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Announcements
IGIS offers GIS and data workshops
Workshops include “Introduction to ArcGIS Pro” (Feb. 17, 1-4 p.m.), and “Introduction to Jupytr Notebooks in ArcGIS Pro” (April 7, 1-4 p.m.). Registration will also be opening soon for DroneCamp 2023 (June 26-30) – your one-stop-shop for training on using drones for research and data collection. For complete details, see the IGIS website.
Registration is also open for nearly two dozen workshops being held as part of UC Love Data Week (Feb. 13-17). Hosted by all 10 campuses as well as UC ANR, LDW workshops cover a range of data-related topics including access, analysis, visualization, management, security, sharing and preservation. Whether you work with qualitative or quantitative data, you'll definitely find something of interest! Sign up soon as many of the workshops are likely to reach capacity.
Become a mentor for UC ANR colleagues
With more than 100 new employees joining UC ANR in the past year, there is an extremely high demand for mentors in the fifth annual ANR Mentorship Program.
ANR Learning & Development is seeking volunteers – both staff and academics – for the nine-month program, which begins in late February and runs through November. Volunteers will help foster personal and professional growth by mentoring a new staff or academic employee.
While mentors listen to and share knowledge and insights with their mentees, they also report that they learn a lot about themselves during the process, said Jodi Azulai, Learning & Development coordinator. Learn more about what it means to be a mentor.
Mentors are asked to commit to an online orientation, monthly phone/video call check-ins with mentees, and three in-person group sessions.
Apply at https://surveys.ucanr.edu/survey.cfm?surveynumber=25208.
Note that employees who have previously served as a mentor, and who would like to volunteer again, do not need to fill out the survey. Email Azulai at jlazulai@ucanr.edu to express your interest for the coming year.
If selected as a mentor in the 2023 program, you will be contacted by Learning & Development on next steps. Please reach out to Azulai at jlazulai@ucanr.edu if you have questions.
In memoriam: G. Steven Sibbett
Most of his illustrious 35-year career was spent serving agriculturists in Tulare County. His acquired expertise in walnuts, olives and prunes was recognized statewide by his UC colleagues and growers. Steve was also well known internationally for his sound horticultural advice in these crops, which resulted in many exchanges of knowledge and experiences that benefited California producers.
Steve ushered in a relatively new era of county-based production problem solving using detailed experiments established in the orchards of cooperating growers. These experiments subscribed to the rigorous scientific standards of UC and included the on-farm participation of campus-based professors and Extension specialists of many disciplines. Leading UC scientists traveled from Davis, Berkeley and Riverside to cooperate with Steve because of the great respect they had for his critical thinking, capacity to secure grower cooperators willing to be inconvenienced by the special requirements of the experiment, and diligent follow-through and oversight of the experiment to ensure its integrity was not compromised.
These local research efforts yielded many major advancements in our understanding of complex production problems. Examples include elucidating the role that excessive pollen played in causing major walnut crop loss from female flowers abscising shortly after bloom; development of pruning, thinning, bee management and harvest guidelines to increase the yield and size of dried prunes; and cooperating with Blain Farming to establish pecans as a viable statewide crop; determining optimal harvest guidelines for olive growers to maximize production and value.
In the 1970s, Steve participated with a statewide team to study the effects of walnut harvest timing and ethephon, then a new plant growth regulator, on kernel quality. He also cooperated with Lory Bennetts in evaluating the major walnut varieties under high planting density for their long-term yield performance.
Steve was admired for his tremendous writing skills. In addition to a monthly grower newsletter, he authored or coauthored 124 scientific papers and chapters for peer-reviewed UC publications. He also wrote hundreds of articles for trade publications and books. Steve also served as the UC representative for founding the World Ag Expo.
Steve was instrumental in developing the concept of short courses for growers; walnuts was the first in 1976. Scores of UC short courses for scores of commodities and subjects have been offered since. Additionally, Steve was instrumental in creating a county/campus-based group to increase collaboration. This became known as PECC (Pomology Extension Continuing Conference), which was so successful that it became the model for all other Extension groups. Steve was also a mentor to dozens of budding farm advisors, myself included. Each of us, as well as every grower he visited or had coffee with, has their own rendition of Steve, and stories to tell!
Steve officially retired from UC in 2001. He remained active in consulting and advising current UC staff. Many enjoyed participating with Steve in his love for fishing and hunting. His wit, stories, wisdom and bravado will be missed. We will continue to pursue excellence as his legacy!
