there's an opportunity for us all to work together so that we can see a landscape that's vibrant with winter flooded rice, millions of ducks and geese in the winter and vibrant fisheries in our rivers and streams. Jim Morris: You mentioned the millions of ducks and geese. We see this all the time. I was in Yuba County this morning and enjoyed seeing thousands and thousands of birds. How best can someone who hasn't yet experienced this, take it all in, in the weeks ahead? Jeff McCreary: Well, we are blessed to be right in the middle of a spectacle of nature, which is the Pacific Flyway migration and ducks, geese and swans are starting to arrive here in the valley and Sacramento, one of its great assets is that it's central to most everything. And, in fact, in a short drive from Sacramento area, we can see lots of wildlife right outside the vehicle and right outside of walking trails. Some great places to go, I think are the Cosumnes River Preserve , which is south of Sacramento, great rice fields and wetland habitats, all with walking trails and there's a great sandhill crane viewing area if you go there in the evening Also the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area , which is just to the west of Sacramento, great auto-tour loop. And two other places that I think have some of the more spectacular wildlife waterfowl viewing, especially during mid-winter is the Gray Lodge Wildlife Area and the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge. Spectacular auto-tour routes, in fact DU just did a major project at the Gray Lodge Wildlife Area where we reconstructed the auto-tour loop to make safer and better access for viewing these spectacular congregations of waterfowl. Jim Morris: I have gone through Gray Lodge recently and it is a major upgrade. So thank you to you DU for doing that. And I would also say Colusa National Wildlife Refuge has an excellent auto loop too. Hopefully we'll have abundant rain and snow moving forward, filling the reservoirs and helping cities, farms and the environment. Until then, there are many in our region doing what they can to make the most out of a tight water situation. Thank you to our interviewees, Jeff Gallagher, Alexander Mellerski, Luke Matthews and Jeff McCreary. We will keep you updated on fall and winter along the flyway. Until then, you can go to podcast.calrice.org to learn more and listen to past episodes. Thanks for listening.

Even during difficult times like we've been experiencing, it helps to look for the positive. In Sacramento Valley rice country – two positives are unfolding. After a difficult year where drought left 20 percent of fields unplanted, harvest of America's sushi rice is underway and early reports are favorable. Although acreage is down, initial reports on quality and yields look strong. “We're about thirty percent down from the total acreage that we can plant,” said Everett Willey, who farms with his dad Steve, at E.D. Willey & Sons in Nicolaus, Sutter County. “The growing season went alright. It was a fight to keep water on some fields. That's why we started harvest early. There was a lack of water on the bottom check of the sweet rice field we're harvesting now. We couldn't push water down to it, so that's a big reason we're harvesting this early.” A second positive is there's help on the way for the Pacific Flyway – a program should provide emergency water to support the millions of birds heading to our region's rice country to rest and refuel. “The Drought Relief Waterbird Program is focused on providing extra water from groundwater pumping to shallow flood rice and wetland acres in the Sacramento Valley for waterbirds, commented Luke Matthews, Wildlife Programs Manager with the California Rice Commission. “It's going to be particularly important this year, given the lack of habitat that we expect to see.” In a normal year, about 300,000 acres of rice fields are shallowly-flooded after harvest, which breaks down rice stubble and creates vital environmental benefits. This year, current estimates are only about 65,000 acres will be flooded. That's where the program with the State Department of Water Resources can provide substantial help for this vital part of the Sacramento Valley ecosystem. “Well certainly the current conditions truly heighten the importance of this landscape,” said Greg Golet, Applied Ecologist with The Nature Conservancy, one of the conservation groups that work with rice growers to maximize wildlife benefits from their fields. “These birds, when they arrive here, typically are ready to rest and refuel before either they continue further south or they set for their winter period in this region.  But this year, they're going to arrive in likely poorer condition, due to the lack of good habitat in their traditional stopover sites. In addition to malnourishment, they can be susceptible to disease, and that's exacerbated by crowded conditions.” With such a dry landscape, rice field habitat is an even more important for the health of millions of ducks, geese and other birds.   “It's really an incredible opportunity that we have,” Golet remarked. “There are all of these levers, effectively, that we can pull to create the conditions that these birds depend upon. We know what they want, in terms of timing, depth of the water and how long it stays out on the fields. With this system of rice agriculture and associated infrastructure, it's really very straightforward to create those conditions and then we see virtually an immediate response. The trick, of course, is getting adequate water to create that for the birds.” The wildlife migration has begun. Shorebirds and ducks have already started to arrive. We will keep you updated on harvest and the amazing annual wildlife migration about to unfold. Episode Transcript Jim Morris: COVID, fires, and drought. This year has been a rough one throughout our state. It helps to look for the positive where you can. And for me, what I'm looking at is a positive, the rice harvest in the Sacramento Valley. It's a momentary respite from the unrelenting news cycle, and it appears there's good news as well for the millions of birds that depend on the rice fields every fall and winter in this area. Jim Morris: Welcome to Ingrained, the California rice podcast. I'm your host, Jim Morris, proud to have worked with California farmers and ranchers for 31 years. And it's funny how life can go full circle. Before, I was in ag communications. Ten years before, I was in the marching band at John F. Kennedy High School in south Sacramento, playing trombone alongside of Steve Willey. And this morning, I'm with Everett Willey, Steve's son, at ED Willey & Sons in Nicolaus, in Sutter County. And Everett and Steve have started harvest. So Everett, how have things gone with rice harvest to date? Everett Willey: Pretty good so far. It's a lot of downed rice right now, just because of the nature of the beast. So we're trying to get it out of the field while everything else continues to ripen up. Jim Morris: What varieties have you harvested so far? Everett Willey: Right now, just Calmochi-101, which is a sweet rice, short grain, made for mochi balls, mochi ice cream. That's what that rice goes into, a lot of flour, rice flour. Jim Morris: Yeah. And if anybody hasn't tried mochi, I suggest you go to Mikuni. And the mochi they have there wrapped around ice cream is phenomenal. It's well worth trying that out. So tell me a little bit about this year. It's been challenging in many fronts in California. So what did you see with the rice? You started off with not being able to plant everything. So talk a little bit about that, and then also the growing season. Everett Willey: Yeah. We're about 30% down from our total acreage that we can plant. So there's quite a few hundred acres that's just dirt right now because of lack of water. Growing season went all right because, I mean, it was a fight to try to keep water on some fields. And that's part of the reason why we're actually harvesting right now is because the field that we're in, there was a lack of water in the bottom check because we just couldn't, we couldn't push the water down to it. So I think that has a big part in why we're actually harvesting right now. Jim Morris: And it was very smoky throughout Northern California, in fact, still is. What impact did the smoke have on the rice, if any? Everett Willey: The smoke this year wasn't as bad as last year timing-wise. Last year, it hit really heavy right when the rice was all flowering and I think that actually killed yields. The smoke this year, it came a little later. So a lot of the rice was already flowered. It'll slow down the ripening process probably a little bit because it'll keep the temperatures a little cooler. And we're definitely not getting any of the north wind, that's really what helps dry out and ripen the rice for harvest. Jim Morris: In terms of the smoke, fortunately, rice has an external hull on it. So there's not going to be a damage to the kernel, but the lack of sunlight did slow some of the maturity down in parts of the valley. Also, to your point about not planning a full crop, we have about 100,000 acres less rice grown this year in the state because of the drought. So certainly, impacts have been felt there. So the rice harvest is interesting when you compare to other crops. Other crops are sometimes harvested late at night, early in the morning. Rice, not so much. So when do you start harvest and why do you start it at that time of day? Everett Willey: In the morning, our operation, we clean off all the machines, all the harvesters, we blow it all, all the chaff and stuff off, really looking for problems with the harvester, and that way we can try to fix it. But we won't start actually cutting rice until the dew is lifted because any excess moisture that you're pulling through the machine makes the machine work harder. And then it can end up in the trailer to have a higher moisture and you don't want that because that could affect your drying cost. It could make it more expensive. Jim Morris: What is the moisture range that you're looking for when you harvest the rice? Everett Willey: Kernel moisture percentage would be like... 18-22 is a good quality to cost ratio. If you cut a little higher, so like if you're cutting 22 to 26%, you might get a little bit better quality, but the cost for drying also increases. So that 18-22% range is pretty much where you want to be. Jim Morris: And how important is the high-tech machinery that you have? Everett Willey: Having good equipment is extremely important. Compared to 10, 15 years ago, before GPS was really incorporated into these machines, it was not as efficient. Everything was smaller. You had to go slower. So when the rice was ready to come out of the field, you had to plan for it a lot more. Now, you can react and go. It saves a lot of money in the end. Jim Morris: And the GPS, Global Positioning System, is important in other aspects of the growing season too. So how else is GPS technology helping rice farming? Everett Willey: It's a big fuel saver because you're not... It knows exactly where your implement is going and has been. So if you have something that's 24-feet wide and you want to have a three-inch overlap, it'll do that for you. Whereas without it, you're going back and forth, so you have no overlap to a foot overlap. So having that consistent tillage is where you can really save some money, and it makes everything more uniform, which will make a more consistent yield. Jim Morris: Other high-tech aspects include planting, which is done by airplanes, which are guided by GPS. So it's very high tech here in California, rice country. And it's water efficient as well. Water is a concern after harvest. There will be a shallow amount of water put out there, but it's very limited this year because of the drought. I've seen a lot of wildlife on your farm. What thoughts and concerns do you have about the months ahead and rice fields helping the Pacific Flyway, but with a very limited water supply? Everett Willey: I think with the reduction in acres planted, a lot of farmers won't do a decomposition flood. Because on a fallow field, you'd be just putting water on dirt, which isn't benefiting either wildlife or the farmer. So the reason that we flood in the winter is to decompose the straw that is left over after you harvest it. So when we're done harvesting, we'll come in, we'll usually chop up the straw into smaller pieces to create more surface area, and then we'll till that ground up just a little bit to help add some air into the soil, and then we'll put a couple inches of water on it and hold that. And it'll decompose the straw, but it also provides a plethora of food and habitat for mostly waterfowl. I mean, we'll get all kinds of other stuff out here too. I mean, you got skunks, and raccoons, and coyotes, and all other kinds of things. It's a circle of life out here. Jim Morris: I've seen minks as well out here. And talk about some of the birds that you've seen too, lot of birds of prey, and not only numbers, but a wide variety of species. Everett Willey: We'll get bald eagles out here. The mink are actually pretty... They're cool. You see one of them run across and you're like, "Oh, that was a mink. I haven't seen one of those in a while." All the different varieties of geese, we'll get all the varieties of ducks. It was pretty cool. In one of our ditch systems, I actually saw a mandarin duck, which is super rare to see here, super, super rare. It looks like a wood duck, but cooler. Jim Morris: At the moment, there's not a lot of water on the landscape, and the needs for wildlife will be great later in the fall and winter. I'm speaking with Luke Matthews, Wildlife Programs Manager with the California Rice Commission. fortunately, there's a new program the Rice Commission is carrying out with the state Department of Water Resources that should help. Luke, tell us about the program. Luke Matthews: The Drought Relief Waterbird Program is focused on providing extra water through groundwater pumping to flood rice acres and wetland acres in the Sacramento Valley for waterbirds. And it's going to be particularly important this year, given the lack of habitat that we expect to see. Jim Morris: How much of a shortfall going into this program are we expecting in terms of the amount of shallow flooded acres in the Sacramento Valley? Luke Matthews: In a typical year, there's about 300,000 acres of flooded rice lands in the winter. And that provides an amazing source of food and habitat for ducks, geese, shorebirds, and more. This year, we expect, if conditions don't change, to maybe see about 60,000 acres flooded. So a very, very significant decline in flooded habitat. Jim Morris: And I imagine there's careful consideration when it comes to groundwater use. Luke Matthews: Absolutely. Yeah. We're being very sensitive to areas that may be experiencing depletions or issues with groundwater wells going dry. We also have considerations for proximity to rivers and streams, things like that. So we're considering all the options, but really focusing on providing the habitat for the resource of concern right now. Jim Morris: The Pacific Flyway is amazing, 7-10 million ducks and geese, many other birds coming through. It is really a jewel for the Sacramento Valley, important for our environment and something so many people enjoy. And how much is this water needed? Because I believe the birds are already stressed, correct? Luke Matthews: The water is really needed more this year because of a significant drought throughout the west. The Great Salt Lake is drier than it's ever been in recorded history, it's very dry up in Oregon, and Klamath as well is almost dry. So these key areas that migrating birds in the Pacific Flyway typically utilize are dry or drying out. So they're in a worst-body condition when they arrive here and they're going to need the water even more than normal. Jim Morris: As we've heard from Luke Matthews, the drought is a significant concern for the millions of birds that are heading our way for the fall and winter months. I'm speaking with Greg Golet, an applied ecologist with the Nature Conservancy, good friends of rice growers and the California Rice Commission. And Greg, as you look at the stresses that the birds have already had as they're heading our way, how much more important is the Sacramento Valley to provide food and a resting place? Greg Golet: Well, certainly, the current conditions truly heighten the importance of this landscape. These birds, when they arrive here, typically are ready to rest and refuel before either they continue further south or they set up for their winter period in this region. But this year, they're going to arrive in likely much poorer condition due to the lack of good habitat in their traditional stop oversights. Jim Morris: What concerns do you have for the wildlife? Disease and even death are possibilities unfortunately? Greg Golet: Yeah, that's definitely the case. In addition to malnourishment, they can be susceptible to disease. A lot of that's exacerbated by crowded conditions. So you get transfer of the disease through the aerosol when the birds are taking off and landing. And when they're in tight quarters and you have those high temperatures, it's just that much worse. Jim Morris: Let's talk about something optimistic. There is a program in place that's being unveiled that hopefully we'll get more water on the landscape. And we've talked about this recently, that rice fields are surrogate wetlands. And so does that give you optimism or some degree of optimism that we're going to get through this fall and winter in reasonable shape for the wildlife? Greg Golet: Yeah, it definitely does. It's really an incredible opportunity that we have. There are all these levers effectively that we can pull to create the conditions that these birds depend upon. And we know what they want in terms of the timing, in terms of the depth of the water, in terms of how long it stays out on the fields. And with this system of rice agriculture in the associated infrastructure, it's really very straightforward to just create those conditions, and then we see virtually an immediate response. The trick of course, is getting adequate water to create that for the birds. Jim Morris: I have to tell you, after a year like this, I cannot wait to see the birds. And I've been talking with the rice growers. They're keeping an eye out because it is such a joy for me to see it. What does that mean to you, when you see that wildlife come in to the Sacramento Valley every fall and winter? Greg Golet: It's extremely uplifting to see these species drop into our valley. And that's already happening for the shorebirds whose migration is earlier than for the waterfowl typically. But for me, it provides confirmation that the network of habitats that these migratory species have evolved to depend upon that stretch from the Arctic all the way to South America are still functioning at least in some way. Because they're depending upon that. It's if you take out a link in that chain, the whole system can break down. So when they show up, I have that affirmation that, "Hey, we still have this incredible natural phenomenon in place." And it's just so rewarding and personally gratifying to be part of making that possible. Jim Morris: As the migration intensifies and this innovative program takes shape, we will keep you updated on the progress. Thank you to our interviewees, Everett Willey, Luke Matthews, and Greg Golet. You can find out more @podcast.calrice.org. Please listen, subscribe, and comment. Thanks for listening.

