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The Vantage Point
Glenda Humiston
Vice President
UC Agriculture and Natural Resources
It’s been a whirlwind month since my last column, with quite a few international visitors and collaborations, many events, and good news on the grant front. Here is a brief overview.
- To promote the exchange and sharing of agricultural information, several U.S. land grant institutions have formed an alliance with 10 Chinese agricultural universities. From June 17 to 22, 2018, UC ANR hosted a group of scientists from Chinese agricultural universities on a tour of agriculture in Northern California. The Chinese face many of the same issues that we do here in the U.S. They want to improve rural economic development to lift up the quality of life for people in rural communities. They are also responding to global climate change, drought and pests while trying to improve food security and water-use efficiency. They see UC Cooperative Extension as an effective research model. We look forward to collaborating with our agricultural extension colleagues in China. We hope that scientific collaborations will accelerate solutions and help maintain relations for California agriculture with China.
- Next, from June 24 to 29, I traveled to Israel and Germany to participate in the 9th Americas Competitiveness Exchange on Innovation and Entrepreneurship (known as ACE 9). The event brings together 50 decision makers from across the Americas and beyond for a five to six-day tour of innovative hubs, leading firms, and educational and research institutions to explore local and regional economic development models, share experiences and knowledge, and build networks among the local and visiting stakeholders. The aim is to enhance the innovation and competitiveness of the Americas. I enjoyed hearing new ideas and having opportunities to collaborate with government, academic, and industry colleagues in Israel and Germany. The trip also helped prepare me for ACE 10, which will take place in Northern California October 21-27, 2018, and will be sponsored by UC ANR in partnership with Central Valley AgPLUS and other California partners. ACE 10 will feature examples of innovation and entrepreneurship activity in California, with a special focus on food and agriculture. The call for applications to ACE 10 is now open; view details and apply by August 10. This is an exciting opportunity to build innovative international collaborations.
- From July 9 1o 12, 2018, I was in Guam for the Western Region Joint Summer Meeting of the Western Association of Agricultural Experiment Station Directors (WAAESD), Western Extension Directors Association (WEDA), Western Academic Program Section (WAPS), and Western Administrative Heads Section (WAHS) / Council for Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching (CARET). Luckily, Typhoon Maria made it to Guam a day ahead of me! Our hosts did a wonderful job of ensuring that we learned about Pacific Island communities throughout the meeting. I moderated a joint session on National Perspectives where we learned more about the backroom negotiating on the Farm Bill and other policy actions taking place in Washington, D.C. Another highlight was that Dan Munk, on behalf of the Conservation Agriculture Systems Innovation (CASI) team, received the Western Extension Directors Association Award of Excellence. Congratulations to the CASI team!
- Then, on July 16, the Future of Water for Irrigation in California and Israel Workshop at the UC ANR building in Davis kicked off with Israel's Agricultural Research Organization, UC ANR and UC Davis signing a memorandum of understanding to work together to solve water scarcity issues. “Israel and California agriculture face similar challenges, including drought and climate change,” said Doug Parker, director of UC ANR's California Institute for Water Resources. “In the memorandum of understanding, Israel's Agricultural Research Organization, UC Davis and UC ANR pledge to work together more on research involving water, irrigation, technology and related topics that are important to both water-deficit countries.” Eli Feinerman, director of Agricultural Research Organization of Israel, added “It's a huge pleasure for us to sign an MOU with the world leaders in agricultural research like UC Davis and UC ANR. When good people, smart people collaborate, the sky is the limit.” And as California Department of Food and Agriculture Secretary Karen Ross, who attended the signing, commented, “We will all benefit from the exchange of ideas and research.”
- Keeping with the water theme, UCTV’s Sustainable California channel now hosts a water and drought video seminar series from UC ANR and the California Institute for Water Resources, with support from the California Department of Water Resources. The online series features timely, relevant, research-based expertise from around the UC system and beyond. Also on UCTV’s Sustainable California channel, you can watch a short interview with me, from filmmaker Jim Thebaut's Beyond the Brink, a must-watch documentary for everyone who cares about water policy.
