The Vantage Point
Glenda Humiston
Vice President
UC Agriculture and Natural Resources
The generosity of our donors will help us keep 4-H leadership-building activities affordable and help us fund research into living with wildfire, farming in a changing climate, eating healthier foods, controlling pests in our homes and environment, and many other issues that concern Californians. UC ANR researchers and educators work in
every county
to bring practical, science-based answers to residents wherever they live in the state.
- Ten climate smart agriculture educators joined UC ANR, thanks to a partnership with the California Department of Food and Agriculture. They’re helping farmers and ranchers improve soil health, irrigation practices and manure management. You can meet many of the climate smart ag educators at the UC ANR booth at the EcoFarm Conference in Pacific Grove January 22-25, 2020.
- UC ANR worked hard all year long on fire preparedness and recovery efforts, including holding a Fire Summit in Redding and creating California’s first prescribed burn association in Humboldt County. Many major media outlets called on our experts to provide commentary on California wildfires.
- Plant pathologist Georgios Vidalakis was named Presidential Researcher for Sustainable Citrus Clonal Protection. He’s developing diagnostic tools and therapies for citrus pathogens with the support of this endowment from the Citrus Research Board and UC President Janet Napolitano.
- UC ANR partnered with the California Economic Summit and the California Community Colleges Centers of Excellence to publish a report on California’s working landscape, the state’s sixth largest economic sector that generates 1.5 million jobs and $333 billion in sales.
- We provided information and resources to hundreds of thousands of Spanish-speaking Californians through our programs and campaigns (such as Juntos 4-H, UC IPM Notas Breves, Coachella Valley school breakfast campaign, EFNEP Estamos Contigo campaign. San Diego Saves campaign and more).
- Cooperative Extension agricultural assistant Michael Yang continued his weekly "Hmong Agriculture Radio Show," providing a crucial connection for immigrant farmers. Also, a series of Hmong-language pesticide safety videos starring Yang were recently published. The videos were produced by California State University, Fresno and UC Cooperative Extension in Fresno County with funding from the California Department of Pesticide Regulation.
- Our California Agriculture journal published a special issue on cannabis research and policy in California.
- For the first time, UC ANR researchers harvested an industrial hemp crop at West Side Research and Extension Center as part of their work on hemp production opportunities.
- Cooperative Extension specialist and UC Davis faculty member Dr. Pramod Pandey is converting manure to renewable energy through a network of “dairy digesters.”
- Air Quality Extension Specialist and Animal Science Professor Frank Mitloehner dispelled myths about agricultural emissions and was nationally recognized for his work on sustainable livestock production.
- More than 1,800 food bank staff members took the Nutrition Policy Institute’s online training to improve food bank nutrition policies – leading to healthier foods and beverages distributed to millions of food-insecure Californians.
- We hosted State Senator Anna Caballero, UC Regent Cecilia Estolano and UC Regent-Designate Debby Segura on tours of our programs, education and research in Fresno and Sonoma.
Best wishes for a happy holiday season and a healthy and prosperous 2020. We look forward to seeing you and collaborating with you next year! We thank you very much for your support.
|
|
UC ANR in the Media
Chico Enterprise-Record
The Almanac
KQED Science
UPI
Pest Management Professional
Red Bluff Daily News
Sacramento Bee
Napa Valley Register
California Ag Today
Growing Produce
San Francisco Chronicle
Los Angeles Times
Marketplace
Western Farm Press
Gold Country Media
Lake County News
Modesto Bee
Los Angeles Times
UC Davis magazine
|
|
 |
January 7, 2020
Farming in the New Normal
Ulatis Community Center
1000 Ulatis Drive
Vacaville, CA 95688
Get the latest information
from California researchers, government agency leaders, agriculture industry professionals and innovative farmers
to help you understand how climate change will affect your farming operations. Explore how you can implement practical strategies to thrive in a new climate reality.
Learn more and register
.
|
|
|
|
January 11, 12, & 25, 2020
California Forest Stewardship Workshop
UC Cooperative Extension Office
890 North Bush Street
Ukiah, CA 95482
This workshop series will help landowners develop plans to improve and protect their forest lands in an ecologically and economically sustainable manner. Registration for the workshop costs $60; lunches on two days and materials will be provided.