Graveside services were held at the family cemetery in Mankato, Minnesota. Steve was laid to rest next to Ruth, his wife of 55 years, who passed away in October 2021, according to his daughter Stephanie Brutocao. A memorial service for Steve will be held in Visalia in the spring. In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests donations be made to The Creative Center, 606 N. Bridge Street, Visalia CA 93291.
Read more about Sibbett's life at https://www.visaliatimesdelta.com/obituaries/vtd042723.
UC ANR, NRCS, CDFA and CARCD streamline conservation services
To deliver climate-smart conservation services to California's farmers, ranchers and non-industrial forestland owners in a more coordinated fashion, UC ANR has signed a memorandum of agreement with USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, California Department of Food and Agriculture, and the California Association of Resource Conservation Districts.
USDA NRCS State Conservationist Carlos Suarez, CDFA Secretary Karen Ross, CARCD President Don Butz and I have signed this formal commitment for our organizations to work together in very specific ways on basic research; applied research; extension, education, and engagement; technical assistance and outreach; and implementation evaluation, learning and impact. With this strategy, we will be able to streamline services and identify gaps. See the graphic below depicting the roles of each institution in developing climate-smart conservation practices and delivering technical assistance.
Hundreds of millions of dollars are invested annually into helping agriculture stewards address hundreds of conservation activities throughout the state. But that investment starts with the leg work of analyzing and strategizing the conservation activities on a property-by-property basis.
This agreement will not only enhance our delivery of technical assistance, it offers a greatly expanded feedback loop to help us prioritize UC ANR research to ensure continuous improvement of practices, technologies and solutions needed by California's specialty crops and diverse ecosystems. This will enable new knowledge from our research to be quickly incorporated into NRCS's Field Office Technical Guide, which will expedite its availability to our farmers and ranchers in the field.
The official Memorandum of Agreement is posted at https://ucanr.edu/sites/anrstaff/files/377732.pdf.
Glenda Humiston
Vice President
Names in the News
Hedrick joins statewide EFNEP
Christie Hedrick started a new role Dec. 5 as a statewide coordinator with the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program. Hedrick will oversee state level administration and provide support to counties implementing the EFNEP program. In this role, she is excited to begin working with and supporting the EFNEP team throughout the state.
Hedrick has been a part of UC ANR for more than 14 years. She began her career with UC ANR in 2008 with the CalFresh Healthy Living, UCCE Yolo County Program (CFHL, UCCE Yolo). She provided program oversight and implementation to low-income schools and communities. Her expertise is in education and development of food literacy, healthy eating behaviors, and cooking skills specifically aimed at increasing self-efficacy and nutrition security.
She earned a bachelor's degree in food and nutrition and a Master of Public Health degree from California State University, Sacramento.
Hedrick is based at the UC ANR building in Davis, office 260C, and can be reached at (530) 390-9753 and clhedrick@ucanr.edu.
Vasicsek joins NPI
Reka Vasicsek joined the Nutrition Policy Institute on Dec. 6 as a program assistant, supporting NPI's operational and research project functions.
Vasicsek has worked at the intersection of nutrition, public health and social justice to help communities mitigate the impact of climate change on food security. Her past research focused on the cardiometabolic impacts of fiber supplementation, as well as iodine bioavailability after modulation of the gut microbiome. She has experience assessing school lunch programs and previously worked with Friends of the Earth's climate-friendly school food team.
She earned her bachelor's degree in French and Spanish literature from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and her master's degree in human nutrition with a specialization in public health from the University of Glasgow.
Vasicsek is based at UCOP in Oakland and can be reached at (510) 987-9270 and rvasicsek@ucanr.edu.
Dompka to help spark economy in Del Norte, Humboldt and Trinity counties
Alec Dompka began with UC ANR on Oct. 20 as a rural communities economic development advisor. He will serve as technical support for economic development projects in Del Norte, Humboldt and Trinity counties.
Dompka said he aims to help local communities by working with government entities and private businesses to coordinate and facilitate beneficial projects.
“In this position, I hope to engage with people in the counties to tie them more closely with planning their economic development,” Dompka said. “I hope to show that economic development in rural communities can be locally led and directed, inclusive and effective.”
By applying technical knowledge and science-based expertise to these projects, Dompka said he also hopes to “generate research that pushes forward our understanding of what economic development looks like for rural communities.”
Born and raised in Raleigh, North Carolina, Dompka earned a bachelor's degree from North Carolina State, double-majoring in political science and economics. He also holds an M.A. in agricultural and natural resources economics from NC State.
