Guest Blog- Woodcarving and Wildlife – My lifelong passions

By Roger Anderson, Woodcarver

I can still remember what prompted my fascination with woodcarving as an art form. It was a display of vintage duck decoys from the ‘20s and ‘30s presented in Field and Stream magazine that did the trick way back in 1968.

I struggled at first, but when I saw the ad in the Sacramento Bee for the 1982 Pacific Flyway Decoy Festival, I attended and started learning from expert carvers the proper methods of carving and materials selection. This information, along with my desire to master this medium, has helped me reach my current skill level. It’s all been self-taught, and I have carved upwards of 300 decoys.


I really enjoyed carving the winning Redhead duck for this year’s California Rice Commission competition. The Redhead is my favorite duck and this proved a challenging project. I find carving a great hobby and pastime. With carving, it’s just you and the block of wood. I enjoy seeing the bird develop as the carving progresses. Much of my preparation and study begin in the field with the actual viewing and photography of wild ducks in Sacramento Valley rice fields. This year's Redhead duck was right up my alley. In fact, my first winning carving was a different Redhead that I made in the mid 1980s for the Pacific Flyway Decoy Festival.

The Redhead duck is magnificent with its prominent red head, yellow eyes, and striped bill. I always keep an eye out looking for them throughout the Sacramento Valley and beyond. The Redhead migrates late in the season, arriving from the north in December. The Sacramento Valley with its refuges and rice agriculture lands provide the aquatic plant feed for the wintering birds. It’s wonderful to see the trend to conserve and preserve these wetlands.

Bird viewing has become very popular and hunting is remaining a viable sport. An outgrowth of these is waterfowl art, which brings many different people together. I know as the days grow shorter and the air crisper the excitement of fall will stir my soul, and I'll be out in the field to view this wonder of nature!

Video: Fields of Light inspires artist Joseph Bellacera

Prominent artist Joseph Bellacera discusses the motivation and inspiration he has received from his Fields of Light art series, including a nine-foot tall sculpture in front of the West Sacramento Library.



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Blog post by Lauren LaGrande- Checking in during a busy summer

School is out, fair is over, and the days are warm and long... finally, summer is here. And it’s an eventful one too!

Our softball summer league has finished as well as our summer All Star season. So far my friends and my summer has consisted of swimming practically every day, going to the lake on weekends to see who will survive our intense tubing competitions, four-wheeling trips, and of course riding horses in the evenings.

In a few days I will be traveling to Oregon with my new FFA officer team for some team bonding and to plan out our year. I have also had the amazing opportunity to travel to Dallas and accompany my dad to some rice meetings, all of which was an eye-opening experience and very interesting. I had never been to Texas before, but I absolutely loved it - except the 106-degree weather! They say everything is bigger in Texas, and they sure are right! From their onion rings, to burgers, to roller coasters! It was all so amazing. I was really excited I got to attend some of the annual USA Rice Federation meetings with my dad. I was able to attend the communication meeting, the international promotion meeting, and the conservation committee meeting. I sat through most of all the meetings, which I found all very impressive.

My favorite meeting was the conservation meeting, where my dad was the chairperson. I listened to the guest speaker and to the committee discussing the upcoming farm bill. Tim Johnson, the CEO of the California Rice Commission, was very helpful and helped explain the meeting in a 16-year-old’s perspective, which I greatly needed. I also had the opportunity to meet some very important people such as Chuck Wilson, Stacy Fitzgerald-Redd, and Johnny Broussard who all work for the USA Rice Federation. I also met Betsy Ward, the CEO of the USA Rice Federation, which I thought was really cool that a woman was the CEO of the Rice Federation. Overall it was an enjoyable and educational experience and I'm glad I was able to attend.

Now I’m back to the family rice farm and keeping an eye on how the fields are progressing. We just finished our last weed sprayings and fertilizing, which will highly increase our amount of grain produced. We definitely need some more heat to provide the plants to mature and for a timely harvest though. Not only is the sun and heat welcome if you’d like a tan, it’s desperately needed for our rice fields, so let's hope we will be getting more of it as summer progresses.

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Lauren LaGrande is the latest in a family farming tradition that began nearly 100 years ago. She is a sophomore at Maxwell High School and is active in FFA, Future Business Leaders of America, volleyball, basketball and softball. When she’s on the farm, you’ll often see her with her trusted companion, Hank, the family dog. Lauren’s great-grandfather grew his first rice crop in the Sacramento Valley in 1916 and the family has continued this tradition ever since.

New photos and video- CA rice shipment to Japan

California rice shipment bound for Japan- View photos of the Ken Jyo being loaded at the Port of West Sacramento, bound for Japan with 12,300 metric tons of California rice.

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Below- Watch scenes from the loading of the shipment.

Video post from Tom Butler: Technology helps California rice farmers

Family farmer Tom Butler of Sutter County explains how the iPad is helping his operation.

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More about Tom: Tom Butler farms rice with his father, Steve, in Sutter and Yolo Counties. Tom is the fourth generation of his family to farm.

When he’s not on the job, the University of Nebraska graduate enjoys swimming, water polo, hunting and spending time with his family.

Blog post by Punch Haskell- Waiting for the heat

It seems like the more you stay in farming, the more unusual circumstances you can face.