Learn more
and
register.
|
|
|
|
|
January 14, 2020
2020 Rangeland Summit
Robert J. Cabral Agricultural Center
2101 East Earhart Avenue
Stockton, CA 95206
|
|
|
|
January 22, 2020
2020 Statewide Pistachio Day
Visalia Convention Center
303 E. Acequia Avenue
Visalia, CA 93291
Pistachio Day delivers the latest research-based production practices to prospective or current growers, production managers and pest control consultants so that they are better able to achieve their pistachio growing goals. The
diverse program
includes sessions on food safety and regulations, horticulture science and integrated pest management.
Learn more
and
register
.
|
|
|
|
This is just a sampling of our upcoming events. See more events in
our calendar
.
|
|
Spotlight on Practical Resources
|
|
Hmong-language pesticide safety videos
|
|
A
series of videos
describing California pesticide rules and safety in Hmong is
now available to view
for free online. The videos were produced by
California State University, Fresno
and
UC Cooperative Extension in Fresno County
with funding from the
California Department of Pesticide Regulation
. The nine-part video series – Complying with Pesticide Laws and Regulations in California – is part of DPR's mission to reach California's farming communities. The videos cover a number of topics including using personal protective equipment, understanding pesticide product labels and application permit requirements. “We worked with Hmong farmers who are following pesticide regulations themselves, and are now giving back to educate their peers,” said Ruth Dahlquist-Willard, UC Cooperative Extension small farm advisor, who collaborated on the video production. Michael Yang, longtime UC Cooperative Extension small farms and specialty crops agricultural assistant, stars in the videos, interacting with farmers based on his extensive experience and trusted relationships in the Hmong farming community, and narrating the educational content in Hmong.“We hope the videos broaden the reach of our local extension programming to help more farmers understand pesticide regulations and avoid fines, as well as improve their safe handling, selection and use,” said Yang. DPR also has
comprehensive pesticide safety and outreach material available in Punjabi, Spanish and English
.
|
|
UC ANR is improving California life with science-based solutions
|
|
|
UC ANR Staff News
- Anita Oberholster and Frank Zalom received a $3 million, four-year USDA-NIFA grant to lead UC Davis, UC Berkeley and Oregon State University researchers to examine grapevine red blotch disease and assess its economic impact on grape production and wine quality.
- UC Cooperative Extension specialist Mark Hoddle and entomology professor Jocelyn Millar, both at UC Riverside, will receive $348,893 from the California Department of Food and Agriculture to research proactive management of avocado seed and stem feeding weevils. The California Avocado Commission pledged an additional $150,000 to support this project.
- UCCE specialist Ian Grettenberger will receive $499,847 from the California Department of Food and Agriculture to research a proactive approach to prepare for the invasion of Tuta absoluta, a tomato leafminer, into California.
- UCCE area IPM advisor Alejandro Del Pozo-Valdivia, UCCE specialist Ian Grettenberger and USDA research entomologist Daniel Hasegawa will receive $261,543 from the California Department of Food and Agriculture to research detection, biology and control of the exotic Swede midge (Contarinia nasturtii) for California cole crops.
- Rachel Vannette received two National Science Foundation grants involving flower microbes.
- Tom Tomich, Dina St. Clair, Isgouhi Kaloshian and Cheryl Kerfeld were named fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
- The American Camp Association's Committee for the Advancement of Research and Evaluation has recognized the California 4-H Camping Advisory Committee as a 2020 recipient of the Eleanor P. Eells Award for Research in Practice for using innovative, high-quality research and evaluation to improve program practice and to share findings with others.
- David Smart was honored by collaborators, friends and former students.
- Karmjot Randhawa named director of UC Cooperative Extension in Fresno, Madera, Kings and Tulare counties.
- Kim Ingram named forest stewardship education academic coordinator.
- Safeeq Khan named UC Cooperative Extension water and watershed sciences specialist (based at UC Merced).
- Cindy Kron named area integrated pest management advisor in Sonoma, Napa, Mendocino and Lake counties.
- Mallika Nocco named UC Cooperative Extension specialist in soil-plant-water relations (based at UC Davis).
- Qi Zhou named UCCE assistant specialist for small farms in Santa Clara County.
- In memoriam: Aaron Nelson.
|
|
The
UC ANR Calendar
lists events hosted by our programs throughout California.
Check
to see what's happening in your neighborhood!
|
|
|
University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources
2801 Second Street
Davis, CA 95618
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
