Jerry Schmierer is the Agronomy Farm Advisor in Colusa County and has cross county responsibilities for alfalfa and forages in Glenn and Tehama counties. The Colusa Agronomy Program crop assignment consists of alfalfa, forages, winter cereals, dry beans, safflower, sunflower and corn as well as a general weed control assignment.
His undergraduate training in agronomy was at Fresno State and he has a Masters Degree from Chico State in agronomy with an emphasis in weed control. He has recently earned a graduate certificate in Management Information Systems from the School of Business at Chico State.
The majority of his professional career has been working with alfalfa, sugar beets, wheat, barley and oats. Weed control and plant nutrition have been the focus of his research programs. Farm profitability and the use of precision agriculture techniques such as GPS and GIS to aid in management decision making are a new focus for this advisor’s program.
Highlighted Issues:
- Alfalfa profitability issues include yield, hay quality and stand longevity. Specific problems that affect these issues are nutrient deficiencies (i.e. Phosphorus and Molybdenum), harvest management, weed control and water management.
- Stripe rust in wheat has become a major factor as the strains of rust change and the common varieties are no longer resistant to the new strains. The wheat variety testing program is an important tool in identifying resistant varieties to each new strain of rust as it develops.