Dompka is based at the Del Norte County UC Cooperative Extension office in Crescent City and can be reached at (707) 464-4711 or addompka@ucanr.edu. Follow him on Twitter @Alec_rural_dev.
Pearsons named IPM advisor for Monterey County
Kirsten Pearsons began working as a UC Cooperative Extension integrated pest management entomology advisor for Monterey County on Nov. 7. This is a new role for Pearsons, who joined UC ANR in March as a small farms advisor in San Luis Obispo County.
Pearsons focuses on insect-related concerns on the Central Coast, such as impatiens necrotic spot virus (INSV), a disease transmitted to lettuce by thrips, and identifying possible solutions. In collaboration with USDA scientists and her UC colleagues, Pearsons is researching the biology and ecology of the thrips populations that vector INSV to identify existing tools and new strategies that can help growers manage thrips and INSV.
Though her research focuses on lettuce and cole crops, Pearsons also supports berry growers and other specialty crop producers in the region with large-scale producers and agricultural pest control advisers as current clients.
Pearsons earned a bachelor's in environmental toxicology from UC Davis and a Ph.D. in entomology from Pennsylvania State University, studying how pest management strategies adopted in field crop systems affect non-target soil invertebrates.
During her undergraduate studies at UC Davis, Pearsons was curious to know what alternatives existed for broad-spectrum pesticides.
“Funny enough, I took my first entomology class just to get a basic idea of insect biology, because a lot of what I was learning in my toxicology courses had to do with insecticides,” she said. “The staff and the other students in the entomology department were so awesome that it didn't take much for me to completely fall for the subject.”
Prior to UC ANR, Pearsons worked for the Rodale Institute, an organic research institute in Pennsylvania.
Pearsons is based out of the UCCE Monterey County office and can be reached at kapearsons@ucanr.edu.
UC Master Gardener Evaluation Team wins award
The UC Master Gardener Program and Program Planning and Evaluation team have been honored by the American Evaluation Association with the 2022 Excellence in Extension Program Evaluation Award.
Kit Alviz, program policy analyst; Tamekia Wilkins, youth, family and communities data analyst; Missy Gable, UC Master Gardener Program director; Katherine Webb-Martinez, Program Planning and Evaluation director; and Melissa Womack, UC Master Gardener Program communications specialist, received the award on Nov. 3.
The award also recognizes the hard work and dedication of program coordinators and volunteers, who do the programming and collect the data necessary to ensure the success of program evaluation efforts.
The data is used in the latest UC Master Gardener Program impact report and the UC ANR 2021 Annual Report. As the UC Master Gardener Program's evaluation efforts continue to expand statewide, they remain focused on continuing to improve their practices on collecting and reporting impact, to better meet community needs and build support for the program.
“The Extension Education Evaluation Award is awarded for an evaluation of outstanding quality. This team has established the gold standard to improve Extension program evaluation and provide accountability for public funds invested in the UC Master Gardener Program,” said Deanne Meyer, UC ANR interim associate vice president.
Ag commissioner praises Woodmansee
Between wildfires and drought in 2022, the UCCE Siskiyou County staff in the Yreka office has faced considerable adversity this year so they were pleased to receive a complimentary letter from Siskiyou County agricultural commissioner Jim Smith.
“I received a very positive letter from the Siskiyou County agricultural commissioner commending Grace Woodmansee, Siskiyou UCCE livestock advisor, for her hard work and success with the Siskiyou Livestock Pass program this year,” Rob Wilson, interim director for UCCE Siskiyou County and farm advisor, wrote in an email.
“Grace was instrumental in setting up this program in the county and it paid large dividends this year given the numerous wildfires in the county,” Wilson wrote.
Smith, who has worked with Woodmansee for the last two years on the Ag Pass program, wrote, “Grace promoted this program following the disastrous wildfires in Butte County…This effort in Siskiyou was very timely since we have been experiencing ever more serious wildfires.”
The McKinney Fire, which broke out July 29 about 10 miles west of Yreka, killed four people, destroyed 185 structures and burned 60,138 acres. The Mill Fire started Sept. 2 in Weed and quickly spread to burn 3,935 acres.
“Most of our staff dealt with wildfire evacuations and numerous smoky days,” Wilson said. “Samantha Clawson, Siskiyou County office coordinator, had her house burnt to the ground. I'm proud of all the staff this year for helping the community get through difficult times with the livestock pass program, housing neighboring animals, and covering for each other.”
