The Vantage Point
Glenda Humiston
Vice President
UC Agriculture and Natural Resources
First of all I’d like to say thank you to our supporters who generously donated more than $99,000 on Big Dig Day, June 5, our annual online fundraising campaign. This show of support demonstrates the impact we're having in communities throughout the state and the value that donors place on our work. We’re grateful for these donations, which will help us
deliver our mission
in these uncertain times.
At UC ANR, our work is part of the critical infrastructure around food and agriculture, and much of our research is considered essential. As we develop new knowledge and need to get it into the hands of folks around the state, be they farmers who need to understand a new pest, or homeowners trying to create defensible space and harden their homes before the upcoming wildfire season, we’ve been converting our in-person workshops into online webinars. One of the really pleasant surprises we’ve found is that workshops that may have had 40 to 50 people attending in person are sometimes getting 300 to 400 people
—
or more
—
when the workshops are offered online. We’re able to reach more people through the use of technology.
The increased reliance on web-based work, communication and education emphasizes the need for
improved broadband internet service
. California is a leader in emerging technology, but a big chunk of California is still underserved or unserved by broadband, particularly in rural areas that could harness the power of ag tech. We are having some luck in developing public-private partnerships, but public investment is going to be key to accomplishing a robust broadband infrastructure for all of California.
For our rural communities to thrive and be able to do sustainable economic development, they need to have access to broadband. Being able to use things like drones, artificial intelligence and remote sensing will help save water, reduce fertilizer, increase yields and decrease costs -- a whole host of environmental benefits come from being able to utilize digital technologies. In fact, UC ANR just received a $865,000 grant to help farmers in the Colorado River basin and the Salinas Valley
integrate digital tools and artificial intelligence into their growing systems
to make them more sustainable.
U.S. agriculture industry professionals are world leaders in the use of technology, including automation, drip irrigation, sensors and drones. “What's new is how you can now integrate technology into making decisions,” said
Khaled Bali
,
UC Cooperative Extension
irrigation specialist who is leading the digital agriculture education and outreach aspect of the grant.
“Vegetables are an essential part of a healthful diet. With this grant, USDA-NIFA is recognizing the role that California, Arizona and Colorado play in growing nutritious food for Americans,” said Bali. “The sustainability of these [vegetable] production systems into the future, particularly in light of challenges like climate change, increased drought and limited access to surface and groundwater, will require sophisticated technology.”
Congratulations are also in order for
Ashraf El-kereamy
, who was
named the new director
of
Lindcove Research and Extension Center (LREC)
. We send profound gratitude to retiring LREC director, Elizabeth Grafton-Cardwell, who, over the course of her illustrious 30-year career in citrus entomology, was a hero in the battle against pests that threaten the livelihood of citrus growers in California, and a successful advocate for reducing use of broad spectrum pesticides.
In closing, I'd like to take a moment to acknowledge the wave of emotions we have all felt this past month as our nation was shaken by the tragic death of yet another unarmed Black man, George Floyd, and anger over ongoing injustices against the Black community. The protests and violence that followed have been shocking and painful to many. I strongly support the
statement released by President Napolitano and Regents' Chair John Perez
on behalf on the UC system.
California's strength is its diversity; our UC ANR mission has always been to serve all segments of the state's population. Our ANR family are thinking proactively about how we can help our communities move forward; our mission to serve California can never fully come to fruition if Black Americans and other historically victimized groups continue to suffer bigotry and bias. I'm not sure what those next steps will encompass, but I am sure that, working together, we can design actions that will help us build a healthy, peaceful and prosperous California for all.
We look forward to collaborating with you on that goal! Please share
Connected
with colleagues and encourage them to
subscribe
. Stay safe and be sure to care for yourself and your loved ones in this difficult time. We thank you very much for your support!
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UC ANR in the Media
California Fresh Fruit
California Ag Today
Western Farm Press
AgNet West
Morning Ag Clips
Record Searchlight
AgNet West
Fire Adapted Communities
AgNet West
Capital Press
Ag Alert
AgNet West
Western Farm Press
Courthouse News
UC Riverside
Glenn County Transcript
No-Till Farmer
California Ag Today
Easy Reader News
Western Farm Press
AgNet West
Daily Californian
The Catalina Islander
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July 15, 2020
CropManage Webinar
Online, 1 to 4:30 p.m.