By Chris Nichols Republican recall election candidate John Cox claimed this week Gov. Gavin Newsom has “just let tens of thousands of inmates out of jail.” CapRadio’s PolitiFact California reporter Chris Nichols spoke with anchor Randol White about that and other claims in this week’s Can You Handle The Truth segment. This interview has been edited for clarity and length. Interview highlights On who John Cox is and his claim Cox is a San Diego County businessman. He ran and lost to Newsom back in the 2018 governor’s race. He made this statement about inmates during a kick-off event for his campaign in the recall election. More memorable than anything he said is the live 1,000-pound Kodiak bear that Cox brought to the event. But even so, here is the statement that caught our attention: “[Newsom] just let 76,000 inmates out of jail with almost no warning,” Cox said. “Many of those are going to commit other crimes. I mean, what are we going to do then? I want my daughter to feel safe. I want everybody to feel safe.” On if Cox’s claim is correct No, he really did not [get this right]. In fact, we found that Cox distorted things. Here’s what actually happened. Late last week, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation expanded a good behavior program for inmates — and Cox was right, that there wasn’t much public notice on this. But no one was let out of prison. The change makes 76,000 inmates eligible for somewhat shorter sentences. They can reduce their time by one-third. Before this change, they could reduce it, but by a smaller amount. But they’ll need to demonstrate good behavior and in some cases complete a rehabilitation program. On when incarcerated people might be released through the change and how PolitiFact California rated this claim A state prison spokesperson told us it could be months or years before anyone is released through this change. PolitiFact California rated this claim False. On how much the recall election could cost Here's what Newsom said at a press conference Tuesday “Now is not the time to waste hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars on a recall effort that is nothing more than a partisan power grab,” Newsom said. And it looks like he did get those numbers right. I spoke with Donna Johnston about this. She is the Sutter County registrar. She’s also president of the California Association of Clerks and Election Officials. Her group has been crunching the numbers on the potential cost of the recall election. Right now, if counties have to follow social distancing rules required in last fall’s election, Johnston’s group says the recall could cost $400 million. “Yes, it is a correct figure,” Johnston said. “Especially if we’re falling under the same protocols and mandates as November.” It’s not clear what rules will be in place this fall, but Johnston says elections are expensive. Everything from labor and training to printing all the ballots, paying for all the postage really adds up. So, the governor’s statement is a prediction, but he’s on the right track.

