Winter 2020 - Issue 1
USDA California Climate Hub
News & Notes
The USDA California Climate Hub within the Agricultural Research Service at the UC Davis John Muir Institute works with partners across federal and state agencies, universities, and industry to help enable climate-informed decision making and advance the adaptive capacity for California's working and managed agricultural, range, and forest lands. Through these newsletters we share news and information of relevance and interest to our stakeholders. We encourage you to get in touch with us if we can be of further service or assistance.
Managing the Effects of Drought in California

The USDA Forest Service recently released a publication reviewing the effects of drought on forests and rangelands, and management strategies for minimizing impacts of and recovering from drought across systems ranging from grasslands to oak woodlands to subalpine forests. The management strategies highlighted in this publication may also help natural and working lands within California act as carbon sinks. As climate change increases the frequency and magnitude of drought, proactive approaches to drought management strategies will be critical. This publication provides information and resource references that will aid land managers and managing agencies in meeting this urgently important need.
New Tree and Vine Loss Tool from UC Davis Agriculture and Resource Economics

The researchers from UC Davis Agriculture and Resource Economics have developed a new tool to aid orchard and vineyard managers calculate their costs in replacing lost trees and vines. The calculator not only accounts for the cost to remove and replace a lost tree or vine, but also the income lost during the time between replanting and tree or vine maturity. Former UCCE advisor David Doll writes about this tool on his popular outreach website The Almond Doctor , and notes that the tool was developed to be crop specific and location specific. Check out David's summary through the link above, and access the tool directly through the button below.
Have You Registered?!

Save the date for  “Farming in the New Normal: A workshop for growers on climate and agriculture”,   January 7 at the Ulatis Center in Vacaville .
A group of local partners* has been working to put together a great lineup of experts, ag industry professionals and farmers to explore how farming operations can adapt and thrive in a new climate reality. Our goals for the workshop are to:
  • Help growers understand how climate change will affect their farming operations
  • Provide practical strategies for agriculture to thrive in a new climate reality  
  • Explore opportunities and resources for implementing climate strategies on farms

Register now by clicking the button below!    
If you’d like to be a sponsor for the workshop, please contact Wendy Rash at 707-448-0106 ext. 111.

In the News
Wildfires in Wine Country are getting bigger and more destructive. Journalists, data scientists, and graphics experts at the LA Times explore trends in wine country fires since 1950 through maps and animation

Climate change may increase the cost of the Federal Crop Insurance Program . Research from the USDA Economic Research Service explored the relationships between crop yields, historic weather data, and future climate scenarios to explore how climate change might effect the FCIP, which is the government's largest agricultural risk management program.

The LA Times reported on a recent retrospective analysis of global climate models shows that they performed well and accurately predicted warming levels consistent with observations.

Upcoming Events
Opportunities
JOB OPPORTUNITIES
We're Hiring! Come work with a diverse and multi-disciplinary team to further climate-informed decision making supporting California forest management as an Assistant Specialist in Forestry and Climate Coordination and Communication . Apply by January 31st!

Our partners are hiring! The Forrestel and McElrone labs are hiring a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Viticulture and Enology at UC Davis to work at the nexus of climate change, field sensing, physiology and water-balance modeling in vineyards. Apply by January 15th for full consideration.


FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES


Get Involved!
We would be pleased to share your newsworthy items, outputs or products, or associated resources with the USDA California Climate Hub community. If you would like to reach the Climate Hub community, provide a feature for this newsletter, or contribute content for our website, please contact Steven Ostoja , USDA California Climate Hub Director, or to Lauren Parker , USDA California Climate Hub Postdoctoral Fellow.