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The Vantage Point
Glenda Humiston
Vice President
UC Agriculture and Natural Resources
This month, we had the pleasure of welcoming UC President James Milliken to our President’s Advisory Commission on Agriculture and Natural Resources meeting. President Milliken expressed great enthusiasm for our work. Given his founding role with The Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute at the University of Nebraska, he was especially interested in our efforts to develop drought-tolerant crops and other adaptations to climate volatility.
Our volunteer commissioners also appreciated his comments on reimagining “how and where UC happens,” beyond the walls of the campuses. With enhanced technology and Cooperative Extension’s strength in local outreach and partnership, President Millken noted that the UC is primed to provide all communities with lifelong learning opportunities and continuous upskilling and training. For example, he emphasized the need to stay abreast of the latest advances in Artificial Intelligence, as the UC must play a vital role in producing and deploying those tools effectively and ethically.
One way AI can benefit agriculture is through machine learning that aids growers and land managers in identifying weeds and pest-infested plants, while reducing the costs of manual monitoring and surveys. Mohsen Mesgaran, an associate professor in the UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences, has collaborated with international partners on several projects that improve early detection of invasive species and damaging pests.
Affiliated with UC ANR as an agInnovation (Agricultural Experiment Station) faculty member at UC Davis, Mesgaran also has worked with UC Cooperative Extension specialist Ali Pourreza on WeedChat, an AI chatbot that answers farmer queries about their weed concerns. For his contributions as a pioneer in this field, Mesgaran recently received the mid-career Award of Excellence in Agricultural Research Innovation from agInnovation-West.
A huge shout-out also goes out to Steven Worker, UCCE 4-H youth development advisor for Sonoma and Napa counties, who was honored with a Western Extension Directors Association Award of Excellence in Extension Programming.
Worker has been at the forefront of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education efforts in his region, cultivating partnerships with the Boys & Girls Club and the YMCA and developing innovative programs where young people explore coding, robotics, 3D printing, drones and more. Under his leadership, the North Bay Science Discovery Day has grown from 1,000 attendees at the 2021 virtual event to more than 10,000 participants in 2026!
I was thrilled to be able to congratulate Steven and Mohsen in person when they received their awards during a ceremony at the joint meeting of agInnovation-West, WEDA and CARET in Hawaii last week. During that gathering, I joined leaders of land-grant universities across the Western region to discuss biosecurity, agritourism opportunities, food as medicine, the mental health and well-being of farmers and – crucially – how to best leverage the funding opportunities of the Research Facilities Act Program.
Investing in agricultural research is investing in our food system that sustains the vitality, security and prosperity of the nation. As the 250th birthday of the United States approaches and we take time to reflect, learn from the past and look to the future, we see that our universities have been essential to our shared prosperity and progress.
The UC – and Cooperative Extension in particular as the expression of our land-grant mission – has been instrumental in making scientific breakthroughs and then helping to apply them to improve the lives of people in California and across the world. Thank you, as always, for your continued support of our work to help feed, strengthen, enrich and inspire our nation. Happy Fourth of July, everyone!
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