The coming weeks will be busy in the Sacramento Valley, as highly-skilled pilots plant this year’s rice crop. Farmers are no stranger to challenges, and this year is no different. Below-par rain and snowfall have led to water cutbacks of at least 25 percent valley wide, which will lead to an as yet undetermined drop in rice plantings. “There are a lot of fields that won’t be planted on my farm and throughout the state because of a lack of water,” said Sean Doherty, rice grower in Dunningan. “That’s what you do in years like this. You cut back and work with what you have.” Less rice planted has repercussions beyond farms and mills. Rice is an integral part of the Sacramento Valley, providing more than $5 billion to the economy and 25,000 jobs. Rural communities that depend on farming will be impacted, as well as the environment – fewer rice fields planted means less habitat for hundreds of wildlife species.  “Every year, we’re concerned about species that are already listed as threatened, endangered or species of concern,” said Meghan Hertel, Director of Land and Water Conservation at Audubon California. “Unfortunately, in a drought, it’s not just the species of concern that we’re worried about – the ones with the low populations – we’re also worried about common birds.” A recent study from Cornell University study estimates a plunge of the overall bird population by three billion over the last 50 years. She said rice fields are vital for wildlife, especially in a dry year like this one. “Every year, rice fields are important for habitat,” she said. “That’s because, in the Sacramento Valley, we’ve lost 90 to 95 percent of our natural habitat, so much of the ground that birds and other wildlife are using is actually in active rice production. We call it surrogate habitat for birds and wildlife, and in some cases it’s providing two-thirds of the diet of wintering waterfowl.” She said this dry year will mean birds will have to congregate on the fewer acres where water is on the landscape, which means less available food for wildlife. Hertel said there is excellent collaboration in the Sacramento Valley, to support farms and the environment. “Partnerships, communication and collaboration are key. Working together, we can make the best of what we do have.” Collaboration is also a key to helping the state’s struggling salmon population. Jacob Katz, Lead Scientist at Cal Trout has been working with rice farmers and water districts for years now, and said tremendous progress has been made to help salmon. He said rice fields can be used to mimic the incredibly productive wetland habitats that were in the Sacramento Valley before it was developed. “It means slowing water down across the floodplain,” he remarked. “It means spreading it out, creating the puddles that typified the floodplain wetlands before development of the valley, that’s similar to the surrogate wetlands that rice fields are managed as.  What we’ve found is those fields fill up with fish food, with bugs. It only takes three weeks or so to go from a dry field to a shallow, wetland-like environment, and three weeks later it’s teeming with bugs, with fish food. We’ve been working with farmers, water suppliers and reclamation districts to grow the food on these fields, but then to actively drain it back to the river where fish can access it in dry years like this. That’s a really important piece.” “There’s extraordinary room for optimism,” he added. “We’ve shown that the Sacramento Valley can be resilient, can produce benefits for both people and for the environment. Look at the bird response over the last 30 years, as rice growers and water suppliers came together to offer our feathered friends some semblance of the habitat that they evolved in, that they were adapted to. And those birds recognized those flooded rice fields as wetlands…. We can do the same thing for salmon. We have every evidence to suggest that that’s true. That if we hit every link in the salmon’s life history, if we connect their juvenile and adult life phases, we can have a phenomenal response from our fish populations.” Water management is always a balancing act, but the job is especially challenging this year. Thad Bettner is General Manager of the Glenn-Colusa Irrigation District, the largest water district in the Sacramento Valley, spanning 175,000 acres, including rural communities, many rice farms and three federal wildlife refuges.  He is navigating through several subjects, including potential voluntary agreements and water transfers. He said longer term additional water storage would pay major dividends in future dry years. “Water storage would be huge,” he said. “We are looking at Sites Reservoir… we believe the time is now for that. One of the great things about Sites Reservoir is it’s downstream from Shasta Reservoir, so it provides this midstream benefit of being able to regulate the system and really manage for multiple benefits—water supply, meeting the needs of the environment and carryover storage. Sites would help meet all of those goals.” Jim Morris: May in the Sacramento Valley involves an interesting sight - high speed, low flying airplanes planting America's next crop of sushi rice. In fact, I have an airplane heading my way right now! And there is excitement with a new season, but this year is not without its challenges. Welcome to Ingrained the California Rice Podcast. I'm your host, Jim Morris. Proud to have worked with California farmers and ranchers for more than 30 years to help tell their stories. I'm in Sutter County, watching precision GPS guided planting, and it is an amazing site. Even with the benefits rice has to our cuisine, economy and environment, we are not immune from impacts of a dry year. Jim Morris: There will be many things to keep an eye on during this dry year. One of them is the environment. And here in the Sacramento Valley, we're on the Pacific Flyway, so virtually every trip through this area, there are wonderful sites. I was at a farm this morning and they had a bald eagle sighting. So, that's great. However, this dry year won't be easy, not just for the cities and farms, but there are certainly pressure on our diverse ecosystem. Meghan Hertel is director of land and water conservation at Audubon California. And Meghan, as we have this dry year unfold, what are some of your concerns for wildlife? Meghan Hertel: Water is essential, not just for human life, but also for wildlife. And here in California, we have a really interesting water cycle. So the rain falls in fall and winter, and it creates water in the ground, it feeds the habitat and it feeds the wetlands and the rice fields that birds are using. And then most of our waterfall is in the form of snowpack. And that snowpack is released throughout the year and used for our farms and cities, and also to create river flows and to serve the habitats throughout the year. And this year we didn't get rain and we don't have much snowpack. And that means impacts to our habitat and to our wildlife. Jim Morris: Are there particular species you'll keep a watch on as the year unfolds that you're especially concerned about? Meghan Hertel: Every year we're concerned about species that are already listed as threatened or endangered or species of concern. So great examples of this are the salmon, least bell's vireo, from the bird example, or yellow billed cuckoo. Also, the giant garter snake, which we find frequently throughout the Sacramento Valley associated with rice fields and wetlands. But unfortunately in a drought, it's not just the species of concerns we're worried about, the ones with the low populations. We're also worried about common birds. So, Cornell University, last year released a study that showed in the last 50 years we've lost three billion birds, and it's not just the rare ones, it's actually the common birds. So in a year like this, where there'll be less habitat on the ground and less food for birds, we worry about those common birds as well. Jim Morris: How important are rice fields in the equation, particularly when you're looking at a year when there's not going to be a lot of water naturally on the landscape? Meghan Hertel: Well, every year rice fields are important for habitat and that's because in the Sacramento Valley we've lost 90 to 95 percent of our natural habitat. So, much of the ground that birds and other wildlife are using is actually in active rice production. We call it surrogate habitat for birds and wildlife. And in some cases, it's providing two-thirds of the diet of wintering waterfowl. So that's a big amount. Unfortunately in a year like this, we are seeing cutbacks, not just in race, but also in our wetlands. The water system that serves our rice serves our remaining wetlands as well. And so as we see the reduction of habitat, that means birds are going to have to concentrate in fewer areas and they're going to have less food. Jim Morris: One of the ways I hope that is helpful, are these great partnerships between organizations like yourself, rice growers, and other interested parties in the Sacramento Valley. Comment a little bit, please on those partnerships and how valuable they are, particularly in a year like this. Meghan Hertel: Absolutely. Partnerships, communication and collaboration are key. When there are not enough resources, particularly water, that's so important to all of us, to go around, we need to sit down and talk about how we use the limited amount of water that we've got. And that means using science to understand the trade-offs and then maximizing what water we have to reach multiple benefits. And so that's supporting farms, but also saving some water to support habitat, or looking for ways to put water out on the agricultural landscape that both grows food and also supports habitat. The choices won't always be easy, and we certainly are all going to feel a pinch this year and see cutbacks, but by working together, we can make the best of what we do have. Meghan Hertel: One of the things we learned during the last drought, is that it's very important to work together, to come up with scientifically sound collaborative solutions, to put water on the landscape when and where birds needed. A great example of this is the Migratory Bird Conservation Partnership, which is a partnership between Audubon, the Nature Conservancy and Point Blue Conservation Science. We've been working with rice growers and water districts for almost a decade. And when the last drought hit, we were able to put special practices out, putting water on rice fields in spring and early fall to support migratory shorebirds. And there were days where it was the only water on the landscape for birds. And this just shows the importance of collaboration in hard times like drought. Jim Morris: The farm we're at here in Sutter County, is dry, they're working the fields, but it will have rice in it. And this is one of the places that I have seen cattle egrets in their marvelous breeding plumage. It is exciting to see the wildlife. And one of my favorite times is nesting season of shorebirds. Tell me a little bit about that. Obviously there will be a little pressure with less land available, but it is a marvelous sight to see the avocets, stilts, et cetera. So what are your thoughts when you see shorebird nesting? Meghan Hertel: It really gives me hope. It shows that, when we are able to provide habitat here, that nature responds and it wants to have a fighting chance. What we do on the landscape will decide the future of the Central Valley, both for people and birds. And the nesting is a perfect example. So when they are able to find suitable places to nest, that means future generations of birds will be here, and that's a hopeful sign. Jim Morris: It's a very busy time here in the Sacramento Valley rice country with planting underway. I'm with Sean Doherty, a third generation family farmer headquartered here in Dunnigan, near the Yolo Colusa County line. And he farms in Yolo Colusa and Sutter counties with his wife, Melissa, their three kids and famous rice dogs Skeeter and Miss Vegas. So, Sean, what's happening on the farm right now? Sean Doherty: Mainly right now, we are focusing on just putting water on the ground and getting the rice fields ready for water. We are not hurrying like we do in normal years, just because we're just not planning a lot of fields because we don't have the water for them. And so, consequently, we're just getting it done and we're not rushing and we're not working overtime, we're just watching our costs and trying to get this crop in as best we can. There's a lot of fields that aren't getting planted this year across the state, not just on my farm. Jim Morris: When the water goes on to the rice fields and then seeding occurs, people may drive by and they see that water out there, but they may not fully understand the efficiency and the care that's involved in that water. Can you comment a little bit about that? Sean Doherty: That's what we're doing today in these fields right now, in a lot of them as we are going out there and running these GPS controlled drag buckets and leveling our fields to level. And so when we flood it, that way we can cover the soil with as little water as possible. You're talking less than ankle deep. If you don't sink in the mud, just an inch or two skim across these fields is all we need. Jim Morris: You mentioned the muddy conditions out there and I've had a shoe or two lost in a rice field when I didn't wear the right mud boots. So how important is that kind of condition for growing rice and using water efficiently? Sean Doherty: It's bathtub out there. I mean, it holds water like no other soil. You just fill up the soil profile and it doesn't go anywhere. It doesn't go percolate deep underground into the aquifer. In most places, it takes forever to do that. It's just because our ground is heavy, heavy clay, and it's the same type of ground when it gets wet and you try and walk on it and you get 10 pounds of mud on each boot, that's the type of ground that we're growing our crop of rice in. And it's the best ground there is for growing rice because we don't lose the water deep. It just, you're filling up a shallow bowl, like a milk saucer, if you will, with a skim of water and then you're flying your rice seed onto that. And that's what we're working with. So it's really efficient for using that water. And there's a whole lot of multiple efficiencies that we're using across the state here to make the most of our water. Sean Doherty: In my particular irrigation district, where I farm a fair bit of rice, is RD-108. And we have a recirculation system in this district where we can take water from the bottom of the district, and with two pumps, with two lifts, we can take water three quarters of the way back up to the top of the district and we reuse it again. And it allows us to a much more flexibility in these really dry years and to take less water off the river and leave more for the Delta outflows and for fish and for the environment when we operate this recirculation  system. It's not something that you can do year in year out, because you'll have degrading factors with using multiple uses of recycled water, but in these really dry, critically dry years, this is something that we can do to benefit the environment as well. Jim Morris: I'm continually impressed with the diversity of creatures that are out this way. And you've been great to send me photos. And we had a game camera up that captured a lot of the nighttime activity. So you live and work in this environment. Tell me a little bit about the wildlife and some of the things that you see. Sean Doherty: Just this morning, a big flock of pelicans riding the wind, giant garter snakes are the hardest animal to get a picture of, because as soon as you see them on the side of the road or side of the ditch bank and you stop to take their picture, they're gone, they are so fast. Gopher snakes, all kinds of reptiles aplenty. Beavers, otters, wild turkeys, along the riparian corridors alongside where we get our water and where we deliver water out to the fields, pheasants, ducks, shorebirds, herons, cranes, you name it. There's muskrats. I really like being out here and being a rice grower, just because you can see all of that. And I'm happy to provide that for the animals and make a living doing it as well. Jim Morris: And it is going to be a challenge for wildlife too. So, how important are the rice fields this year? Because there's even less opportunities for birds and all the other species that you talked about. It is very helpful to have that rice ecosystem in place. Sean Doherty: I'm worried about having water for the waterfowl this fall and winter coming back into the Valley. And if we don't have the water to put on these fields and these ducks and geese and swans and all the raptors that prey upon those on the flyway, if the habitat doesn't return, I'm worried about what happens to them and the lasting damage it could cause. We have to figure something out, because you can't have the primary wintering habitat for the Pacific Flyway not show up one year. If I'm going to stress about anything more so than the farm, it's what's to happen to the flyway. Jim Morris: I'm in Willows speaking with Thad Bettner, general manager of the Glenn-Colusa Irrigation District, the largest water district in the Sacramento Valley,  covering about 175,000 acres. A significant part of that is rice ground. And GCID recently celebrated their 100th anniversary. And in the time I've known Thad, he's not one to stand still very long, especially in a year like this. So how does your work change during a dry year like this one that we're facing? Thad Bettner: Jim like you said, there's no time to stand still. These years are certainly one of the craziest ones that we face. There's just a lot of work that we have to do both externally and internally, obviously just from an external side, really looking at the drought conditions, how they're affecting the state. We look at things like Shasta Reservoir, status of fisheries, our operations, and then we look internally about, well, what choices are landowners making? How do we serve the multiple needs that we have within our district, from crop needs to environmental needs, to making sure we're being good stewards of the groundwater. So, in a year like this, there's just a lot of decisions that need to be taken into account. And a lot of those decisions happen daily. So it's not just, you can make a decision, expect the rest of the year to play out, but we have to make those decisions on a daily basis. Thad Bettner: We have about 175,000 acres, included in that is the three federal refuges. So working with them and their needs for water and getting water to them on a secure basis is a really important, but then all of our growers who need water from us, we need to make sure they have the information to make the decisions that they want to make this year. In these types of years, we know land is going to have to be idled because we just don't have enough water. So we want to make sure they have the tools to figure out how much land can they farm, what crops do they want to grow this year? How much water do they have to grow those crops? And then, we're also anticipating water transfers actually, which help us with operations and benefit the fishery. Thad Bettner: So, do they want to participate in water transfer? So trying to get all that information out to them so they can make that decision is really important. And then obviously, the decisions they make affects decisions that we then make. And so, it is sort of a process where we have to kind of do a constant level of feedback with them, just to make sure they're up to speed on decisions that we're making and they're making. Jim Morris: Water transfers, as you mentioned very likely this year, how helpful are they in terms of overall water management, including for the environment? Thad Bettner: Well, first look, water transfers are tough. Certainly, there's economic issues resulting from that, there's jobs that may be affected, there are some impacts that water transfers cause. And so I think we want to make sure we're careful in how we consider them as a potential solution to some of our problems. And one of the unique things that water transfers off offer for us as a district, and I think for our customers, is that when we're trying to benefit salmon and particularly this case, winter-run salmon, the thing that we can do with water transfers is, landowners, when they fallow their field, they don't take that water. And what happens is we take that water and we actually leave it behind Shasta Reservoir through the season. And then we move that transfer water in the fall. Thad Bettner: And one of the big benefits that we get is it actually increases the amount of water stored behind Shasta, where it also increases the amount of cold water that’s store behind Shasta. And then that asset can be used to provide cold water downstream to the river, to protect winter-run salmon as they spawn. So, it helps her eggs incubate and then it helps out migrating juveniles. So it really has a huge benefit to the system overall. So, in these types of really tight years, water transfers provide that benefit of being sort of a reasonable balance of protecting fish and then making sure the balance of our lands within the district continue to be farmed. Jim Morris: Another way you protect fish is your amazing fish screen. I believe it's the largest of its kind in the world. Can you comment about that? Thad Bettner: In high school, I used to be able to run a quarter mile in a minute. And so, if you could run that fast, you could basically cover the length of our fish screen. So it is a pretty big feature. I have to say predecessors before me got that project done, it's been in existence now for almost 25 years and it's been just a solid asset for the district. I think one of the interesting things is, as that project came about, there just wasn't a lot of knowledge known about fish screens, how to build them, how to make sure that they would provide a benefit to the species. So, I think our fish screen was kind of one of the first of its kind and really was a test case and a testbed for a lot of decisions that fishery managers had never needed to make before. Thad Bettner: And I think one of the exciting things is, one, that it's been a successful project. And then two, a lot of the other fish screen projects that are built on the Sacramento River, and I think other places in the country, have actually utilized a lot of the information that was gleaned from the actual construction of our project. And as well, some of the adaptive management. It was built, I think they got probably 85 percent of it right, but there was some about 15 percent of things that we've tweaked along the way to make it a better operating facility and continue to provide better protection for fish. And I think those lessons learned have helped other projects again, like in our area and other parts of the United States. Jim Morris: Besides fish, there's also a really vibrant environment in the Sacramento Valley with the Pacific Flyway. How important is it to maintain that environment? Thad Bettner: We take seriously a lot of managing the trade-offs and decisions that we have to make. And certainly continuing to protect the Pacific Flyway and the needs of birds moving up and down this part of the Western US, is important. And the Sac Valley plays a huge part of that. So we talked about fallowing earlier. We don't take lightly the fact that when we fallow lands, a good chunk of that is rice. And so, that's the food that these overwintering birds are relying upon. And so really our goal is to make sure that we leave as much land in production. So, while we're doing transfers, some land's coming out, but really the goal is to keep the maximum that we can to provide that food base for the Pacific Flyway. Thad Bettner: So, when we do years like this, we make sure acreage is spread around. So birds have places to fly. We coordinate with the local refuges and ask them, "Hey, where do you want lands? Where would it be okay to fallow lands or idle lands in here, versus what lands would you want to be in production?" Just because we know that every night you see birds fly off the refuge, they go out and they forage out in the rice lands. And during the day they fly back to the refuge. So the managers know how these birds are moving back and forth locally. So we really tried to make sure as we do some of the fallowing, we're focusing on the needs of the Pacific Flyway and what those birds need. Jim Morris: Our environment is impressive in the Sacramento Valley. I saw two bald eagles this morning in Willows, and we also offer significant habitat for the threatened giant garter snake. So, so glad that this effort is continuing. And in a dry year like this voluntary agreements have come up as a topic of discussion. Can you comment about what they are and how they may help? Thad Bettner: Voluntary agreements is really what we believe is the right solution for the State Water Resources Control Board update of the Bay-Delta Water Quality Control Plan. And the board has really been looking at what they've called their unimpaired flow approach, which is, "Hey, we'll just take a percent of the flow in the river, we'll leave it in the river. And that'll fix a lot of the fishery problems that we have." And we just don't believe it's that simple of a solution to fix. It's a lot more complicated in terms of timing of flow, we need a lot more habitat that we currently don't have. And then we need a solid base of funding to get a lot of these projects done. So we've put together voluntary agreements as a proposal, and as an alternative, and we think our preferred alternative to that unimpaired flow approach, in 2020 the state had put out a proposal, what they believed was a voluntary agreement package. Thad Bettner: And then unfortunately we got COVID, a month and a half later we had fires, and fortunately no floods this year, so we're in drought. But I think we had about everything else pop-up that sort of just distracted us from getting back in the room and trying to get voluntary agreements done. So starting in about August, we got together with the water user community, and we really worked on our own version of what we thought was the right package to move forward and kind of had been working on that and telling the state we're ready to meet with them and kind of waiting for them to get back to us. Thad Bettner: And then oddly enough, right in the midst of a lot of this drought, decision making that we need to do, the state called us week and half ago and said, "Hey, we're ready to start meeting and let's get going on this." So, now as we speak, we're actually starting the conversations back up with the state to see if we can get a voluntary agreement package moving again. And obviously, we're hoping not to do this in the midst of a drought because it just means that we're trying to tackle other problems too, but we're trying to add this to our plate and see if we can't get this done. Jim Morris: Sleep is overrated this year, I guess. So we have the short-term issues that we're talking about, voluntary agreements, water transfers, obviously always maximizing efficiency. Looking longer term, how helpful would additional water storage be and who would benefit from that? Thad Bettner: Water storage would be huge. I think obviously we're looking at Sites Reservoir, one, it sits next to us. We've been involved in this project for decades. So we believe kind of the time is now for that. And I think one of the great things about Sites Reservoir is, it's downstream of Shasta Reservoir. So it kind of provides this middle, midstream benefit and being able to regulate the system and really manage for multiple benefits. So, we've talked about water supply, meeting needs of the environment, carryover storage. So looking at not just this year, but next year. Sites would really help meet all of those goals. So we really think it provides a lot of benefit. And, in a year like this where we're challenged with temperature and flows for a winter-run, Sites Reservoir would help integrating the system and provide those benefits too. Jim Morris: I'm in Knights Landing, one of the areas that's a hotbed for some interesting and promising research to help salmon, not only a key part of our environment, but a key indicator of water issues in our state. Jacob Katz is lead scientist at Cal Trout, an important partner in preserving and enhancing salmon in California. Jacob has a PhD in Ecology from UC Davis. And I have to say, perhaps a greatest opening line, short of “Call me Ishmael,” your bio starts with, “Jacob was born with gills.” That is so cool. And Jacob, pivoting to the dry year we're having, there are some concerns. And what are your thoughts for our Sacramento Valley as we head into a dry year? Jacob Katz: A dry year like this is a tough year to be a salmon. We've got used to the fact that it's our flood years happen maybe every two, maybe four lucky, three out of every 10 years, that prop up our salmon populations. And it's years like this one that are really rough because the Sac River and the other tribs are down low in their levees and those rivers are just real tough places to be a fish, when there's very little habitat, when the water is low and clear and tends to be warm pretty early. So yeah, this is exactly the kind of conditions where we really have to think out of the box, out of the levees, to get those fish as much food and habitat as we can. Jim Morris: How can you do that? Jacob Katz: Well, the field that we're standing in here, Jim, is one that River Garden Farms has been letting us trial some ideas with over the last four or five years. They've been a great partner as have a lot of the other growers in this region on the west side of the river, as well as over on the Sutter side, a lot of folks have been getting together to look at how we can use farm fields to mimic the incredibly productive wetland habitats that were here before the development of the Sac Valley for farms for our rural communities. So what's that mean? It means slowing water down across the floodplain, it means spreading it out. It means really creating the puddles that typified the floodplain wetlands before development of the Valley. Jacob Katz: That's similar to the surrogate wetlands that rice fields are managed as, but what we found is those fields fill up with fish food, with bugs. It only takes three weeks or so to do that, to go from a dry field to a shallow wetland like environment. And three weeks later, it's teeming with bugs, which are essentially fish food. But unlike the ducks and the geese, which have rebounded because of their use of these surrogate wetland habitats, the fish don't have wings. They can't access that fish food out here on the floodplain. And so we've been working with farmers and water suppliers and reclamation districts to grow the food on these fields, but then to actively drain it back to the river where fish can access it in dry years like this. That's a really important piece. Jim Morris: The very field that we're in. I have seen you and your colleague, Jacob Montgomery in there with beakers and the fish food, the zooplankton is absolutely unbelievable. You don't have to guess, you can actually see how much there is in there that could really help the fish. And how important is that this year when it's so dry out there? Jacob Katz: You can just ask the fish, the fish that we have reared in these fields, they swim around with their eyes closed and their mouth open. We call it floating filet if you're a salmon, they are just... They're gorging on the protein production from these fields. These fields are really mimicking the incredible productive capacity of wetlands. Sunlight is being captured by plants, those plants then are broken down by microbes in the shallow water that's out here in a flooded field. Those nutrients then are taken up by bacteria. The bacteria are grazed upon by zooplankton, by small bugs, and those small bugs then are the foundation of the food web for fish. That's how the Valley makes salmon, how it once made salmon. Jacob Katz: And so in a dry year like this, when there's very little out of bank flow in the river, when most of the river flow is stuck within those levees, it's critically important that we reconnect this energy source with the river, that we reconnect the floodplain food web, the energy that comes off these flooded fields back with the river. And that's exactly the program that we've been doing right here with RD-108 and River Garden, where we've been pumping this fish food-rich water back into the river and seeing how fast salmon grow on that Jim Morris: RD-108 meaning, Reclamation District 108, which is about 30 miles north of Sacramento, and a very key player in terms of making things happen to help the environment. And it's going to be a difficult year, but is there reason for optimism when you look at some of the partnerships that have been formed here? Jacob Katz: Oh, there's extraordinary room for optimism. It's already right here. We've shown that the Sac Valley can be resilient, can produce benefits for both people and for the environment. Look at the bird response over the last 30 years, as rice growers and as water suppliers came together to offer our feathered friends some semblance of the habitat that they evolved in, that they were adapted to. And those birds recognized those flooded rice fields as wetlands. And, in the midst of all of this doom and gloom, you hear about the environment. We're here in the Sac Valley, in the midst of this amazing recovery of waterfowl and waterbird populations, where when I was a kid in the Valley 30 years ago, not only was the sky black with smoke, but the birds were at all-time lows. And now, year in and year out, we get these really great counts. Jacob Katz: The work that I've been talking about really can do the same thing for salmon. We have every evidence to suggest that that's true, that if we hit every link in the salmon's life history, in that chain, if we connect their juvenile and their adult life phases, we can have a phenomenal response from our fish populations. We've seen that in Butte Creek, and we can see it again in the Sacramento River, even in dry years like this, if we can re-imagine and re-operate our water and flood infrastructure to mimic natural processes to get this incredible food resource that is now stuck on the dry side of the levees, in these dry years we see that we can make it out here and move it back to the river where the fish can take advantage of it, where they can grow big and strong and have a chance even in dry years like this one. Jim Morris: That wraps up this episode, but we will keep you posted as the year progresses. Thank you to Meghan Hertel, Sean Doherty, Thad Bettner, and Jacob Katz for their time and expertise. We appreciate you listening and we value your comments. You can go to podcast.calrice.org to find out more.