Register now for a hands-on webinar to learn more about using
CropManage
to support
irrigation
and nutrient management decisions and record-keeping. CropManage provides real-time recommendations for efficient irrigation and fertilizer applications, maintaining or improving overall yield.
Learn more and register
.
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July 20 - 24, 2020
4-H Sustainable You!
Summer Camp
Online, 10 to 11:30 a.m.
During this online summer camp, youth ages 9 to 12 can learn what it means to be sustainable and protect our environment through fun activities based around five major themes: Air, Land, Energy, Water and Food. Free; registration required.
Learn more
and
register
.
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Please note that we are sheltering in place to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus. We offer many resources and trainings
online
, such as the resources above, and
you can still connect with us by email, phone or video conference. Stay healthy!
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Spotlight on Practical Resources
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Prescribed Fire Webinar Presentations and Resources
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Managing fuels around your home and property is an essential part of living with fire. Fuel management helps to reduce the risk of ignition while creating safer conditions for emergency responders during fire.
Equip yourself with knowledge on how to prepare for and help prevent wildfires by visiting
this helpful web page
from UC Cooperative Extension in Mariposa County. It includes recorded webinars from the five-session UC Cooperative Extension Prescribed Fire workshops; links to useful resources from Cal Fire and other partners; information about Prescribed Burn Associations, burn planning and permitting, cultural burning by Native Americans; and much more.
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How has coronavirus pandemic impacted California food, agriculture and environment?
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UC ANR Staff News
- Ashraf El-kereamy was named the new director of Lindcove Research and Extension Center.
- Deanne Meyer received the 2020 Bradford-Rominger Agricultural Sustainability Leadership Award, given by the Agricultural Sustainability Institute at UC Davis.
- Bruce Hammock received a Lifetime Achievement Award in Innovation, part of the 2020 Chancellor’s Innovation Awards, from UC Davis, for, among his many achievements, founding the field of environmental immunoassay using antibodies and biosensors to monitor food and environmental safety and human exposure to pesticides, and securing more than 95 patents in environmental science, medicinal chemistry and agriculture.
- A team including UC ANR’s Daniela Barile, Bruce German and David Mills received a 2020 Chancellor’s Innovation Award from UC Davis for their research on infant nutrition.
- Vanity Campbell received a 2020 Rising Star Award from the National Organization of Research Development Professionals.
- Miguel Sanchez, Norma de la Vega and Ricardo Vela of ANR’s News and Information in Spanish (NOS) team won an Association for Communication Excellence (ACE) bronze award for their video Breakfast - Desayuno de Campeones.
- Dong-Hwan Choe received the Medical, Urban, and Veterinary Entomology Award in April from the Pacific Branch of the Entomological Society of America.
- Khaled Bali, Irrigation Water Management Specialist, and Michael Cahn, Farm Advisor, Irrigation and Water Resources, will receive $865,000 over 5 years as part of a $10 million UC Riverside USDA NIFA AFRI grant project to use artificial intelligence, digital agriculture and big geodata analytic tools to improve the sustainability of the nation’s food supply.
- Jorge Dubcovsky received a Science Translation and Innovative Research (STAIR) grant from UC Davis for commercialization of Triticale, a hybrid grain with enhanced baking performance.
- Hao Cheng received a Data, Informatics and Application Launch (DIAL) grant from UC Davis for a novel diagnostic platform to detect canine heart disease on thoracic radiograph.
- Giulia Marino joined UC ANR as a UC Cooperative Extension orchard systems specialist.
- Ten UC Cooperative Extension academics retire July 1: Jose Aguiar, Rachel Elkins, Beth Grafton-Cardwell, Allan Fulton, Kurt Hembree, Anna Martin, Glenn McGourty, John Roncoroni, Rhonda Smith, Cheryl Wilen
- In memoriam: Travis Bean
- In memoriam: Joanne Ikeda (new remembrance)
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Please note that we are sheltering in place to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus. We offer many resources and trainings
online
, and you can still connect with us by email, phone or video conference. Stay healthy!
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University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources
2801 Second Street
Davis, CA 95618
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