Take this rice growing season. For the second straight year, we are faced with cool weather.  Who would have thought mid-July temperatures would struggle to reach 90 degrees?

Despite the lack of traditional heat, our fields look very good as they near the halfway point of the growing season.  This is panicle initiation time, where much of the energy in the plant goes to making the seeds.  I think we’ll see heading, where the first heads of grain develop on top of the plant, in a few weeks.

The unusual weather patterns have made weed control a challenge, but we have waited them out so we could be efficient in dealing with them.

The forecast for warming with temperatures well into the 90s next week would be very helpful to kick start the growing process.

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Punch Haskell grows rice in Colusa County and is part of a family farming operation that began approximately 60 years ago.

Video post from Tom Butler: Mid-point of rice season

Family farmer Tom Butler of Sutter County describes how the rice crop is doing midway through the season.

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More about Tom: Tom Butler farms rice with his father, Steve, in Sutter and Yolo Counties. Tom is the fourth generation of his family to farm.

When he’s not on the job, the University of Nebraska graduate enjoys swimming, water polo, hunting and spending time with his family.

Video: State Fair Farm features rice and 100 other crops

California State Fair Farm Manager Teresa McEntire provides insight about this year's 3 1/2 acre farm, including two stages of rice plants.

Guest video: Roots of Change President Michael Dimock comments about California Rice

Michael Dimock, President of Roots of Change (rootsofchange.org) comments on the valuable contributions California rice farmers make to the state's environment.

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Roots of Change works to develop and support a collaborative network of leaders and institutions in California with interest in establishing a sustainable food system in our state by the year 2030.

Guest video: Acclaimed Publisher comments on the Sac Valley’s unique beauty

Publisher and founder of Heydey Books in Berkeley, Malcolm Margolin, provides comments during his tour of the Sacramento Valley, including a visit to a Butte County rice farm.

Video post from family farmer Dennis Lindberg: A Pepsi and a Smile

Rice farmer Dennis Lindberg of Richvale, Butte County, shows off his latest and greatest art creation made from scrap metal - Pepsi, in honor of a dearly departed family pet.

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Dennis Lindberg has grown rice in Butte County for nearly 70 consecutive years.He’s a well-known author and metal artist, taking scrap metal and creating beautiful animal sculptures. His civic work and love of community is evidenced by his being honored as “Outstanding Citizen of the 20th Century” by Lundberg Family Farms. He and his wife Charlotte have two children – Gary and Sherry. Gary farms with his father in the historic community of Richvale, which recently celebrated its centennial.

Blog post by Sean Doherty: Valley History and RD 108

I have another topic that I have had rolling around in my head for a while now, that I want to get out. It ties together water, habitat and the natural cycle of the valley. This topic started with an “aha moment” after seeing the map that has been posted with this blog. It is a map of the Colusa Basin Lake that covered some of the area I currently farm, and currently referred to as Reclamation District 108. It is based on land surveys completed from 1850 -1870 detailing the boundaries of the lake at different times of the year.

My understanding of the map came from many people who have been farming in the RD 108 area a far longer time than I have. What would happen before all the dams were built is that the whole Colusa Basin Lake would flood in the spring from the spring rains and snowmelt flowing unimpeded from the vast Sacramento River Watershed. The lake, more like a marsh because the area is so flat and shallow, would be at its largest in May and would recede from there. Driven back by the heat and draining back into the river the lake would eventually dry up in September and October until it was replenished the following spring. It was much the same way throughout the Sacramento Valley, not just in RD 108. That’s how it was.

Fast forward 150 years and the lake no longer floods in the springtime because of the levees along the river and our bypass flood control system, and because we now have Shasta Dam and Oroville Dam to hold back most of the water to deliver to farms and cities when it is needed instead of all at once. Relieving us from the dangers of flooding, and of a yearly late fall drought when the rivers would slow to a trickle or dry up entirely.

My point is this: rice farming in the valley does seem to follow the natural cycle of the valley, historically. We plant the fields in April and May when the lakes/marshes would be at their greatest extent. Throughout the summer we raise the rice, and when the lakes/marshes would eventually recede or dry up in September and October, we drain our fields and harvest our crop. As the winter rains come, the cycle begins again. It isn’t like it was in the 1860s, but it’s not far off either. That’s all I’m saying.

What do you, the readers, think?

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Sean Doherty is a 3rd generation rice farmer living out his dream, being a rice farmer in Dunnigan.

He farms in Yolo, Colusa, and Sutter Counties with his wife Melissa, and three kids, Hannah, Gus, and Mary. He enjoys being in the fields, watching the seasons, and sharing it with his family.

Read more about Sean in Rice Farming magazine

Video post from family farmer Brian McKenzie : How farmers keep California organic rice fields free of weeds

Family farmer Brian McKenzie in Sutter County explains how he manages weed issues in his organic short grain rice fields.

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Brian McKenzie proudly represents the fourth generation of rice farmers in his family. Following his graduation in 2005 from The University of Nevada Reno where he earned bachelors degrees in Economics and Marketing, Brian returned to the family farm in South Sutter County to farm full-time alongside his father, Chris. Brian and his wife, Ashley, grow several varieties of conventional and organic rice. Brian enjoys the challenges that farming brings and takes pride in producing food for the world.