Last month a parade drew over 80,000 people to the Sacramento Valley. Before any floats passed, people in colorful clothing and turbans sprinkled water on the street and swept the concrete, cleansing the route. They were celebrating a holiday of the Sikh faith: the 500-year old religion from India's Punjab region. This gathering in Yuba City is the largest of its kind in the U.S., because Sikhs have lived in this farming community for over 100 years.   In a normal year, this would be a very busy time in Sutter County. November’s when 80,000 people come to Yuba City in the Sacramento Valley to celebrate a holiday of the Sikh faith. That’s the 500-year-old religion from India’s Punjab region. This gathering is the largest of its kind in the U.S. because Sikhs have lived in this farming community for over a century. Because of the corona virus, the celebration’s off this year, but I’ll take you back to 2016 when I stood on the parade route, watching people in colorful clothing and turbans sprinkling water on the street and sweeping the concrete before the parade began.

Last month a parade drew over 80,000 people to the Sacramento Valley. Before any floats passed, people in colorful clothing and turbans sprinkled water on the street and swept the concrete, cleansing the route. They were celebrating a holiday of the Sikh faith: the 500-year old religion from India's Punjab region. This gathering in Yuba City is the largest of its kind in the U.S., because Sikhs have lived in this farming community for over 100 years.   In a normal year, this would be a very busy time in Sutter County. November’s when 80,000 people come to Yuba City in the Sacramento Valley to celebrate a holiday of the Sikh faith. That’s the 500-year-old religion from India’s Punjab region. This gathering is the largest of its kind in the U.S. because Sikhs have lived in this farming community for over a century. Because of the corona virus, the celebration’s off this year, but I’ll take you back to 2016 when I stood on the parade route, watching people in colorful clothing and turbans sprinkling water on the street and sweeping the concrete before the parade began.

You can follow the show on Twitter or Facebook @stscast, or on Instagram@stscast.gramCheck out Patreon at, https://www.patreon.com/STScastThis week's featured podcast is Obscure Anomalies Be sure to check out Straight Up Strange Productions for more great pods!Yuba City is nestled in the mountains of Northern California. It was settled in 1848 and become the county seat of Sutter County in 1856 after winning it back from the town of Nicolaus. Over the year’s Yuba has had it’s fair share tragedies and scares. The 1955 Christmas Flood, the B-52 crash in 1961, and in 1976 a bus crash killed 27 Yuba City High school students. In 1978 five young men would go missing, this is the story of the Yuba County Five.WikiPedia article about Yuba City, CaliforniaWikiPedia article about Yuba County Fivevocal.media/criminal/what-happened-to-the-yuba-county-fivewashingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1978/07/06/5-boys-who-never-come-back/f8b30b11-baeb-4351-89f3-26456a76a4fb/darkhistories.com/the-disappearance-of-gary-mathias/Sacramento Bee; Thursday, March 2, 1978Sacramento Bee; Wednesday, June 14, 1978Big Timber is the county seat of Sweet Grass County in Montana, with a population of only 1600. It’s named after nearby Big Timber creek. The town is located east of the Crazy mountains. It’s even home to the Crazy Mountains Museum. The Crazy Mountains are a small 40-mile long “island” of mountains in Western Montana, they are the youngest mountain range in the country. They were known as a mystical place to the Native Crow tribe. Known for being unpredictable. And, perhaps they are as many learned after Arron Hedges went missing only for his remains to turn up years later 11 miles from the campsite he started from. WikiPedia article about Big Timber, Montanacrazymountainmuseum.comWikiPedia article about Crazy Mountainsstrangeoutdoors.com/mysterious-stories-blog/tag/Aaron+Hedges+-+Strange+disappearances+from+US+Mountainsbuy.garmin.com/en-US/US/p/533999Missing 411: The Hunted. June, 25 2019. imdb.com/title/tt10524262/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0Local Headlineshttps://www.alexcityoutlook.com/news/bigfoot-hunter-arrested-for-attempted-murder/article_402dabf6-f397-11ea-91cf-3390c7b1be5b.htmlfox6now.com/news/man-finds-apparent-brain-on-racine-beach-what-is-thisthe-sun.com/news/1458963/gettysburg-ghosts-spooky-apparitions-road-running/ See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Instagram: @overthefence_podcastResources:https://criminalminds.fandom.com/wiki/Juan_Coronahttps://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/04/obituaries/juan-corona-dead.htmlhttps://www.nytimes.com/1982/03/17/us/corona-s-brother-blamed-in-deaths.htmlhttp://maamodt.asp.radford.edu/Psyc%20405/serial%20killers/Corona%20Juan%20-%20fall%2020051.pdfhttps://www.scientificamerican.com/article/electroconvulsive-therapy-a-history-of-controversy-but-also-of-help/Burden of Proof: The case of Juan Corona

