Connected - Newsletter of UC ANR

January 2020 Volume 4, Number 1

The Vantage Point

Glenda Humiston

Vice President

UC Agriculture and Natural Resources

Happy 2020 to all of our colleagues, partners, and friends. We wish you a rewarding year, filled with opportunities!

At UC Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR), our year got off to a terrific start with the announcement of our partnership with Clif Bar . The University of California system's first-ever institute for organic research and education will be established in UC ANR with a $500,000 endowment gift from Clif Bar & Company and $500,000 in matching funds from UC President Janet Napolitano. The California Organic Institute will accelerate the development and adoption of effective tools and practices for organic farmers and those transitioning to organic by building on the capabilities of UC ANR's Cooperative Extension and Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program . California's organic farmers already benefit from UC ANR's pest management, irrigation and crop production research, and this partnership with Clif Bar will provide more capacity to focus on challenges specific to organic farming. UC Cooperative Extension advisors work directly with farmers throughout the state, so new organic farming techniques can be applied quickly.

Lynn Ineson, vice president of Sustainable Sourcing for Clif Bar noted “The California Organic Institute will serve many of the organic producers we depend on for ingredients like almonds and figs, as well as farmers outside our supply chain. We recognize that the future of our food company depends on the ecological and economic success of organic and transitioning farmers.”

The California Organic Institute is Clif Bar's third organic research endowment and the first in its home state of California, where the company sources several key organic ingredients. California has the most organic farms in the U.S.: California's nearly 3,000 certified organic farms grow crops on land that represents 21% of all U.S. certified organic land. The California Organic Institute will continue to expand with other partners and leverage the initial investments by Clif Bar and UC.

We are also excited to see the proposed state budget that Governor Newsom released, which includes a critical 5% increase ($3.6 million) for UC ANR. We currently have about half as many Cooperative Extension people out in the field than we had 20 years ago. And it really is creating a hardship for communities and industry sectors that rely on that research and science to help keep them functional and thriving. We've got to turn this trend around and rebuild that footprint.

More people are recognizing and giving credit to the research, public service and outreach UC ANR does to help Californians improve their lives and businesses. “We don’t really have an R&D arm, so we really rely on George [Zhuang] and Cooperative Extension to provide viticultural knowledge and methods to help us achieve our production goals,” Nick Davis, southern valley vineyard manager of The Wine Group, the second-largest U.S. wine company, told Growing Produce .

We are grateful for Governor Newsom’s support for UC in his initial proposed budget. We appreciate our ongoing partnership with the governor and legislature to benefit all Californians.

In other news, the UC President’s Advisory Commission on Agriculture and Natural Resources (PAC) welcomed four new members at its meeting on December 18, 2019 : Celeste Cantu, vice chair of the San Diego Water Quality Control Board; Lucas Frerichs, associate director of state policy for The Nature Conservancy; Corinne Martinez, partner in the Martinez Family Limited Partnership and Berryessa Gap Vineyards; and Cher Watte, executive director of the California Asparagus Commission. Jean-Mari Peltier succeeded Don Bransford as chair, and Mike Mellano, CEO of Farming for Mellano & Company, began serving as vice chair. We’re happy to have the new commissioners on board!

If you’re planning to attend World Ag Expo , stop by and see us in Pavilion A at booths 1411 and 1412. We’ll be highlighting our Research and Extension Centers , which connect research and extension activities to regional challenges and issues throughout California.

We look forward to seeing you and collaborating with you! Also, please share Connected with colleagues who would be interested in receiving it, and encourage them to subscribe . We thank you very much for your support!

Engage with Us!

February 6, 2020

Sonoma County Grape Day

Veterans Memorial Building

1351 Maple Avenue

Santa Rosa, CA 95404

Sonoma County Grape Day is an annual program that provides research-based information on issues important to the production of coastal winegrapes. Early start time! Sign in and breakfast from 7 am to 8 am. Program begins 8 am and ends at noon. Learn more and register .

February 8, 2020

4-H Youth Agriculture and Animal Science Field Day

Sonoma-Marin Fairgrounds, Herzog Hall

175 Fairgrounds Drive

Petaluma, CA 94952

An educational event for youth ages 9 and older (and their adult leaders, teachers and mentors) who raise, care, breed, show and market animals; raise, grow or farm plants or fibers; and/or care about agriculture. Keynote speaker is Dr. Temple Grandin. Learn more and register by February 1.

This is just a sampling of our upcoming events. See more events in our calendar .

Spotlight on Practical Resources

Forest Stewardship Workshops

These workshops help landowners develop plans to improve and protect their forest lands in an ecologically and economically sustainable manner. The workshops address management objectives and planning, forest restoration, fuels reduction, project development, permitting and cost-share opportunities. Participants connect with other landowners and learn how to collect information to develop their own forest management plans. The workshops are part of the Forest Stewardship Education Initiative . Learn more about forest stewardship .

Notes From the Field

UC researcher helps make children and families healthier

UC ANR launches a series that profiles a sampling of our academic staff whose work exemplifies the public value UC ANR brings to California. Beginning the series is a feature article on UC researcher Deepa Srivastava, who helps make children and families healthier in Tulare and Kings counties. She manages two federally funded nutrition programs for low-income residents in those two counties. Read more about Deepa's work.

More News from UC ANR

UC ANR Staff News

Project leader Kent Daane and collaborators receive $1 million in funding from the California Department of Food and Agriculture for “Refinement and Implementation of an Areawide Program for Vineyard Pathogens and their Insect Vectors.”
The Environmental Protection Agency awards UC Integrated Pest Management $2.675 million to implement the Pesticide Regulatory Education Program.
The California-Pacific Society for Range Management honored John Harper, UCCE livestock and natural resources advisor for Mendocino and Lake counties, with its 2019 Range Manager of the Year Award.
Associate Professor of Viticulture and Enology David Smart honored
Maggie Reiter received the Best Twitter Feed Award from Golf Course Industry magazine and Aquatrols
The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) Fertilizer Research and Education Program (FREP) announces $1.5 million in grants to fund seven research projects to improve the efficiency of nitrogen (N) fertilization in California agriculture, reduce the associated environmental impacts, and advance farmers’ understanding and implementation of best management practices (BMPs) for fertilizer application in farmlands. UC ANR’s Joji Muramoto, Richard Smith, Doug Parker, Thomas Harter, Patrick Brown, Mark Lundy, and a project involving UC ANR’s Crop Manage tool, received funding.
San Bruno-South San Francisco 4-H club awarded grant from San Bruno Community Foundation
Tehama County Farm Bureau honored Josh Davy with the 2019 Friend of the Year Award
Brad Hanson, UC Cooperative Extension Weed Specialist, is recognized as the outgoing president of the California Weed Science Society
Anita Martinez joins 4-H in Imperial County
David Ritz joins ANR as vocational rehabilitation counselor
Angela Urrea joins Human Resources
In memoriam: Frieda Caplan, a founding member of ⁦the UC ⁩President’s Advisory Commission on Agriculture and Natural Resources and longtime UC ANR friend
In memoriam: James Lyons
In memoriam: Keith Knapp
In memoriam: Steve Dasher

Tweet of the Month

Calendar of Events

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

Website: ucanr.edu

Email: connected@ucanr.edu