UC President Dynes participated in a tour last Friday at the UC Sierra Foothill Research and Extension Center and a rice field near Marysville. The event was covered in the Sept. 21 Yuba City Appeal-Democrat. Reporter Kyle Buis noted that Dynes likes to see work being done by UC academics first hand.

“If you sit in an office, nobody tells you the whole story,” Buis quoted Dynes. “It’s extremely important to understand the impact of our research.”

At the Sierra Foothill REC, wood durability farm advisor Stephen Quarles demonstrated how different types of decking materials burn.

"While a simulated redwood deck barely burned, a plastic-lumber composite deck turned into an inferno within 15 minutes," Buis wrote.

At another tour stop, UC Davis extension specialist Rob Atwill showed how a three-foot-wide strip of grass buffering streams can help preserve water quality. 

"Leaving a section of grass near a creek ungrazed worked like a filter, preventing 99 percent of livestock-leavings bacteria from running into the creek," the article said. 

Buis' article said Dynes discussed the importance of the relationship between farmers and UC Davis at the last stop on the tour, where rice was being harvested on Charlie Mathews farm near Marysville.