Tractors are working ground, airplanes are flying and mills are in full production, marking another busy spring in Sacramento Valley rice country. There are marked differences this year compared to recent history, starting with the weather. A dryer spring has enabled growers to get a much earlier start on working ground for planting.  “We're probably two-and-a-half, maybe close to three weeks ahead of where we were last year,” remarked grower Mike DeWit. “I don't know what a normal year is anymore, but we're at least two weeks ahead.” GPS-guided tractors and airplanes help rice growers be as efficient as they can – getting the most out of resources including water and maximizing production. For consumers, that translates into a consistent supply of premium-quality rice. 2020 will long be remembered globally for COVID-19. While the important work of sheltering in place continues, farmers and mills are carefully proceeding with their vital work of producing food. Rice is deemed as an essential industry in California, as is agriculture as a whole. Many steps have been taken at the farm and mill level to protect employees. “My foreman, Luis Beltran has been with me for 12 years now, and has taken the COVID situation real seriously,” DeWit said. “He's got the Clorox wipes. He's got the nitrile gloves. He's got everything the guys need, and makes sure they're well supplied in the tractors.” On rice farms, social distancing is the norm. Tractor operators frequently work fields spanning hundreds of acres with no other workers nearby. Rice mills have also adapted rigorous additional steps for employee safety. “We have stepped up our sanitation, we have people who now their sole purpose is to sanitize and disinfect all surfaces in the facility,” said Jennifer Kalfsbeek, Senior Vice President and Chief Operations Officer at Sun Valley Rice in Colusa County, one of more than a dozen rice mills in the Sacramento Valley. “We've actually put up some clear window barriers in places where truck drivers would be in contact with our employees. We have an adequate supply of personal protective equipment and cleaning supplies. We've expanded our supply vendors to meet our needs, so we have added additional sanitation pumps throughout the facility, and increased sanitizing our truck driver areas.” Kalfsbeek added that there is some natural social distancing in the mill. They have also staggered breaks and lunch times to help maintain social distancing.  The consumer response to COVID-19 has included less demand for rice from restaurants and much more demand at retail. Kalfsbeek said retail orders have started to slow and consumers should soon begin seeing more rice in supermarkets.  Here’s a link to more information on employee safety on California rice farms and mills. Episode Transcript Jim Morris: Springtime in the Sacramento Valley means it's rice planting time. I'm in Robbins in Sutter County as tractors are working ground, and a new crop will soon be planted. Welcome to Ingrained, The California Rice Podcast. I'm your host, Jim Morris. This is my 30th year working with farmers and ranchers to help tell their stories. Jim Morris: Today I'm in Sutter County, and especially during this period of incredible challenge with COVID-19 it is so nice to see growers getting fields ready for a new season. This is a brief field trip with plenty of social distancing. Agriculture in California is essential and designated as such. So with proper precautions, farmers and mills are continuing their important work. I'm with grower Mike Dewit. Mike, we have tractors working. What's happening today? Mike DeWit: Well, we're on our third operation across this field, just trying to dry up the ground. What we're doing now is a chisel plow, and we're just getting that last little bit of moisture exposed to these nice warm days we've had the last few days. Jim Morris: What other steps will need to take place before you plant the rice this year? Mike DeWit: This particular field, we will disc it one more time just to smooth out some of those bigger clods that are out there. Then we'll level it one time with a GPS scraper. Then we'll apply the fertilizer, the water, and plant it. I've got May 5, May 6 in mind for a planting date. So, it's another three weeks of groundwork. Mostly it's just time letting the ground dry up. Jim Morris: You mentioned GPS, there is a lot of high-tech equipment being used. Can you comment about that? Mike DeWit: Yeah. It's a GPS scraper that we roll across the field, and it's just a scraper. What it does is, the GPS system tells the scraper itself when to cut ground, when to fill ground. It's all done by the GPS, and it just takes a good operator, and drive a straight line, and it happens. Jim Morris: But also airplanes use GPS, and I mean the technology has really changed over the decades, hasn't it? Mike DeWit: It's been incredible this GPS technology. It's allowed us to save money and fuel because the tractor drives a straighter line. It's allowed us to have precisely leveled fields with the scrapers. The airplanes, it's eliminated a lot of their labor force because they can do it without the flaggers at the end of the fields. It's been incredible, and again, there's so much more to it that I'm not in tuned with. I'm old school. I like doing things the old way, but I sure see the benefits, and I've reaped the benefits. I just got to learn it. Jim Morris: More rice for consumers, and also more efficient water use? Mike DeWit: Oh, absolutely. Yeah. It's cut our water use quite a bit with the precision leveling. We don't have the high spots that we need to cover. We can have the straight contours, and our checks make them perfect rectangles. It's just been a benefit to everybody involved. Jim Morris: This is a much different year than we've had in recent years. Tell me about the timeframe that you've seen so far, and how helpful that is. Mike DeWit: We're probably two-and-a-half, maybe close to three weeks ahead of where we were last year. I don't know what a normal year is anymore, but we're at least two weeks ahead. Jim Morris: You mentioned your workers, and we have a wide open area here in Sutter County. Tell me a little bit about your care for the workers, not only now, but in this COVID-19 era. Mike DeWit: We're well prepared. I appreciate these guys. I can't do it without them. I have one in particular, my foreman, Luis Beltran, he's like a brother to me. He's been with me for 12 years now, and has taken the COVID situation real seriously. He's got the Clorox wipes. He's got the nitrile gloves. He's got everything the guys need, and makes sure they're well supplied in the tractors. Jim Morris: Social distancing in the city and the country possibly look a little differently, particularly out here in rice country. Tell me what social distancing looks like here in Robbins. Mike DeWit: Well, if you had a camera right now, you could look around. I've got one guy on this tractor in a 300-acre field, and just to the east of him there's another guy on a tractor in a 300-acre field, so they're no closer than a half mile apart at any given time during the day. Jim Morris: What's the timeframe then once that crop is planted? Will you be harvesting, and are you optimistic based on the weather we've had at least to date? Mike DeWit: I'm very optimistic. The weather's been pretty good. We had little rain showers come through here a couple weeks ago, but we've gotten past that. Again, we're two, three weeks ahead. A May 10, May 15 planting date would mean about a October 1 beginning of the harvest. That's real encouraging. Jim Morris: We follow our farm visit with a second part of producing rice in California, a visit to a mill in the Sacramento Valley. I'm speaking with Jennifer Kalfsbeek, Senior Vice President and Chief Operations Officer at Sun Valley Rice in Colusa County. Jennifer, from a rice mill perspective, what are some of the new steps that are underway to help with employee safety in this era of COVID-19? Jennifer Kalfsbeek: Well, being a food manufacturing facility, we always have good manufacturing practices in place. However, we have stepped up our sanitation, we have people who now their sole purpose is to sanitize and disinfect all surfaces in the facility. We've actually put up some clear window barriers in places where truck drivers would be in contact with our employees. We have an adequate supply of personal protective equipment and cleaning supplies. We've expanded our supply vendors to meet our needs, so we have added additional sanitation pumps throughout the facility, and increased sanitizing our truck driver areas. Jim Morris: People who may not be familiar with a rice mill, they're a little different than perhaps some of the other food plants in California. There's a lot of mechanization, et cetera. I know there are a lot of people that work here, but is there some natural social distancing that often occurs here? Jennifer Kalfsbeek: Yes. In the rice mill we actually only have about four people. It's three stories, and so they're not close to one another. We've actually staggered a lot of the breaks and lunch times to help practice with these social distancing rules. Jim Morris: Something else that's unusual right now is, there is a lot less activity with restaurants and food service. There's a lot more activity, and a lot of demand with supermarkets. What kind of a challenge is that for a mill to try to meet that changing situation with consumers? Jennifer Kalfsbeek: There has been a decline in the restaurant business. However, with everybody cooking at home, there is a large demand on the retail side. Jim Morris: I think this is most likely short term. I know that we have the capability of shipping a lot of rice to market, so are you hopeful that in the near term there will be more rice available at market? Jennifer Kalfsbeek: Yes, and we're starting to see that today. That we aren't getting as many orders as we were about three weeks ago. This week we're starting to see a little bit of slowdown for these orders.Jim Morris: That wraps up this episode of Ingrained. Thank you to Mike Dewit and Jennifer Kalfsbeek for taking the time to visit with us. Go to podcast.calrice.org to find out much more, and we would love to hear from you as well. Thanks for listening.

California rice has been grown for more than a century, and is known worldwide for consistently high quality and steady production. A lot of factors contribute to that reputation, including many people working hard behind the scenes. Gustavo Mendieta arrived in the Sacramento Valley with his family from Mexico in the 1970s, seeking opportunity. They found it, first working on a tomato farm in Colusa. Since that time, Gustavo has logged 42 years working on rice farms, most recently at Montna Farms in Sutter County. Gustavo helps maintain the dryer at Montna Farms, which requires a lot of attention to make sure the grain is properly stored. He said people are surprised to learn that harvested rice still has a protective hull on it, which is then removed by mills before eventually heading to restaurants and supermarkets. His hard work and dedication have brought ample rewards. Gustavo said his salary has provided well for his family, including higher education and a great career path for his children. “My oldest daughter works for Gridley High School,” Gustavo remarked. “My oldest son is a correctional officer in Vacaville. My daughter Karen is getting a Master’s Degree to become a social worker. And Alex, my youngest son, is in his last year in high school, and would like to become a highway patrol officer.” Gustavo said, if he had to do it all over again, he would take the same path. “I think I did the right thing all of the time,” he said. “I found a place in the last two years like the one I worked before for 40 years. I’m happy to work with these really, really good people.”   Episode Transcript  Jim Morris: Grown on a half million acres in the Sacramento Valley. More than 4 billion pounds produced each year, providing 25,000 jobs and $5 billion to our economy annually. Habitat for 230 wildlife species, providing 61 percent of the fall and winter diet for millions of ducks and geese. Some of the facts and figures of how rice benefits California. As with any business, hardworking people are critical to success. Time to visit with someone who's devoted much of his life to rice, doing his job with professionalism, and a smile. Welcome to Ingrained, the California Rice Podcast. I'm your host, Jim Morris. I've been working with farmers and ranchers for nearly 30 years, and I'm very passionate about those who produce our food. I'm in Gridley, one of my favorite towns in the Sacramento Valley. It's off of Highway 99. A little while ago I saw sunset along the Feather River, and now I'm visiting with Gustavo Mendieta of Montna farms. Thank you so much Gustavo, for having me in your home. How long have you lived in Gridley, and what do you like about the community? Gustavo Mendieta: I’ve been here for 42 years in this town, and I like it because this town is really quiet and really good people around, you know. Jim Morris: And, how long have you worked in rice, and what are some of the jobs that you did at an early stage? Gustavo Mendieta: When we early here in this country, we lived in Colusa County and we working on growing tomatoes. So, two, three years later, we come to Gridley, and then soon we get here, I started working for a rice company in Marysville. So, I've been there for 40 years. Jim Morris: What have you seen over the decades about the hard work that it takes to get that food produced? Gustavo Mendieta: Yeah, it's a long process, you know, to grow the rice, and a really hard job because everything is sometimes under the water, sometimes long hours, because you have to watch all the time and take care of it, the crop, the production. To have it okay all the time until it goes to the mill. Jim Morris: You are going to be busy soon, once the tractors get in the fields and start to work the next crop. So, how do things change, and when do they change? When does the calendar get really busy? Gustavo Mendieta: April and May is the time when everybody start to grow, to start planting the rice in the fields. You know, you saw those airplanes you see, flying on top, doing the fertilizer and seeding the fields. Jim Morris: What area do you work in, and what are some of your responsibilities currently at Montna Farms? Gustavo Mendieta: My area is in the rice dryer. And, what we do there is receiving all the rice coming from the fields and the storage there for the whole year. So, the rice coming from the field is coming around 23 percent, 24 percent of the moisture. So, we have to run through the dryer six or seven passes to make it 18 percent to storage the whole year. Not really the whole year, but it has to be there until we shipping everything out to the mills. Jim Morris: So, when rice is harvested, it is rough rice, it has a protective hull on it, it can be stored, if properly, for a very long period of time. And then as the mill needs that rice, it is then trucked to the mill and it's milled and then it goes off to supermarkets, restaurants, et cetera. And, what kind of responsibility do you have, do you feel, when you are protecting that investment that took a lot of energy to get? Gustavo Mendieta: Well, the problem is, all depend on weather. If the weather is too wet, like raining a lot, it's hard to run the fans to keep the rice cold and safe. So, you have to watch all the time the weather. When is a real good time to run the fans? Why? Because it's too foggy, you bring moisture to inside and you lose the rice. If the north wind blowing, you dry too much the rice and the mills don't like it. So that you can lose the quality of the rice. So, you have to watch the whole place 24 hours all the time. Jim Morris: So it's not a nine to five job. So, have you had times at night when you're worried about something and you're thinking about ... Or maybe even having to take action to protect the crop? Gustavo Mendieta: Yeah. Sometimes, when I was working in another company for forty years, the weather made me wake up one o'clock in the morning and drive all the way down there and make sure everything close, everything safe, because the hard wind blow the roof off the storage bins. So, you have to make sure soon after the hard wind or the hard rain, you want to make sure everything closed. But, you find something getting wet and before you get there, right away you have to start to run that storage bin to different bin to keeping the rice safe. Otherwise you lose the whole bin. A lot of money invested there. Jim Morris: Wow. So, something to think about before you have your next a sushi roll or rice bowl. There's a lot of work behind the scenes. And, tell me a little bit about before you came to California, where were you born? Where did you grow up? And tell me a little bit about that location. Gustavo Mendieta: So, I was born 1963, and my mother take us, you know, the whole family to United States in 1976. Yeah. So, we come in and live in Colusa County before, and then we moved to Gridley. Jim Morris: You've spent your entire professional life working on rice farms. How has that impacted your family? Gustavo Mendieta: Ah, really good, you know. Because, when I barely start on the rice, you getting paid good money because you work long hours. So, you can get paid for the extra hours. You use that extra money to have a good education for the kids, you know. Like, my older daughter, she worked for the Gridley education place in high school. And my older son, he works for Vacaville. He's a correctional officer. And Karen, my daughter, she's getting the master degree for social work. And Alex, my son, he's in high school, the last year in high school. He would like to become a CHP. So, the opportunity to work on rice production, I got enough money to give a really good education to all my kids. So, everybody's really good now. Jim Morris: I love it. And how proud, how excited are you going to be when those graduations happen? Gustavo Mendieta: You know, I'm going to be very happy because there's only one more. The other three already graduated. So, one more. And I want to feel like the best in this world. Jim Morris: Well, I say congratulations to you. So, if you had to rewind and start it all again, would you do it the same way? Gustavo Mendieta: Oh yeah. Yeah. I start the same. You know, I think I do the right thing all the time. The last two years I thought I can find another place like the one I work for forty years better than that. And I have it. So, for the last two years, I find another place where I be happy to work for. And it's really, really, really good people there. Jim Morris: A lot of people like rice, but they've never been to a rice farm. So, what are a few things that might surprise people about rice? Gustavo Mendieta: Well, the surprise of the people, they don't know we have around 20 to 30 varieties, different kinds, short grain, long grain, medium grain. You know, they call 401, Calhikari, all kinds of, you know, varieties. Everybody thinks when they hear the name of rice, they think the rice is only one thing. No. It's a lot of varieties. And also, when the people stop to see how we're working on the dryer, they like to see the rice white already, ready to eat. And no, it still has a long process to have on the stores. Jim Morris: So, you're around rice all the time. Do you still eat rice? Gustavo Mendieta: Oh yeah. Yeah. You know, I love the rice because give me the opportunity to do a lot of good things for my family. Plus, my wife cooks the rice really good, so I love it. They call Mexican rice, so they cook with tomatoes and juice to put some water there and turn the color like jello. It is the same kind of rice everybody eats in the restaurants. So, really good taste. Jim Morris: How long do you feel you'll be working before you retire? Gustavo Mendieta: I like to be there forever. If I were, you know, with good health for 10, 15 years is going to be okay. Jim Morris: And, with people like Gustavo, that level of dedication and attention to detail, it's one of many reasons to be optimistic moving forward. That wraps up this episode. Thank you to Gustavo Mendieta of Montna farms, Page Design, Social Crows, Unearth Digital Media, and special thanks to rice grower and podcaster Kurt Richter, who's provided a lot to this effort, including the introduction of this episode. You can go to Podcast.CalRice.org to find out much more and to subscribe. Thanks for listening.