- I mentioned that we’ve had good news on the grant front. For the first three quarters of the current fiscal year compared to the first three quarters of last fiscal year, UC ANR has increased the grant awards it receives by 16.7 percent. Congratulations to all the contract and grant awardees! We also just received the great news that UC Berkeley and the Karuk Tribe have been awarded a $1.2 million USDA Agriculture and Food Research Initiative grant. Jennifer Sowerwine, UC Cooperative Extension specialist at UC Berkeley’s College of Natural Resources and co-founder of the Karuk-UC Berkeley Collaborative, and Lisa Hillman, program manager of the Karuk Tribe's Píkyav Field Institute, will co-lead the research project. The project will build on a decade-long partnership to learn more about stewarding native food plants, integrating variables such as climate change, plant pathogens and invasive species into research and management equations. Findings will be shared nationwide through cooperative extension outreach services and publications. Congratulations Jennifer and Lisa!
Lots more going on. We are still dealing with our budget shortfall, and many offices are affected by the fires. As always, please share
Connected
with colleagues who would be interested in receiving it and please encourage them to
subscribe
.
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UCCE Rice Production Workshop
August 7, 2018
Lundberg Family Farms
5311 Midway
Richvale, CA 95974
Interested in learning how rice is grown in California? The
Rice Production Workshop
is an
in-depth workshop
that covers the principles and practices of rice production. Registration includes lunch and a copy of the Rice Production Workshop Manual.
Statewide, r
ice is grown on approximately 550,000 acres. California is unique among the U.S. rice producing states in its geography, climate and environmental regulations. Because of its dry Mediterranean climate and northern latitude of 38–40°, California varieties and many of the agronomic practices are quite different from other rice production zones in the U.S.
Approved for 2.5 DPR CE hours and 4 CCA hours.
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Pitahaya / Dragon Fruit Production Seminar and Festival / Field Day
August 24-25, 2018
San Diego County Farm Bureau
420 South Broadway
Escondido, CA 92025
and
South Coast Research & Extension Center
7601 Irvine Boulevard
Irvine, CA 92618
A
pair of events
focused on pitahaya, or dragon fruit, teaches production techniques, irrigation strategies, weed management, pest management and marketing.
Register
early; this event sells out every year! The registration fee includes continental breakfast, refreshments, lunch, pitahaya or dragon fruit & ice cream tasting, and an information packet.
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This is just a sampling of our events. See more events in
our calendar
.
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Spotlight on Practical Resources
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A Guide to Planning a U-Pick Operation on Your California Farm
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A U-Pick operation is a direct marketing channel where customers visit the farm to harvest fruits, vegetables, flowers or trees on their own. Like any marketing channel, a U-Pick has advantages and disadvantages. On one hand, it offers customers fun, memorable experiences that often become seasonal outdoor family traditions. For farmers who spend the majority of their time on their property, bringing in customers can be a nice way to meet neighbors and community and can be an additional sales channel that eases marketing risk. On the other hand, bringing visitors to your fields and orchards opens you up to many risks.
This guide
examines the U-Pick model, helps you determine whether it’s suitable for your farm and gives examples and suggestions for planning and building your U-Pick operation.
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UC ANR opened
a
new conference and laboratory building
at its
Intermountain Research and Extension Center (IREC)
July 26, bringing to the region a state-of-the-art facility for business meetings, job fairs, trainings, conferences and community events."The facility is the first in the Tulelake area to offer modern audio-visual infrastructure and high-speed internet connectivity capable of supporting remote presentations with groups from around the world," said
Rob Wilson
, IREC director.
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More news from UC ANR
UC ANR staff news
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The
UC ANR Calendar
lists events hosted by our programs throughout California.
Check
to see what's happening in your neighborhoood!
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University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources
2801 Second Street
Davis, CA 95618
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