- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
Earl Holtz, former UC Cooperative Extension dairy advisor in Sonoma County, died on March 25, 2021, at the age of 87.
Born and raised in Pleasantville, Penn., Holtz moved to Ceres, Calif., where he graduated from high school. After a short college stint at San Jose State, he enlisted in the Army for two years. Upon his return, he married Dot (Jean) McBride and they moved to Fresno, where he earned a degree in dairy science from Fresno State in 1955. Holtz earned a master's degree from Washington State University before joining UCCE in Sonoma County in 1964.
During his 10 years as a UCCE dairy advisor, his relationships with dairy producers flourished. All three of his children participated in 4-H in Sonoma County, where Holtz was a tireless volunteer and 4-H leader across a wide spectrum of projects.
Following his job with UCCE, Holtz and his wife became partners with two local dairymen in NorCal Sires. Holtz retired from the dairy industry as a fieldman for Western United Dairymen with a focus on environmental issues and regulations and their impact on dairy producers.
In 2017, Holtz and his wife were inducted into the Sonoma County Farm Bureau Hall of Fame for their decades of support for Sonoma County agriculture.
Holtz is survived by his children Corwin (Deborah) Holtz of Dryden, NY, and Kathlyn Millon and Kirvin Holtz both of Santa Rosa.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations in memory of Earl Holtz be sent to FISH of Santa Rosa, 1710 Sebastopol Rd., Santa Rosa, CA 95407. A date and location for a memorial service for both Earl and Dot Holtz will be announced in the future.
- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
Three UC ANR academics have been appointed to the work group. They include Jim Farrar, UC Integrated Pest Management Program director; Margaret Lloyd, UC Cooperative Extension small farm advisor for the Capitol Corridor; and Houston Wilson, UC Organic Agriculture Institute director and UCCE specialist;
The 26-member Sustainable Pest Management Work Group includes farmers, community members, university researchers and representatives from commodity groups and the pesticide industry. They are charged with identifying pathways to minimize the use of toxic pesticides and expand the use of integrated pest management practices; better protect public and environmental health; and engage, educate and promote collaboration to achieve these goals.
"California agriculture is recognized not only for its quality and quantity, but also for the sustainable, innovative, forward-thinking way it is grown," said CDFA Secretary Karen Ross. "Our farmers have been leaders in adopting integrated pest management and partnering with universities and technical assistance providers to meet our high standards for food, environmental and worker safety. This work group represents a broad array of perspectives to inform the next decade of research and development investment and new partnerships to continue the production of nutritious, delicious food and high-quality agricultural products with the least impact to our surrounding communities."
See the full announcement at https://www.cdpr.ca.gov/docs/pressrls/2021/031021.htm.
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
Ten of the top 20 videos on the UC ANR YouTube channel were developed by a team of California professors and researchers assembled by UCCE specialist Jeff Mitchell to encourage young people to pursue careers in agriculture.
Views of those 10 videos total more than 600,000 since the series was released in 2019. The complete playlist has 27 videos, which together have garnered many more thousands of views.
The production team included academics from UC Agriculture and Natural Resources, UC Davis, Chico State, Fresno State and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. They received financial support from the CDFA Specialty Crops Block Grant Program.
The team initiated a hybrid plan in which the universities recorded the video themselves, then sent the footage to a professional video producer who edited and narrated each of the videos.
The videos depict state-of-the-art technologies and techniques that are in use in many production regions of California today, vegetable farming systems used in other parts of the world, and increasingly popular cottage farming systems that are popping up in urban areas for easy access to healthful foods.
“We believed that this series of videos on vegetable production would have broad interest,” Mitchell said. “We are now realizing the importance of video in our work. These videos, plus our other CASI Workgroup videos on conservation agriculture topics and the ones that we have at our own You Tube channel have started to tally up some rather impressive viewer numbers. That is nice to see.”
The full series is on a playlist titled “Training of a New Generation of California Vegetable Producers,” https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLjlfxpbNglYF2m7tvApfiR5NXParpvGP
- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
Unify-Communicate-Advocate
The Strategic Initiatives offer a home for strategic thought - drawing on members of the wider UC ANR community and beyond to 1) help people connect and 2) to help them identify and address issues of current and emerging importance.
Program teams are alive and well
With support from the Program Support Unit (PSU) and good PT leadership the Water, Agronomy and Pomology Program Teams have had highly effective online meetings. The Dairy and Meat Production & Food Safety Program Teams have a series of meetings planned throughout April. Other PT activities are in the pipeline. These events are important in helping people Network, Share and Learn with and from each other.
For more on the SIs and their activities, contact
Jim Farrar: Pests (EIPD)
OPEN: Natural Ecosystems (SNE)
David Lewis: (Water)
Deanne Meyer: Food Systems (SFS)
Lynn Schmitt-McQuitty: Families and Communities (HFC)
Mark Bell: Vice Provost (Strategic Initiatives and Statewide Programs)
- Author: Laura R. Crothers
After 11 years as UC ANR's statewide agritourism coordinator, Penny Leff will be retiring on April 11.
Bringing a creative approach
Leff has spent her time at UC ANR championing all things that blend agriculture and tourism – agritourism.
Leff first brought her creative approach to UC ANR in 2009 when she joined the Small Farm Program, run by UC Cooperative Extension specialist Shermain Hardesty.
She found her early years at UC ANR to be a quick and valuable crash course in extension work. “Shermain read and edited every newsletter I published and taught me to write clearly. I really appreciated her integrity and attention to details in our work together,” Leff said.
When Hardesty retired in 2017, UC SAREP Director Gail Feenstra invited Leff to move to UC SAREP, where she has been a cherished member of the team ever since.
Before she joined ANR, Leff managed the Ecology Center's Berkeley Farmers Market for eight years, where she helped pilot an electronic benefits transfer system and later successfully advocated for adoption of EBT across the state's farmers markets. Leff also cut her teeth in worker cooperatives, repairing shoes for the Leather Guild in Isla Vista, working at Uprisings Bakery in Berkeley and managing the Northern California Growers' Collaborative for the Community Alliance with Family Farmers. She also ran her own business, Sundance Shoe Repair in Berkeley, for nine years.
Her creative and entrepreneurial background made Leff a great fit for UC ANR's agritourism efforts.
Supporting thousands of agritourism operations
Agritourism can involve many things, from U-pick and farm stands to farm dinners, farm stays and classes. Each of these options opens new revenue opportunities for farmers and ranchers, but they also demand new skills and new relationships. Leff's work in ANR's Agritourism Program has focused on connecting producers and tourism experts so they can learn these new skills and solve challenges together.
Scottie Jones, founder of Farm Stay USA, reminisced about Leff's impact on the agritourism industry:
“Penny is a do-er. She doesn't just talk about inspired topics like agritourism. She actually digs into the challenges that face her farmers and ranchers and starts to solve the issues that stop many of us in our tracks. She gives us tools and training….She is generous with her time and wisdom. It's why I asked her to be on my board when we first launched Farm Stay USA, because she asks the good questions.
“I suspect the artist inside her has been waiting on her retirement with impatience. Good for her; sad for the rest of us. A short person with big shoes to fill!”
Leff plans to use her new-found free time traveling, gardening, and building a backyard pottery studio for her ceramics company PenRa Pottery, which she runs with her wife.