Feb 2 2020 Sun Northern California News - Pre­lim­i­nary hear­ing is sched­uled for ex-Sutter County de­part­ment head - Sutter Co - Man charged with human trafficking and pimping - court resume next week - USDA branching out to low income houses - California faces $1.2 billion budget hit after Trump administration rejects Medi-Cal proposal - Two men convicted in connection with gang-related assault, shooting - Citrus Heights police arrest armed man who barricaded self inside home - Woodland woman ordered to pay $2.5M in restitution after I-5 DUI crash involving weed - Pedestrian killed in south Sacramento Highway 99 crash identified by coroner - Valley Springs man arrested on suspicion of ‘forcible sexual activity’ with youth, 13 - Man arrested at Natomas apartment on suspicion of pimping, pandering in Auburn - Taco Bell Cantina to open in downtown Sacramento this week

UFO Buster Radio Link: https://www.spreaker.com/show/ufo-busters-tracks Are Ghosts Real? — Evidence Has Not Materialized Link: https://www.livescience.com/26697-are-ghosts-real.html If you believe in ghosts, you're not alone. Cultures all around the world believe in spirits that survive death to live in another realm. In fact, ghosts are among the most widely believed of paranormal phenomenon: Millions of people are interested in ghosts, and a 2013 Harris Poll found that 43% of Americans believe in ghosts. (The Harris Poll surveyed 2,250 U.S. adults online from Nov. 13-18. No margin of error was provided. 57 percent of U.S. adult say they believe in the virgin birth of Jesus. Sixty-four percent say they believe in the survival of the soul after death. 36 percent say they believe in UFOs, 29 percent say they believe in astrology, 26 percent say they believe in witches and 24 percent say they believe in reincarnation) People have tried to (or claimed to) communicate with spirits for ages; in Victorian England, for example, it was fashionable for upper-crust ladies to hold séances in their parlors after tea and crumpets with friends. Ghost clubs dedicated to searching for ghostly evidence formed at prestigious universities, including Cambridge and Oxford, and in 1882 the most prominent organization, the Society for Psychical Research, was established. A woman named Eleanor Sidgwick was an investigator (and later president) of that group, and could be considered the original female ghostbuster. In America during the late 1800s, many psychic mediums claimed to speak to the dead — but were later exposed as frauds by skeptical investigators such as Harry Houdini. Personal experience is one thing, but scientific evidence is another matter. Part of the difficulty in investigating ghosts is that there is not one universally agreed-upon definition of what a ghost is. Some believe that they are spirits of the dead who for whatever reason get "lost" on their way to The Other Side; others claim that ghosts are instead telepathic entities projected into the world from our minds. Still others create their own special categories for different types of ghosts, such as poltergeists, residual hauntings, intelligent spirits and shadow people. Of course, it's all made up, like speculating on the different races of fairies or dragons: there are as many types of ghosts as you want there to be. If ghosts are the spirits of those whose deaths were unavenged, why are there unsolved murders, since ghosts are said to communicate with psychic mediums, and should be able to identify their killers for the police. And so on — just about any claim about ghosts raises logical reasons to doubt it. It is widely claimed that Albert Einstein suggested a scientific basis for the reality of ghosts, based on the First Law of Thermodynamics: if energy cannot be created or destroyed but only change form, what happens to our body's energy when we die? Could that somehow be manifested as a ghost? Ultimately, ghost hunting is not about the evidence (if it was, the search would have been abandoned long ago). Instead, it's about having fun with friends, telling stories, and the enjoyment of pretending they are searching the edge of the unknown. After all, everyone loves a good ghost story. Dorothea Helen Puente Dorothea Helen Puente (January 9, 1929 – March 27, 2011) was an American convicted serial killer. In the 1980s, Puente ran a boarding house in Sacramento, California, and murdered her elderly and mentally disabled boarders before cashing their Social Security checks.[1] Her total count reached nine confirmed murders, and six unconfirmed. Newspapers dubbed Puente the "Death House Landlady".[2] Puente was born Dorothea Helen Gray on January 9, 1929, in Redlands, California, to Trudy Mae (née Yates) and Jesse James Gray.[3] She had a traumatic upbringing; her parents were both alcoholics, her mother was a prostitute, and her father attempted suicide in front of her.[4] Her father died of tuberculosis in 1937 when she was 8, and her mother died in a car accident the following year. She was sent to an orphanage,[3] where she was sexually abused.[4] In 1945, Gray was married for the first time, at the age of 16, to a soldier named Fred McFaul, who had just returned from the Pacific Theater of World War II. Gray had two daughters between 1946 and 1948, but she sent one to live with relatives in Sacramento and placed the other child for adoption. She became pregnant again in 1948, but suffered a miscarriage. In late 1948, McFaul left her. Gray was sentenced to a year in jail for forging checks; she was paroled after six months. Soon afterwards, she became pregnant by a man she barely knew and gave birth to a daughter, whom she placed for adoption. In 1952, she married a Swede named Axel Johanson, and had a turbulent 14-year marriage. In the 1960s, Gray was arrested for owning and managing a brothel and was sentenced to 90 days in the Sacramento County Jail. After her release, she was arrested again, this time for vagrancy, and sentenced to another 90 days in jail. Following that, Gray began a criminal career that over time became more serious. She found work as a nurse's aide, caring for disabled and elderly people in private homes. In a short time, she started to manage boarding houses. Gray divorced Johanson in 1966 and married Roberto Puente, a man 19 years her junior, in Mexico City. The marriage lasted two years. Shortly after it ended, Dorothea Puente took over a three-story, 16-bedroom care home at 2100 F Street in Sacramento; she would later rent an upstairs apartment at 1426 F Street. Puente got married for the fourth time in 1976 to Pedro Montalvo, who was a violent alcoholic. This marriage lasted only a few months, and Puente started to spend time in local bars looking for older men who were receiving benefits. Puente forged their signatures to steal their money. She was caught and charged with 34 counts of treasury fraud, for which she received probation. The Murders Link: https://www.crimemuseum.org/crime-library/serial-killers/dorothea-puente/ In April 1982, Puente's friend and business partner, Ruth Monroe, rented a space in an apartment she owned. Shortly after moving in, Monroe died from an overdose of codeine and Tylenol. When she was questioned by police, Puente said that Monroe had become depressed because of her husband's illness. Police officially ruled the death a suicide. Several weeks later, 74-year-old Malcolm McKenzie accused Puente of drugging him and stealing his pension. Puente was charged and convicted of theft in August of that year and was sentenced to five years in jail. When she was serving her sentence, she began a pen-pal relationship with 77-year-old Everson Gillmouth. When she was released in 1985, after serving three years, she opened a joint bank account with Gillmouth. On January 1, 1986, the box was recovered by a fisherman, who called the police. When police arrived and opened the box, they found the decomposed remains of an elderly man- who would not be identified as Everson Gillmouth for another three years. During this time, Puente collected Gillmouth's pension and forged letters to his family. Puente also hired Florez to build a box that was six feet by three feet by two feet, which she stated that she would use to store “books and other items.” She and Florez then travelled to a highway in Sutter County and dumped the box in a riverbank. On January 1, 1986, the box was recovered by a fisherman, who called the police. When police arrived and opened the box, they found the decomposed remains of an elderly man- who would not be identified as Everson Gillmouth for another three years. Puente was charged with nine counts of murder, for the seven bodies found at her house in addition to Gillmouth and Montoya. She was convicted of three of the murders, as jury could not agree on the other six. Puente was sentenced to two life sentences which she served at Central California Women's Facility in Madera County, California until her death in 2011 at age 82. Until her death, she continued to insist that she was innocent and that the tenants had all died of natural causes. Show Stuff The Dark Horde Podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/show/the-dark-horde The Dark Horde, LLC – http://www.thedarkhorde.com Twitter @DarkHorde or https://twitter.com/HordeDark TeePublic Store - Get your UBR goodies today! http://tee.pub/lic/2GQuXxn79dg UBR Truth Seekers Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/216706068856746 UFO Buster Radio: https://www.facebook.com/UFOBusterRadio YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCggl8-aPBDo7wXJQ43TiluA To contact Manny: manny@ufobusterradio.com, or on Twitter @ufobusterradio Call the show anytime at (972) 290-1329 and leave us a message with your point of view, UFO sighting, and ghostly experiences or join the discussion on www.ufobusterradio.com For Skype Users: bosscrawler

