What's Happening on the Farm

Well, after last year’s almost 200% normal precipitation it is starting to look like this year may be a dud.  I have just under 2 inches in my rain gauges on the westside and not much better in Kerman.  I am glad I dropped most of my dryfarm acres this year because it would take a small miracle to make…

It seems like I am always saying “bloom looks like it is going to be early this year”.  Well, this year, I think it actually will be.  Here are a some pictures of a four year old tree on February 3rd.  As you can see, some of the buds are fully opened into flowers and the others are “swollen” and…

One of the crops I have grown for many, many years is alfalfa seed.  It is grown under contract for different companies that package the seed and sell it to dairies and alfalfa farmers to plant and make hay crops.  Basically, I grow the alfalfa and instead of cutting it and making it into hay bales, I let the blooms…

Winter is an active time of year for almond farming.  I know… you’d think that since the trees are dormant there wouldn’t be anything to do, but unfortunately that is not the case.  It is during the winter that pests like Navel Orange Worm, Scale and Peach Twig Borer are busy consuming any carbohydrates the tree or “mummy” almonds have…

Is it just me or does it seem like this winter is going by REAL fast.  I feel like I was just finishing working ground a month ago and here we are, planting alfalfa seed.  This alfalfa is grown for the seed production under contract.  It is different than alfalfa grown for hay in that it is planted in lines…

Thanks for dropping in and checking out my farm! Since this is my first blog post…ever… I’d like to introduce myself.  My name is Jeff Yribarren and I was born and raised in Western Fresno County in California’s Central Valley.  I grew up on a farm, left for four years to go to college and ended up right back where…