Dairy farmers can aid blackbirds once again in San Joaquin Valley

Once again, tricolored blackbirds are likely nesting in high concentrations on a few dairy farms. And once again, the federal government will pay farmers to delay harvesting of feed crops where the eggs sit.

The Natural Resources Conservation Service is in the fourth year of a program that aims to rebuild the species in the San Joaquin Valley. The birds once numbered in the millions, but the loss of marshland habitat has reduced them to an estimated 145,000 as of 2014.

The tricoloreds that remain tend to nest in dairy feed crops that are harvested in spring, such as wheat and a wheat-rye hybrid called triticale. The machinery can wipe out thousands of eggs in a day.

The agency will compensate farmers for the reduced feed quality resulting from delaying the harvest until the birds take flight. All of the Valley counties except San Joaquin are eligible. Riverside County also is part of the program.

Farmers who think they might have nesting colonies can apply through May 13 at www.ca.nrcs.usda.gov.

Tricoloreds are distinct from red-winged blackbirds, a far more numerous species. The effort has several partners – Western United Dairymen, Audubon California, Dairy Cares, the California Farm Bureau Federation and Sustainable Conservation.

Elsewhere on the Farm Beat: Schoolkids can learn about almond trees and the bees that pollinate them through a program of the Stanislaus County Fair.

It is providing kits to help classes create “Bees & Trees” exhibits that will be entered in the July 8-17 event. The contest is for prekindergarten and elementary school students.

“Bees & Trees” is part of the fair’s School Involvement Program, sponsored by the Turlock Chamber of Commerce Ag Committee.

The kits include books and activities on the topic. They can be picked up on weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the fair exhibit office, 900 N. Broadway, Turlock. The deadline to turn in projects is June 30.

▪ Burt Fleischer, environmental director at Hilmar Cheese Co., is the new chairman of the California League of Food Processors.

Fleischer will serve for a year with the Sacramento-based group, which works on behalf of 45 companies in fruit, vegetable, dairy and other industries. He succeeds Greg Estep, managing director and CEO of Olam Spices & Vegetable Ingredients, based in Fresno.

Fleischer has held his current job in Hilmar, site of the world’s largest cheese plant, since 2006.

This story was originally published May 6, 2016 at 4:38 PM with the headline "Dairy farmers can aid blackbirds once again in San Joaquin Valley."