UFO Buster Radio Link: https://www.spreaker.com/show/ufo-busters-tracks Are Ghosts Real? — Evidence Has Not Materialized Link: https://www.livescience.com/26697-are-ghosts-real.html If you believe in ghosts, you're not alone. Cultures all around the world believe in spirits that survive death to live in another realm. In fact, ghosts are among the most widely believed of paranormal phenomenon: Millions of people are interested in ghosts, and a 2013 Harris Poll found that 43% of Americans believe in ghosts. (The Harris Poll surveyed 2,250 U.S. adults online from Nov. 13-18. No margin of error was provided. 57 percent of U.S. adult say they believe in the virgin birth of Jesus. Sixty-four percent say they believe in the survival of the soul after death. 36 percent say they believe in UFOs, 29 percent say they believe in astrology, 26 percent say they believe in witches and 24 percent say they believe in reincarnation) People have tried to (or claimed to) communicate with spirits for ages; in Victorian England, for example, it was fashionable for upper-crust ladies to hold séances in their parlors after tea and crumpets with friends. Ghost clubs dedicated to searching for ghostly evidence formed at prestigious universities, including Cambridge and Oxford, and in 1882 the most prominent organization, the Society for Psychical Research, was established. A woman named Eleanor Sidgwick was an investigator (and later president) of that group, and could be considered the original female ghostbuster. In America during the late 1800s, many psychic mediums claimed to speak to the dead — but were later exposed as frauds by skeptical investigators such as Harry Houdini. Personal experience is one thing, but scientific evidence is another matter. Part of the difficulty in investigating ghosts is that there is not one universally agreed-upon definition of what a ghost is. Some believe that they are spirits of the dead who for whatever reason get "lost" on their way to The Other Side; others claim that ghosts are instead telepathic entities projected into the world from our minds. Still others create their own special categories for different types of ghosts, such as poltergeists, residual hauntings, intelligent spirits and shadow people. Of course, it's all made up, like speculating on the different races of fairies or dragons: there are as many types of ghosts as you want there to be. If ghosts are the spirits of those whose deaths were unavenged, why are there unsolved murders, since ghosts are said to communicate with psychic mediums, and should be able to identify their killers for the police. And so on — just about any claim about ghosts raises logical reasons to doubt it. It is widely claimed that Albert Einstein suggested a scientific basis for the reality of ghosts, based on the First Law of Thermodynamics: if energy cannot be created or destroyed but only change form, what happens to our body's energy when we die? Could that somehow be manifested as a ghost? Ultimately, ghost hunting is not about the evidence (if it was, the search would have been abandoned long ago). Instead, it's about having fun with friends, telling stories, and the enjoyment of pretending they are searching the edge of the unknown. After all, everyone loves a good ghost story. Dorothea Helen Puente Dorothea Helen Puente (January 9, 1929 – March 27, 2011) was an American convicted serial killer. In the 1980s, Puente ran a boarding house in Sacramento, California, and murdered her elderly and mentally disabled boarders before cashing their Social Security checks.[1] Her total count reached nine confirmed murders, and six unconfirmed. Newspapers dubbed Puente the "Death House Landlady".[2] Puente was born Dorothea Helen Gray on January 9, 1929, in Redlands, California, to Trudy Mae (née Yates) and Jesse James Gray.[3] She had a traumatic upbringing; her parents were both alcoholics, her mother was a prostitute, and her father attempted suicide in front of her.[4] Her father died of tuberculosis in 1937 when she was 8, and her mother died in a car accident the following year. She was sent to an orphanage,[3] where she was sexually abused.[4] In 1945, Gray was married for the first time, at the age of 16, to a soldier named Fred McFaul, who had just returned from the Pacific Theater of World War II. Gray had two daughters between 1946 and 1948, but she sent one to live with relatives in Sacramento and placed the other child for adoption. She became pregnant again in 1948, but suffered a miscarriage. In late 1948, McFaul left her. Gray was sentenced to a year in jail for forging checks; she was paroled after six months. Soon afterwards, she became pregnant by a man she barely knew and gave birth to a daughter, whom she placed for adoption. In 1952, she married a Swede named Axel Johanson, and had a turbulent 14-year marriage. In the 1960s, Gray was arrested for owning and managing a brothel and was sentenced to 90 days in the Sacramento County Jail. After her release, she was arrested again, this time for vagrancy, and sentenced to another 90 days in jail. Following that, Gray began a criminal career that over time became more serious. She found work as a nurse's aide, caring for disabled and elderly people in private homes. In a short time, she started to manage boarding houses. Gray divorced Johanson in 1966 and married Roberto Puente, a man 19 years her junior, in Mexico City. The marriage lasted two years. Shortly after it ended, Dorothea Puente took over a three-story, 16-bedroom care home at 2100 F Street in Sacramento; she would later rent an upstairs apartment at 1426 F Street. Puente got married for the fourth time in 1976 to Pedro Montalvo, who was a violent alcoholic. This marriage lasted only a few months, and Puente started to spend time in local bars looking for older men who were receiving benefits. Puente forged their signatures to steal their money. She was caught and charged with 34 counts of treasury fraud, for which she received probation. The Murders Link: https://www.crimemuseum.org/crime-library/serial-killers/dorothea-puente/ In April 1982, Puente's friend and business partner, Ruth Monroe, rented a space in an apartment she owned. Shortly after moving in, Monroe died from an overdose of codeine and Tylenol. When she was questioned by police, Puente said that Monroe had become depressed because of her husband's illness. Police officially ruled the death a suicide. Several weeks later, 74-year-old Malcolm McKenzie accused Puente of drugging him and stealing his pension. Puente was charged and convicted of theft in August of that year and was sentenced to five years in jail. When she was serving her sentence, she began a pen-pal relationship with 77-year-old Everson Gillmouth. When she was released in 1985, after serving three years, she opened a joint bank account with Gillmouth. On January 1, 1986, the box was recovered by a fisherman, who called the police. When police arrived and opened the box, they found the decomposed remains of an elderly man- who would not be identified as Everson Gillmouth for another three years. During this time, Puente collected Gillmouth's pension and forged letters to his family. Puente also hired Florez to build a box that was six feet by three feet by two feet, which she stated that she would use to store “books and other items.” She and Florez then travelled to a highway in Sutter County and dumped the box in a riverbank. On January 1, 1986, the box was recovered by a fisherman, who called the police. When police arrived and opened the box, they found the decomposed remains of an elderly man- who would not be identified as Everson Gillmouth for another three years. Puente was charged with nine counts of murder, for the seven bodies found at her house in addition to Gillmouth and Montoya. She was convicted of three of the murders, as jury could not agree on the other six. Puente was sentenced to two life sentences which she served at Central California Women's Facility in Madera County, California until her death in 2011 at age 82. Until her death, she continued to insist that she was innocent and that the tenants had all died of natural causes. Show Stuff The Dark Horde Podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/show/the-dark-horde The Dark Horde, LLC – http://www.thedarkhorde.com Twitter @DarkHorde or https://twitter.com/HordeDark TeePublic Store - Get your UBR goodies today! http://tee.pub/lic/2GQuXxn79dg UBR Truth Seekers Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/216706068856746 UFO Buster Radio: https://www.facebook.com/UFOBusterRadio YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCggl8-aPBDo7wXJQ43TiluA To contact Manny: manny@ufobusterradio.com, or on Twitter @ufobusterradio Call the show anytime at (972) 290-1329 and leave us a message with your point of view, UFO sighting, and ghostly experiences or join the discussion on www.ufobusterradio.com For Skype Users: bosscrawler

They are one of the world’s iconic birds. They quack and waddle on land, which is a sharp contrast to their grace in the water and air.  The Sacramento Valley is home to millions of ducks, and rice fields play a vital role in their lives. Helping ducks has been the passionate pursuit of Virginia Getz for 20-years. Virginia manages conservation programs for Ducks Unlimited’s Western Region (DU), including California. Keeping rice farming strong is critical to maintaining a healthy Pacific Flyway duck population. “Ninety-five percent of the wetland habitat that historically occurred in the Central Valley has been lost, and waterfowl populations are now heavily dependent on agricultural lands, primarily rice,” according to Getz.   Sacramento Valley rice fields provide more than 60 percent of the fall and winter diet for the millions of ducks and geese in the Central Valley. DU works with the Rice Commission and growers to help keep rice strong, which, in turn, maintains vital wildlife habitat.  California Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot recently visited Butte County and had positive remarks about the Sacramento Valley ecosystem and the vital role rice plays for wildlife habitat. “We are seeing these flooded up rice fields teeming with birds on the Pacific Flyway,” Crowfoot said.  “It always reminds me that we can find paths forward in California that protect water for people and nature.”   Ducks are inspirational to many, including artist René C. Reyes.  “Ducks are an appealing subject because they are a great mix of awkwardness and beauty. On land, ducks waddle and they quack, but in the air, they are quite amazing. In water, where they are in their element, that’s when their beauty comes out and, in my art, that’s what I try to capture.” Here's a link to where you can find learn more about waterbirds in the Sacramento Valley and how you can support conservation. Episode Transcript René Reyes: When I see thousands or millions of birds flying overhead during their migration, which they've been doing for thousands of years, I see a glimpse of our past. Jim Morris: Artist, René Reyes, captures incredible detail in his wildlife paintings, including ducks, one of the most popular and beloved birds in the world. René Reyes: They are a great mix of awkwardness and beauty. On land ducks waddle, and they quack. But in the air, they're quite amazing. They're a sight to see. But in water, where they are in their element, that's when their beauty comes out. And in my art, that's what I try to capture. Jim Morris: The Sacramento Valley offers vital habitat for ducks. California has changed a lot since its early days, and there's a challenging balance between managing our environment, cities, and farms. Fortunately, with cooperation and creativity, there is a way to make it all work.  [Music Intro] Jim Morris: Welcome to Ingrained, the California Rice podcast. I'm your host, Jim Morris. I'm at the DeWit Rice Farm in Sutter County, one of the places where ducks thrive. With me is Virginia Getz of Ducks Unlimited and one of my colleagues at the California Rice Commission, Luke Matthews, wildlife programs manager. Virginia, you cover the Western region for Ducks Unlimited. What area do you cover? Virginia Getz: Yes, I'm the manager of conservation programs for DU's Western regional office. I oversee our group of biologists that are responsible for developing and delivering our on the ground conservation work in a four-state area, which includes California, Nevada, Hawaii, and Arizona. Jim Morris: So when you look at California, specifically, in the effort to preserve the duck population for future generations, what are some of the challenges that are specific here in California? Virginia Getz: Well, increased competition for water is the major issue that we face and it's growing in importance daily. And a particular concern is the risk of reduction or loss of water for rice straw decomposition. Ninety-five percent of the wetland habitat that historically occurred in the Central Valley has been lost and waterfowl populations are now heavily dependent on agricultural lands, primarily rice. The economics of growing rice has been good and that's kept a large land base in rice production, but that could change. Population growth and urban encroachment are continued threats, and we also are seeing a conversion of ricelands to trees and vines, crops which are not waterfowl friendly. Jim Morris: So what can DU do to try to maintain that rice habitat and a healthy duck population here in the Central Valley? Virginia Getz: DU has an excellent working relationship with the rice industry and rice farmers in the Sacramento Valley. Ricelands are essential for supporting wintering waterfowl populations and therefore we work closely with rice interests on policy, outreach, and funding programs to help maintain a large rice base in the region. We provided an incentive program for farmers to implement winter flooding as an alternative to burning, to decompose their rice straw, and that helped establish flooding as a standard practice for straw decomposition. DU also hold 12 conservation easements that permanently protect about five thousand acres of ricelands in key areas in the Sacramento Valley. Jim Morris: So Luke Matthews, what are some ways that you work with Ducks Unlimited and other conservation groups to maximize this duck habitat? Luke Matthews: So, what we do is we apply for federal grants with Ducks Unlimited and many of our other partners to get more funding to provide habitat on the landscape, in these agricultural fields, that's beneficial for waterfowl, but also for shorebirds and many other waterbirds that use these rice fields in the Sacramento Valley. Some of them need deeper water, shallower water, versus earlier water and later water. So, a lot of the work we do is providing water on the landscape, but at the right time and at the right depths. Jim Morris: So Virginia, looking back at ducks here in the Central Valley, can you give me a few numbers about how large the population is here? Virginia Getz: Yeah, the Central Valley is one of the three most significant areas for wintering waterfowl in North America. And therefore, it's one of our highest priority areas for conservation. The Central Valley is truly the heart of the Pacific Flyway. It's the single most important area for wintering waterfowl in the entire Flyway, and it supports sixty percent of the migrating and wintering waterfowl in the Flyway. Now in an average year, that translates to more than five million ducks and more than two and a half million geese. Jim Morris: If you take rice out of the equation, or if you dramatically reduced the rice acreage, what happens to the duck population? Virginia Getz: Well, ninety-five percent of the wetland habitat that historically occurred in the Valley's been lost. Currently, about sixty-eight percent of the nutritional needs of wintering waterfowl in the Central Valley are being met by agricultural lands, primarily rice. The dependency of waterfowl and agricultural lands varies by basin. And both the Sutter and American basins, where wetlands are extremely limited, agricultural lands provide more than ninety percent of the nutritional needs of wintering waterfowl. If we were to lose about fifty percent of the rice acreage that's out there now, we would be able to support one million less waterfowl in the winter. Jim Morris: When you look at hunting season in the Sacramento Valley, how much does this actually contribute to conservation? Virginia Getz: There are currently about 205,000 acres of managed wetlands that remain in the Valley. And two-thirds of those are in private ownership. Most of those wetlands are being managed for waterfowl hunting. We're going to continue to count on private wetlands to meet the needs of wintering waterfowl. Waterfowl hunters are very passionate about waterfowl wetlands and the waterfowling tradition, and they have a long history of habitat conservation. Waterfowl hunters purchase both state and federal duck stamps, which provide funding for wetland habitat protection, restoration enhancement, and they contribute significantly to the local economies of the areas in which they hunt. Jim Morris: You've been at Ducks Unlimited now for 20 years and when did your passion for wildlife start and how ideal is the job you have right now? Virginia Getz: I'm a wildlife biologist by training and I knew I wanted to be a wildlife biologist when I was very young. I've always had a love for the outdoors and wildlife. and habitat. And wildlife conservation is at the heart of my personal values. But back in 2000, DU had an opening for a regional biologist in the Intermountain West. And that region included portions of Northeast California and Southern Oregon, areas in which I had hunted waterfowl and spent time recreating and I really loved that landscape. So, this was an opportunity to work for the resource, to focus on waterfowl and wetlands and what more could biologist ask for? So, I took that job. Jim Morris: What are the absolute keys, Virginia, to maintaining this duck population for future generations to enjoy? Virginia Getz: We need to maintain the wetland base that we have and we need to increase the acreage of wetlands on the landscape. And we need to maintain a large rice base here in the Valley and ensure that we have sufficient waters to support both the wetlands and the ricelands. The way we got to where we are with wetlands and ricelands is through cooperation. We have a strong history of partnering here in the Valley. And that way of working together cooperatively to accomplish conservation is the key to the future. Jim Morris: That's where telling the story of the rich environment of the Sacramento Valley is so important. The greater the understanding of how special this region is, the better chance we have to maintain it. Here's what California Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot had to say during his recent trip to the Gray Lodge Wildlife Area in Butte County. As you're driving in the Sacramento Valley, there's obviously rice fields this time of year filled with birds. What are your thoughts of this important environment in the Sacramento Valley and the need to do all we can to conserve this massive migration that we see? Wade Crowfoot: Well, one of my favorite road trips in this job is actually moving through the Sacramento Valley in the winter. Where you're seeing these flooded up rice fields, teeming with birds on the Pacific Flyway. And it always reminds me that we can find paths forward in California that protect water for people and nature. When I come up here and I see these ducks, these waterfowl on the river, it's just tremendously inspirational. Jim Morris: Preserving this jewel of our state includes careful stewardship of a much debated subject in California – water. Listen to these encouraging comments from Secretary Crowfoot. Wade Crowfoot: There's entrenched narrative in California that water is all about conflict and it's all about making trade-offs. When in fact, we know we need secure water supplies for farmers and communities, while continuing to improve habitat for fish and wildlife. And what's happening with rice growing in the Sacramento Valley is proving that we can balance these needs. Jim Morris: That's how things get done in this Valley. Through passionate people like Virginia Getz. Virginia Getz: Oh, I'm living the dream, working for Ducks Unlimited. Jim Morris: And dedicated groups working cooperatively for a greater goal: maintaining and enhancing our diverse ecosystem here in the Sacramento Valley. That'll wrap up this episode of Ingrained, many thanks to Virginia Getz and all of those at Ducks Unlimited, Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot, Luke Matthews, René Reyes, and the many people who appreciate and work to preserve wildlife. A reminder to go to podcast.calrise.org for more information and to subscribe. Thanks for listening.

NEWS TOPICS: Yuba County, Sutter County, Yuba City, Marysville, California, sports, cannabis, crime, taxes, politics, Ellis Lake, #SmallBusinessSaturday, retail, shopping, restaurants, Christmas, Redding, Chico, 530

It’s harvest time in the rice fields of the Sacramento Valley, where virtually all of America’s sushi rice is grown. Join us as we go on a harvester ride with grower Brian McKenzie in Sutter County, to find out just how much of a hi-tech experience rice farming has become.  We also visit with Taro Arai, Chief Dreaming Officer of Mikuni, a fantastic sushi chef with a passion for local rice. Mikuni uses 20 tons of California rice each month!  

INTRO [9:30] Nick's Retirement Luncheon [32:43] Cockpit Confessions: The Truth About Airplane Mode (and More) NEWS [47:10] Flap, gear overspeed during non-standard go-around [52:20] Children of the Magenta [58:41] Welcome aboard the mad dog aero-plane [1:05:22] World-famous chef detained at LAX with 40 frozen piranhas in his bag [1:12:57] Pilot falls unconscious for 40 minutes over Adelaide airspace in light plane [1:20:24] Pilots Die after Crop Duster Planes Collide in Midair in Sutter County [1:25:37] Seatbelts, Folks [1:29:49] 2 dead after Taquan Air plane crash in waters near Metlakatla FEEDBACK [1:35:54] Doug - Landing [1:43:00] Thomas - Follow up to my Last Feedback [1:51:54] Terry - Sleep Apnea [2:03:47] Plane Tale - I Counted Them All Out... [2:29:35] Glaucus - Aeroflot Incident [2:31:43] Christian - Audio Feedback from APG 372 [2:33:04] Eugene - UPDATE - (Southwest/Roadrunner) [2:36:51] Matt - Cleveland/Chapel Hill [2:49:16] Chris - Nick's Insect Taxonomy was Excellent [2:50:53] Murilo - Oxygen Masks [2:53:46] Larry - Wrong Airplane Picture? [2:55:23] Brook - Thanks for APG! ABOUT RADIO ROGER “Radio Roger” Stern has been a TV and Radio reporter since he was a teenager. He’s won an Emmy award for his coverage in the New York City Market. Currently you can hear his reporting in New York on radio station 1010 WINS, the number one all-news station in the nation. Nationally you can hear him anchor newscasts on the Fox News Radio Network and on Fox’s Headlines 24-7 service on Sirius XM Radio. In addition Roger is a proud member of and contributor to the APG community. VIDEO Audible.com Trial Membership Offer - Get your free audio book today! Give us your review in iTunes! I'm "airlinepilotguy" on Facebook, and "airlinepilotguy" on Twitter. feedback@airlinepilotguy.com airlinepilotguy.com ATC audio from http://LiveATC.net Intro/outro Music, Coffee Fund theme music by Geoff Smith thegeoffsmith.comDr. Steph's intro music by Nevil BoundsCapt Nick's intro music by Kevin from Norway (aka Kevski) Doh De Oh by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100255Artist: http://incompetech.com/ Copyright © AirlinePilotGuy 2019, All Rights Reserved Airline Pilot Guy Show by Jeff Nielsen is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License

On this episode Beth and Wendy discuss Juan Vallejo Corona, a Mexican serial killer who was convicted of the murders of 25 migrant farm workers found buried in shallow graves in peach orchards along the Feather River in Sutter County, California, in 1971. The exact victim total, however, remains unknown. As usual we close out the show with some shout outs, crime news and of course, some tips on how not to get shmurdered.  Special thanks to our Loopster Marlene (@semnchy) for letting us use her music! (see footnotes below for more info). Thanks for listening! This is a weekly podcast and new episodes drop every Thursday, so until next time... look alive guys, it's crazy out there! Where to find us: Our Facebook page is Fruitloopspod and our discussion group is Fruitloopspod Discussion on Facebook; https://www.facebook.com/groups/fruitloopspod/ We are also on Twitter and Instagram @fruitloopspod Please send any questions or comments to fruitloopspod@gmail.com or leave us a voicemail at 602-935-6294.  We just might read your email or play your voicemail on the show! Want to Support the show? You can support the show by rating and reviewing Fruitloops on iTunes, or anywhere else that you get your podcasts from.  We would love it if you gave us 5 stars! You can make a donation on the Cash App https://cash.me/$fruitloopspod Or become a monthly Patron through our Podbean Patron page https://patron.podbean.com/fruitloopspod And don't forget to check out our Merch! Footnotes & More Music 40's & Shorties used by permission of Marlene Miller, @semnchy on Instagram, marlenemiller138@gmail.com Abyss by Alasen: ●https://soundcloud.com/alasen●https://twitter.com/icemantrap ●https://instagram.com/icemanbass/●https://soundcloud.com/therealfrozenguy6.6.05 by BOPD http://freemusicarchive.org/music/BOPD/ Furious Freak by Kevin MacLeod https://incompetech.comLicensed under Creative Commons By Attribution 3.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Connect with us on: Twitter @FruitLoopsPod Instagram https://www.instagram.com/fruitloopspod Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Fruitloopspod and https://www.facebook.com/groups/fruitloopspod

My name is Charles William Ashworth. I'm the first child of Alice and Bill, a wordsmith and a musician. I was born in Sutter County, California when the county seat of Yuba City was a proud farm town known as the Peach Capital of the World. If you've ever eaten a canned cling peach, a Thompson seedless grape, or a prune, you've tasted something of the history of Sutter County. Like me, each of these pioneering products went out into the world to make a name for itself. https://thewriterthehusband.com/the-bearer-is-also-known-as-charlie-peacock/

Bullard's Bar kokanee, Homeless camps at Sutter County boat ramps, Clear Lake crappie & bass, Folsom Lake trout & salmon, American River steelhead

When we met two of the sisters from Le Prunier Plum Beauty Oil at the In Cosmetics conference in 2017, we immediately fell in love with their plum beauty oil. Once we heard more about their story and the development of the plum beauty oil we knew that we wanted to interview them and find out more. At Formula Botanica we love oils. We also love meeting skincare entrepreneurs and finding out more about what they are making, their processes and how they find inspiration.  In September 2016, siblings Jacqueline, Allison and Elaine Taylor co-founded Le Prunier, an innovative and organic beauty line based on the Power of Plum.  The sister's story begins in 1916, when their great grandfather, Earl Taylor, began farming the rich soils of Sutter County, 30 miles north of Sacramento. Their grandfather, George Taylor, continued the family tradition, followed by their father and uncle. The sisters spent much of their youth on the farm, helping with harvest, working farmers markets and attending trade shows to promote their product.   In 2014, they made the decision to explore alternative uses of the plum by partnering with two world-renowned labs. Their goal was to uncover the hidden benefits of this powerful fruit, while maintaining sustainable, organic farming practices. Among one of the areas they explored was utilizing the overlooked byproducts of the plum. What they discovered—the most precious and powerful oil—is now Le Prunier. Today, the sisters carry on the farm’s legacy with a 4th generation perspective—tradition meets innovation.   In this podcast you will: Learn the story of how they developed a skincare range from waste on their farm. Be introduced to the science behind their plum beauty oil and why it makes a great choice for all types of skin. Find out how Le Prunier secured retail deals with Neiman Marcus and other routes to market. Learn what it’s like to launch with one product and then work on diversifying your range. Find out they work together as sisters and play to each other’s strengths.  You can have a look at the benefits of plum beauty oil as well as the heritage and sustainability behind Le Prunier by visiting www.leprunier.com or by following them on social media:  Follow Le Prunier on Facebook Follow Le Prunier on Instagram Follow Le Prunier on Twitter To claim your 10% discount on the LePrunier Plum Beauty Oil - which won best facial serum oil at the Indie Beauty Expo 2017 - enter the code FB2018 at checkout. We hope that you enjoyed listening to this episode and please get in touch with us if you have any question or comments.     Please share, subscribe and review on iTunes Thank you for joining us for this episode of the Formula Botanica: Green Beauty Conversations podcast. If you enjoyed this episode, please share, subscribe and review on iTunes or Stitcher so that more people can enjoy the show. Don’t forget to follow and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.  

Tonight's SPECIAL GUEST is Mark Sconse, the co-chairman (with Mark Lunsford) of the Kross Kountry 4 Kids motorcycle tour, part of the "Army of Angeles" events that commence April 1st in celebration of Child Abuse Awareness Month. Mark lives with his wife Cindy in Sacramento. Their youngest daughter, Courtney Hannah Sconce, 12 years old at the time, was kidnapped in 2000, and was later that night found raped and strangled to death on the banks of the Feather River in Sutter County, California. Eight months later her 19 year old killer was arrested, and eventually pled guilty to kidnap, rape and homicide, receiving a sentence of Life Without the Possibility of Parole. This seemingly unlikely criminal was being investigated by the FBI at the time of his killing Courtney. Mark and Cindy Sconse share their story as activists who are always willing to do what they can to support efforts related to child safety, sex offender sentencing and Megan's Law registration issues. They also participate as members of the California Victim's Witness program at their annual training seminars. To support Mark and the Kross Kountry 4 Kids motorcycle tour, write to him at: mcjac1@hotmail.com